Audi Q7 TFSI e and Q7 e-tron EV Charging Cable

Two very different Q7 plug-ins

The current Q7 55 and 60 TFSI e quattro carry 22 kWh net, quoted at 48 to 50 miles of electric range, with Audi UK listing maximum AC charging at 7.4 kW and about three hours forty five minutes for a full charge on a 7 kW wall box. Twenty two kilowatt hours in under four hours is a genuine 32A proposition.

The 2016 to 2019 Q7 e-tron is the diesel plug-in and a much older machine: 17.3 kWh and about 34 miles. Its charger rating is not something we can pin down, and the two sources we found disagree by nearly a factor of two, so we have set out both below rather than pick one.

The 2016 to 2019 diesel, and an unresolved figure

One UK motoring source says a full charge on a Type 2 wall box takes about two and a half hours. A manufacturer video for the same car says four hours forty five. On a 17.3 kWh battery those imply roughly 3.5 kW and 1.8 kW respectively, which is a wide gap on a question that decides whether 16A or 32A is right.

Either way the answer lands on 16A being sufficient, because both figures sit well below what a 16A lead carries. If you have the diesel e-tron, buy 16A and spend the difference on getting the length right.

How long a full charge takes

Hours are worked from battery size against power drawn, plus a 13 per cent allowance for what is lost as heat, rounded to fifteen minutes. Columns are the 2016 to 2019 diesel e-tron and the current TFSI e. Read the diesel down the 16A row, which sits above anything either source credits it with.

No Q7 plug-in of any generation, diesel or petrol, has ever had a DC socket. On a two and a half tonne seven seater that is a real constraint rather than a technicality: the electric range exists for the school run and the commute, and on a long motorway journey the petrol or diesel engine simply does the work while the battery sits empty.

Worth a caveat. The technical classification used in Germany says 7.4 kW here needs two phases, which a British house does not have. Audi's own wall box timings contradict that outright, and timings are harder to misfile than categories. We read it as a car that genuinely uses a 32A cable, while noting that the evidence is not unanimous and that a dealer can confirm it for your car in a phone call.

Which length for a Q7

Two things push this one towards a longer cable. The Q7 is 5.07 metres long and well over two metres wide with the mirrors out, so it takes up the full width of most domestic garages and drives, and the flap position is not published by anybody we would rely on. One non-UK reference puts the older car's socket above the left rear wheel arch; we have not been able to corroborate it.

Buying 5 metres on a vehicle this size with an unknown port position is a gamble, and the failure mode is a cable that reaches only if you park within a foot of the same spot every time. Ten metres removes the problem. The honest way to choose is to measure the real parking position and allow two metres spare.

How these cables are built

Built to IEC 62196-2 and CE marked, with an IP55 rating that covers rain and dust on an exposed driveway, and a working range of -30C to +50C.

Three pin construction follows IEC 62752, CE marked, IP67 rated, usable from -30C to +60C. Two year manufacturer's warranty. Delivery is free and next working day, and returns are open for 30 days.

Related: Audi Q4 e-tron EV Charging Cable, and Audi charging cables for every other model we cover. For a wall box or public post the lead is the Type 2 to Type 2 charging cable.

Audi Q7 plug-in hybrid charging cable questions

Which cable does a Q7 TFSI e need?

A 32A Type 2 to Type 2 lead for the current car, which holds 22 kWh and charges at 7.4 kW. A 16A lead is enough for the 2016 to 2019 diesel e-tron.

How long does the current Q7 plug-in take to charge?

About three hours forty five minutes from empty on a 7 kW wall box, which is Audi UK's own figure for the 22 kWh pack.

Can a Q7 plug-in rapid charge?

No, on any generation. There is no DC socket, so the Type 2 cable is the only way to charge it.

How fast does the 2016 diesel e-tron charge?

Sources disagree badly: one says two and a half hours, a manufacturer video says four hours forty five. Both point to a charger well inside what a 16A cable carries, so 16A is the right buy either way.