Compare the2024 Audi Q7VS 2024 BMW X5

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Audi Q7 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 BMW X5 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Audi Q7 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW X5 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the Q7 and X5 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q7 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 X5’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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Q7. But it costs extra on the X5.

Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The Q7 has Car-to-X Services, a system that seemlesly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The X5 doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Q7 Prestige helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The X5 doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the Q7 and the X5 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

The Audi Q7 achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The X5 is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.

On the EPA test cycle the Q7 gets better mileage than the X5 running its gasoline engine:

For better stopping power the Q7’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the X5:

For better traction, the Q7’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the X5 (285/45R20 vs. 275/40R21).

For greater off-road capability the Q7 w/Air Suspension has a greater minimum ground clearance than the X5 (9.7 vs. 8.7 inches), allowing the Q7 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Q7 has standard seating for 7 passengers; the X5 can only carry 5.

The Q7 has 1.9 inches more front legroom, 1.4 inches more rear legroom and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the X5.

The front step up height for the Q7 is .9 inches lower than the X5 (18.6” vs. 19.5”). The Q7’s rear step up height is 1.3 inches lower than the X5’s (18.7” vs. 20”).

The Q7’s cargo area is larger than the X5’s in almost every dimension:

The Q7’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The X5’s tailgate’s top part raises up, but the bottom part lowers, getting in the way of loading and making an uneven surface for sliding cargo.

Maximum trailer towing in the BMW X5 is limited to 7209 pounds. The Q7 offers up to a 7700 lbs. towing capacity.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Q7 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The X5 doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

Laser headlights, optional on the Q7 Prestige, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the X5’s LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Q7’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the X5’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Marginal.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Q7 Prestige offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The X5 doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To better shield the driver and front passenger’s vision, the Q7 has standard dual-element sun visors that can block glare from two directions simultaneously. The X5 doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

A manual rear sunshade and rear side window sunshades are optional in the Q7 (except Premium) to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The X5 doesn’t offer a rear sunshade.