Compare the2023 Audi SQ7VS 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Audi SQ7 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Jeep Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

The SQ7’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the SQ7 and Grand Cherokee L have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The SQ7 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Grand Cherokee L’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The SQ7 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the SQ7. But it costs extra on the Grand Cherokee L.

Both the SQ7 and the Grand Cherokee L have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available night vision systems.

The SQ7 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Grand Cherokee L’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The SQ7’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Grand Cherokee L’s (12 vs. 5 years).

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the SQ7 has an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the 5.7 V8 in the Grand Cherokee L.

The SQ7’s 4.0 turbo V8 hybrid produces 207 more horsepower (500 vs. 293) and 308 lbs.-ft. more torque (568 vs. 260) than the Grand Cherokee L’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6. The SQ7’s 4.0 turbo V8 hybrid produces 143 more horsepower (500 vs. 357) and 178 lbs.-ft. more torque (568 vs. 390) than the Grand Cherokee L’s optional 5.7 V8.

As tested in Motor Trend the Audi SQ7 is faster than the Jeep Grand Cherokee L:

Regenerative brakes improve the SQ7’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

For better stopping power the SQ7’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Grand Cherokee L:

The SQ7 stops much shorter than the Grand Cherokee L:

For better traction, the SQ7 has larger tires than the Grand Cherokee L (285/40R21 vs. 265/60R18). The SQ7’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Grand Cherokee L (285/40R21 vs. 275/45R21).

The SQ7’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Grand Cherokee L’s standard 60 series tires. The SQ7’s tires are lower profile than the Grand Cherokee L Summit’s optional 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the SQ7 has standard 21-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Grand Cherokee L.

The SQ7 Prestige offers active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The front and rear suspension of the SQ7 uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Grand Cherokee L, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The SQ7 offers an available adjustable active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Jeep doesn’t offer an active suspension on the Grand Cherokee L.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the SQ7 is .7 inches wider in the front and 1.2 inches wider in the rear than on the Grand Cherokee L.

The SQ7 Premium Plus handles at .91 G’s, while the Grand Cherokee L Overland 4x4 pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The SQ7 Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 3 seconds quicker than the Grand Cherokee L Overland 4x4 (25.2 seconds @ .76 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

The SQ7 is 5.3 inches shorter than the Grand Cherokee L, making the SQ7 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The SQ7 has .1 inches more front headroom, .4 inches more front legroom, .3 inches more front shoulder room and .5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Grand Cherokee L.

The front step up height for the SQ7 is 1.6 inches lower than the Grand Cherokee L (18.6” vs. 20.2”). The SQ7’s rear step up height is 1.5 inches lower than the Grand Cherokee L’s (18.7” vs. 20.2”).

The SQ7’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Grand Cherokee L’s (7700 vs. 3500 pounds).

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Jeep. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 31% lower rating, Jeep is ranked 26th.

The SQ7’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Grand Cherokee L’s standard rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open them fully. Only its driver’s window closes automatically. The Grand Cherokee L Overland/Summit’s .

If the windows are left open on the SQ7 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Grand Cherokee L can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The SQ7’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Grand Cherokee L’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

Laser headlights, standard on the SQ7 Prestige, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the Grand Cherokee L’s LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The SQ7 Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To better shield the driver and front passenger’s vision, the SQ7 has standard dual-element sun visors that can block glare from two directions simultaneously. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

A manual rear sunshade and rear side window sunshades are optional in the SQ7 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer a rear sunshade.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Audi SQ7 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Grand Cherokee L.

The SQ7 Prestige’s Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Park Assist Plus will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Grand Cherokee L Summit’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.