Now don't get me wrong here, I'm not suggesting that Audi's pricing on these packages is out of line. In fact, most of them are quite reasonably priced considering what you get for the money. What I am saying however, is that the sticker price on the base model is a very tempting offer indeed. After all, for that you get a quality built vehicle from a renowned German manufacturer, and one whose all wheel drive system is often referred to as the best in the industry.

Audi's quattro system is an amazing piece of technology.

In my experience, Audi's Quattro system is an amazing piece of technology, and every Audi product fitted with it has delighted me, but just how was that going to pan out in a rather large crossover SUV had me wondering!

Well, I didn't have to wait long to find out because the very next evening we received the largest dumping of snow that we'd had all winter long. In fact, I casually walked out of my evening meeting on the other side of town to be greeted by a Q7 buried up to its waist in driven snow. Lovely!!

Now I've never been one to worry about driving in these types of conditions. In fact, if I'm in a capable vehicle, I tend to stick to the back roads on these occasions to try and avoid the idiots.

Now I'm sure that none of you are going to own up to being one of them, but I'm certain that you've met a couple of them over the years! Yes, the "I don't need winter tires, I know how to drive in snow on summer slicks", or the boy-racer who's desperately seeking to show the world the world how well he can drift his rear wheel drive Mustang around a corner!

So back roads it was, and unplowed ones at that.

Boy, was I impressed! In fact, I'm used to driving my wife's Range Rover which is always shod in winter tires at this time of year, and I have to say that I felt more confident in the Q7 than I have ever done in her vehicle.

The Q7 offers bags of room, luxurious appointments, plenty of power, and superb road holding.