Compare the2026 Audi Q7VS 2026 Tesla Model Y

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics

Safety

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The Q7’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Model Y doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Q7 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Model Y doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Audi Q7 achieved a “Acceptable” rating - the second highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Tesla Model Y has not been tested.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Q7. But it costs extra on the Model Y.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Q7’s standard Hill Descent Assist allows you to creep down safely. The Model Y doesn’t offer Hill Descent Assist.

Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The Q7 has Car-to-X Services, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The Model Y doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Q7 helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Model Y doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Q7 has a standard Audi Connect CARE, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Model Y doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Q7 and the Model Y have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Audi Q7 weighs 551 to 865 pounds more than the Tesla Model Y. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi Q7 is safer than the Tesla Model Y:

	Q7	Model Y
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Abdominal Force	128 lbs.	145 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	337	358
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	557 lbs.	682 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

Audi pays for scheduled maintenance on the Q7 for 3 years and 30,000 miles. Audi will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Tesla doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Model Y.

There are over 48 percent more Audi dealers than there are Tesla dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Q7’s warranty.

Reliability

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Tesla vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 10 places higher in reliability than Tesla.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Q7 55 TFSI’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Model Y:

	Q7 55 TFSI	Model Y
Front Rotors	14.8 inches	14 inches
Rear Rotors	13.8 inches	13.2 inches

The Q7 stops much shorter than the Model Y:

	Q7	Model Y
70 to 0 MPH	160 feet	174 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	117 feet	120 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Q7’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Model Y (285/45R20 vs. 255/35R21).

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires available on the Q7 can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The Model Y doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Q7 has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Q7 flat and controlled during cornering. The Model Y Performance suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Q7’s wheelbase is 4.1 inches longer than on the Model Y (117.9 inches vs. 113.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Q7 is 1.5 inches wider in the front and 2.3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Model Y.

The Q7 Prestige handles at .85 G’s, while the Model Y Long Range AWD pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For greater off-road capability the Q7 has a 1.7 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Model Y (8.3 vs. 6.6 inches), allowing the Q7 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Q7 w/Air Suspension’s minimum ground clearance is 3.1 inches higher than on the Model Y (9.7 vs. 6.6 inches).

Passenger Space

The Q7 has standard seating for 7 passengers; the Model Y can only carry 6.

The Q7 has 3.1 inches more front shoulder room and 4.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Model Y.

Towing

The Q7’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Model Y’s (4409 vs. 3500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Tesla Model Y is only 3500 pounds. The Q7 offers up to a 7716 lbs. towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

A Service Interval Display is standard on the Q7 to save the owner time and money by calculating maintenance intervals for oil changes, spark plug replacement, air filter replacement, tire rotation, and vehicle inspections, based on odometer mileage. This takes the guesswork out of keeping your vehicle in top condition and helps it last longer. Tesla doesn’t offer a maintenance reminder on the Model Y.

Ergonomics

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Model Y, the Q7 Prestige has a passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Q7 Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning, navigation instruction and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Model Y doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Q7 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Model Y doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Q7 has a standard rear wiper. The Model Y doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

Laser headlights, optional on the Q7 Prestige, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the Model Y’s LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

Consumer Reports rated the Q7’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the Model Y’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Q7 Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Model Y doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The Q7’s standard side window demisters help clear frost or condensation from the side windows in the winter. The Model Y doesn’t even offer side window demisters, so the driver may have to wipe the windows from the outside to gain side vision.

To better shield the driver and front passenger’s vision, the Q7 has standard dual-element sun visors that can block glare from two directions simultaneously. The Model Y doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Q7 has standard extendable sun visors. The Model Y doesn’t offer extendable visors.

A manual rear sunshade and rear side window sunshades are standard in the Q7 Premium Plus/Prestige to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Model Y doesn’t offer a rear or rear side window sunshades.

The Q7 Prestige has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Model Y.

The Q7 is equipped with both FM and AM stereo radios, offering access to more content and better coverage than the Model Y, which solely provides FM radio. With AM radio, you can enjoy a wider variety of stations featuring news, talk shows, sports commentary, native language programing, automated traffic guidance, and emergency broadcasts. AM waves travel further and penetrate buildings and obstacles more effectively than FM signals, especially at night. Having both FM and AM stereo radios the Q7 offers a more comprehensive listening experience compared to only FM in the Model Y.

HD Radio boasts several benefits over conventional radio: superior sound quality with clearer and consistent FM broadcasts, CD-quality audio, and Multicast Channels offering up to four streams from a single station, adding programming choices. Cars like the Q7 equipped with HD Radio provide an improved in-car entertainment experience. The Model Y, devoid of this technology, foregoes these benefits. Selecting the Audi Q7 empowers drivers to enjoy a more immersive and enjoyable listening experience while on the go.

Compared to the Tesla Model Y’s traditional radio, the Audi Q7 equipped with standard SiriusXM satellite radio provides an unmatched listening experience. Its extensive coverage guarantees consistent, crystal-clear reception across the continental U.S., and access to over 100 channels dedicated to a multitude of genres, including music, news, sports, talk shows, and comedy, many with only limited commercial breaks.

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