Compare the2025 Audi SQ7VS 2025 BMW X7

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 BMW X7 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Audi SQ7 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 X7 doesn’t offer height-adjustable front seat belts.

Both the SQ7 and X7 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 X7’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.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Audi SQ7 achieved a “Acceptable” rating - the second highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The BMW X7 has not been tested.

Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The SQ7 has Car-to-X Services, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The X7 doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the SQ7 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 X7 doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the SQ7 and the X7 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, 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 and rear cross-path warning.

The Audi SQ7 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 X7 has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than BMW vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 1 place higher in reliability than BMW.

The SQ7’s 4.0 turbo V8 hybrid produces 125 more horsepower (500 vs. 375) and 170 lbs.-ft. more torque (568 vs. 398) than the X7 xDrive40i’s standard 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid. The SQ7’s 4.0 turbo V8 hybrid produces 15 lbs.-ft. more torque (568 vs. 553) than the X7 M60i’s standard 4.4 turbo V8 hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the Audi SQ7 is faster than the X7 xDrive40i 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid:

For better stopping power the SQ7’s brake rotors are larger than those on the X7:

For better traction, the SQ7 has larger tires than the X7 (285/40R21 vs. 275/40R22).

The SQ7’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the X7’s standard 45 series tires.

The SQ7 Premium Plus handles at .91 G’s, while the X7 xDrive40i pulls only .88 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The SQ7 Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the X7 xDrive40i (25.2 seconds @ .76 average G’s vs. 26.1 seconds @ .7 average G’s).

The SQ7 is 4 inches shorter than the X7, making the SQ7 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The SQ7 has 1.5 inches more front legroom, 1.2 inches more rear legroom, .4 inches more rear shoulder room and 1.2 inches more third row shoulder room than the X7.

The front step up height for the SQ7 is 1.4 inches lower than the X7 (18.6” vs. 20”). The SQ7’s rear step up height is 1.8 inches lower than the X7’s (18.7” vs. 20.5”).

The SQ7’s cargo area provides more volume than the X7.

The SQ7’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The X7’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.

The SQ7’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the X7’s (7719 vs. 5950 pounds).

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 X7’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 X7 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 X7 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 X7 doesn’t offer a rear sunshade.

Insurance will cost less for the SQ7 owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the SQ7 will cost $555 less than the X7 over a five-year period.