It was on one of these occasions, that along with an apology, Audi offered me the use of a Q7 for the week. Having just experienced a major snow storm, it made as much, if not more sense than the R8, so I gladly accepted.

I had a quick seat behind the wheel, which only further expanded my initial impression of a rather large SUV come oversized Station Wagon. Boy! Did I get it wrong!!

Boy! Did I get it wrong!! Having the keys to the vehicle allowed me to adjust the driver's seat properly, and I found that you can actually position yourself quite high in the vehicle because of the excellent available headroom. This then allows for an excellent view of the roadway in front, and almost completely takes away that feeling of being a tiny person in a large vehicle.

Also, as I now had plenty of time on my side, I could start to appreciate the quality of the interior, and the many features which the vehicle boasts.

My Q7 tester came extremely well, if not slightly over-equipped in my eyes, with nearly $20k in option packages added to the base price of $57,800. That's a rather large chunk of change for a bunch of goodies, but to be fair, some of them, like the sporty S-Line package ($3,750), or the wonderful Panorama Sunroof, really do transform the base model.

However, let's take a closer look at how the cost of life's little luxuries can quickly mount up.

If you have a larger than average family, the 3rd row seating package is probably a must, and at just $1,200, it sounds very reasonable to me. Then of course, while we're on the subject of passenger seating, the heated rear seat option at $300 could also be quite tempting. In fact, you don't see that option available on many vehicles.

Then there's the Technology package ($3,600), the Convenience Package ($3,300), and let's not forget the Audio upgrade ($2,100). Then we have, the Navigation package ($2,200), and of course, should you wish to pull a trailer, another $750 goes on top for the towing package.

All of these option packages are wonderful, I'll happily vouch for that, and I'm sure that some people would find it hard to live without them, but you can also see how quickly they add up. In fact, in this case, over a third of the cost of the base vehicle has been added to it in extra equipment.

Some goodies, like the sporty S-Line package, or the wonderful Panorama Sunroof, really do transform the base model.