Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 98,217 tests

Pass rate climbs 4.8 points across the cohorts — newer Q7 examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 83,569

Pass

84.7%

Fail

11.7%

PRS

3.1%

Avg mileage at test

100,049 mi

2018–2020 cohort 14,221

Pass

89.2%

Fail

8.8%

PRS

1.4%

Avg mileage at test

53,925 mi

2021+ cohort 427

Pass

89.5%

Fail

6.8%

PRS

3.3%

Avg mileage at test

28,032 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

Generations on file · 2

Audi Q7 · UK market

Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.

The picture

Audi Q7: solid MOT record across 49,653 tests

The Audi Q7 is a Mid-size luxury crossover SUV made by the German manufacturer Audi, unveiled in September 2005 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Production of this seven-seater SUV began in November 2005 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant in Bratislava, Slovakia.

MOT data from 49,653 tests puts this car on a 83.0% first-time pass rate, above the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 85,886 miles. The most common fail item is cracked or discoloured windscreen, followed by tyre tread below the legal limit.

Smaller outside. Bigger inside. 37 millimetres shorter and 15 millimetres narrower than previous Q7 while virtually the same height. Yet extra 21 millimetres between the first and second rows of seats, and head room increased by up to 41 millimetres.

For used buyers, the Q7's pass rate suggests it clears the MOT with fewer surprises than most — but the top failure items above are still worth a pre-purchase inspection, particularly on higher-mileage examples.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 38–48

A high-group car — insurance costs will be significantly above average. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.

Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →

38–48

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

2,232 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
02

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

1,957 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
03

A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

1,747 occurrences · 1.8% of tests
04

A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

1,291 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
05

A tyre seriously damaged

1,175 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
06

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

996 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
07

A tyre cords visible or damaged

960 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
08

Wiper blade defective

675 occurrences · 0.7% of tests
09

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

656 occurrences · 0.7% of tests
10

Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

599 occurrences · 0.6% of tests

Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.

Worst-case fix budget · top 3 failures

£148–£370

If every one of this Q7's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 4.8-point gap between bands means the year you buy Audi Q7 has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

89.5%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 89.5% — a 4.8-point improvement. Tests in this band average 28,032 miles — roughly 72K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: has a cut in excess of the…, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. Post-2020 examples are early in their MOT life and generally show the cleanest records.

Band to be cautious about

84.7%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 84.7% pass rate against a fleet average of 89.5% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…, and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. Average mileage on test for this band is 100,049 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2021+ (89.5% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (84.7% pass). That's a 4.8-point spread across 83,569 older tests and 427 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

Digital tyre-tread depth gauge

Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.

Search Amazon UK

Item 02 · Amazon UK

H7 / W21W bulb pack

A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.

Search Amazon UK

My Motor World · affiliate

Parts & supplies for this fix

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Summit

Summit ADRG-215 Audi Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ADRG-216 Audi Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS

£14.29

View at My Motor World →

Draper Expert

Draper Expert Oil Filter Socket for Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and VW

£18.69

View at My Motor World →

Draper Expert

Draper Expert Audi/VW Drain Plug Key, 1/2" Sq. Dr.

£21.99

View at My Motor World →

Click Mechanic · affiliate

Book a mobile mechanic

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Mobile mechanic · UK-wide

Book a mechanic at your door.

Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.

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Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

What's good

In the UK, the new Audi Q7 will initially be powered by a 272 PS V6 TDI engine. This complies with the Euro 6 emissions standard and its CO2 emissions have been reduced by as much as 50 grams per km.

Where it falls short

The new Audi Q7 comes standard with 19-inch wheels. Audi and quattro GmbH offer a large number of additional wheels in sizes up to 21 inches as options. Large, vented brake discs bring the SUV safely to a stop. They are gripped up front by aluminium six-piston calipers. The electromechanical parking brake, updated with convenient hill hold and startup functions, acts on the rear wheels.

Recall history

16 UK recalls on record.

The Q7 has 16 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping a Q7?

Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.

If you own a Q7 and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.