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Weekend Drive by Hormazd Sorabjee: Four rings, one splash
You can treat the new Audi Q9 as a massage parlour, host a DJ night in it, or go star-gazing. It’s bigger and better, literally
Audi has finally gone big. Really big. The new Q9 is the largest car the brand has ever built, a three-row luxury SUV that sits at the top of the range. And, with the A8 limousine gone, it’s the new flagship.
To put the dimensions in perspective, it is 5.3 metres long (a full 25cm longer than the already large Q7), wider and taller too. This is a proper class jump, one that finally gives Audi an answer to the Mercedes-Benz GLS and BMW X7. It looks the part: Imposing proportions, a massive grille, muscular wheel arches and chunky, old-school door handles rather than the fiddly flush type. The Q9 is confirmed for India in the second half of 2027. It will be assembled locally near Aurangabad, which should help Audi price it sharply.
If one theme defines the Q9, it’s lighting. Audi pioneered theatre lighting in cars, and it clearly wants that crown back. The huge grille has illuminated vertical slats, the four rings glow, and the headlights can project warning symbols onto the road. The cleverest trick? The indicators beam directional arrows onto the tarmac at night. Imagine pulling out from behind a truck. Your car is hidden, but the arrow on the road warns oncoming drivers you’re there. Expect rivals to copy this.
At the rear are curved OLED tail-lamps made of glass just 0.1mm thick, with 512 individually controlled segments. India gets one engine: A 367hp, 3.0-litre V6 petrol with mild-hybrid assistance, an 8-speed automatic and all-wheel drive. No diesel, sadly. But four-wheel steering (though that’s not yet confirmed for India).
The new cabin has three curved screens: One for the driver, a central touchscreen, and one for the front passenger with its own privacy mode. The interface is crisp, quick and genuinely easy to use. My grouse is that even the air vents are adjusted via the screen, and sometimes you just want to grab a vent the old-fashioned way.
Where Audi has raised its game is materials. Rich wood, soft microfibre, nappa leather, even a wool option. All four doors are power-operated (one way the driver can shut his door is by pressing the brake pedal), there’s a 22-speaker Bang & Olufsen system, ChatGPT built into the voice assistant, and the biggest panoramic roof ever on an Audi, with glass that darkens at the touch of a button. How that copes with brutal Indian summers remains to be seen.
In India, the back seat is where it matters. The six-seat version with captain’s chairs is the one to have. They’re power-adjustable, heated, with massage functions. Power sunshades, a make-or-break feature in India, are present. The third row is more usable than the Q7’s, with its own vents and USB ports, but adults still sit knees-up.
One niggle: No spare tyre, just a puncture kit, which is a concern on Indian roads.
Audi is ready to drive back to the top of the SUV pyramid. And with local assembly sweetening the price, estimated to be around ₹ 1.4 crore, the Q9 could be seriously compelling. Game on, Audi.
From HT Brunch, August 15, 2026
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