Audi Q7 Luggage Test: How much fits behind the third row?

The second-generation Audi Q7 has been around for a very long time, and yet I'm pretty sure I've never driven one. Shrug. Sometimes new cars fall through the cracks and just stay there. Thankfully, this SQ7 with red leather emerged from between the couch cushions. I'm honestly a bit stunned by how good the steering is for a big SUV and how cool its sport exhaust sounds. No surprise that its Bang & Olufsen sound system sounds terrific. 

But I'm here to talk about cargo capacity, specifically behind its raised third row. This would be the sort of three-row SUV where the aftmost quarters are really just for occasional, quasi-emergency use. Headroom is limited and an average-size adult or teenager likely won't have enough legroom unless one or two segments of the 40/20/40 second row are slid almost all the way forward ... in which case the second-row occupants will be cramped unless those up front are on the short side. You'll find more space in a Volvo XC90, BMW X7 and Mercedes GLS. But there I go talking about something other than cargo ...

The specs say there is 14.1 cubic-feet of space behind the raised third row. That too is on the small side of a three-row SUV, but typical for a luxury model. A volume of 14.1 cubic-feet would fall in between the Cadillac XT6 (12.6) and Volvo XC90 (15.8). The current king of the segment, on paper and in practice, is the Lexus TX. Let's see how much you can fit in the Q7. 

There's actually a decent amount of length to the area, but as you can see above right, the opening rake will likely limit functionality.

 

There's also an underfloor area, but it's, um, occupied in the SQ7. I'm told no Q7 has underfloor storage, but it sure makes accessing various stereo components and air compressor easy. 

Let's get to the bags. As with every Luggage Test, I use two midsize roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two black roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller green roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife's fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D).

Also, with every Luggage Test I do with three-row vehicles, I set the third-row recline to a natural, comfortable angle. No Fat Joe "lean back," no comfort-be-damned "everything must fit" 90 degrees. 

Not bad, really. This would be the smallest four bags. I could alternatively fit one of the big ones with the green one and fancy bag on top. What you see above equals more luggage capacity, though. 

This is exactly the same as the XC90, although it was definitely a snugger fit here for the green bag. As the numbers suggested, it's way better than the XT6 (two bags), not quite as good as the GLS (swap one of those medium black bags on the bottom for the big blue one), and way less than good ol' Lexus Texas (all the bags). 

I was curious, though. Given the small third row, I wondered if all the bags would actually fit if I lowered one half of the 50/50-split third row. I actually did this with the XT6 and XC90, so it seemed like the fair thing to do. 

Yes, all bags fit, but it was VERY close. Although more room would be created by standing the big blue bag up, it would easily fall onto the third-row occupant with the first whiff of a right turn. It's bad enough being stuck back there. 

The XT6 could not fit the fancy bag with this arrangement. Again, the XC90 was identical (although to be clear, it has a more spacious third row). 

Honestly, I was expecting worse. The Q7 and SQ7 still aren't suited for road trips with all rows full — even if you pack light or get a hitch-based cargo solution (this SQ7 did have a hitch), the chances of folks in both rows two and three being unhappy are high. But there I go again talking about something other than cargo capacity.