Long Term Report: Should Audi be worried about Chinese car brands?

Unless you’ve had your eyes closed driving around recently, you will not have failed to notice that there’s a string of new car brands on the roads.

Omoda, Jaecoo, BYD and Xpeng might sound like typos, but in fact they’re very real Chinese new car brands threatening the established automotive world order.

These new Far Eastern manufacturers are snapping up market share from the well-known car makers – and it’s the Germans who should be rather concerned.

For years, car brands like Audi have been wooing buyers with plush interiors, great tech and premium badges. Cars like the Audi Q7, which I’m driving at the moment, are directly in the crosshairs of the new Chinese entrants.

Those brands I’ve mentioned are flooding the UK with SUVs that feature much of what the premium brands offer, but without the premium price tags. So, should Audi be worried?

I’m now a few months into my tenure with the Audi Q7 and it’s one of the first long-term test cars that I find hard to fault. It’s simply perfect for family life with space for seven when the retractable third row of seats is popped up, and acres of space for luggage when they’re down.

We’ve got three kids – two of them in child car seats – and if you’ve installed an ISOFIX seat recently, you’ll know they take up a lot of room. So much so that when they’re both in place the middle seat becomes postage stamp-sized, which makes the third row of seats very useful indeed.

The interior of the Audi is beautiful. The leather seats smell strongly of cowhide hide and they’re supremely comfortable. I’ve made a few long-distance journeys recently and I never get out with any aches or pains, which, considering I’m nearly 45, is frankly a miracle.

As the weather improves, I’ve also been enjoying the panoramic sunroof. My son loves it as he’s able to stare out at the clouds as we head off on another pointless car journey in an attempt to get him to sleep. I used to go out for meaningless trips to simply enjoy the thrill of driving, these days, I’m just happy if the screaming stops. How times change.

Those pointless trips usually end up at the garden centre as it’s just far away enough from our home to get the little ones off to sleep and, if they’re not, has a handy indoor play centre to tire them out. Unfortunately, that pilgrimage to the petunias does mean we spend far too much money there, but helpfully, the huge Q7 boot usually swallows our sleep-deprived distress purchases with ease.

The 3.0-litre V6 engine is a fantastic unit. It’s smooth, has plenty of power and even when you do need to hustle the huge lump along, it can still put a smile on your face. Make no mistake, this is no sports car, but with 335bhp it is able to crack 60mph in 5.6 seconds.

Audi recently took the Q7 back to remove the winter tyres and top box that had been in place for my pan-France trip to the Alps. Now the extra-grippy tyres have gone, I’ve noticed it’s a little bit quieter inside with the road roar now dulled to a purr.

I also asked Audi to look at the stereo system. My one complaint would be that it has a strange habit of cutting out the sound occasionally, a bit like the DAB radio has lost reception. If it only happened on DAB, I’d put it down as that, but it happens with Spotify too. It drops out for a good couple of seconds which means when you’re listening to a podcast you can miss whole sentences. It’s very frustrating.

Audi said it reset the system and it was fine for a few weeks after it returned, but now it’s back. I’m not sure whether it’s something I’ll just have to learn to live with.

While I was in China recently, I got behind the wheel of a new Omoda. It is one of the brands taking the UK very seriously and has some impressive models. I tried one of its larger SUVs and while the price point was less than half the Audi I’m driving, it certainly didn’t feel half as good.

And therein lies the problem for the established brands like Audi – I don’t mind admitting I’m a badge snob and have particular affection for the four-ringed brand from Germany, but there’ll be a huge percentage of drivers who just don’t care. And it’s these buyers that Audi, and many other European car makers like it, need to be very careful not to lose.

Facts at a glance
Model: Audi Q7
Price as tested: £95,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Power: 335bhp
Torque: 500Nm
0-60mph: 5.6 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Economy: 26.4mpg
Emissions: 242g/km CO2
Mileage: 3,896