The Audi Q9 Wants To Make A Big Entrance. Automatic Doors, Seven Seats And A 1.5 Square Metre Glass Roof Say It Might

Audi has never built a car this big. The Q9 is the brand’s first full-size SUV, sitting above the Q7 and Q8 in a class currently occupied by the BMW X7, Mercedes-Benz GLS and Range Rover. The full reveal is scheduled for 29 July 2026, with sales expected to follow shortly after, but Audi has released a detailed look at the interior ahead of the world premiere. No engines, no pricing, no performance figures. Just the cabin. And for a car pitched as a mobile living space for families and business users, the cabin is where the argument will be won or lost.

Audi CEO Gernot Dollner framed the positioning clearly: “With the Q9, ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ is increasingly defined by the in-car experience. Cars have long been much more than just a means of transportation; they are mobile living spaces for our customers. Premium materials, variable seating with individual electric seats in the second row, and automatic doors underscore the commitment to quality in our new, large full-size SUV.”

The Doors Open Themselves

The most immediately noticeable feature is the one you encounter before you sit down. Every door on the Q9 is electrically operated. You can open them from the key fob, from the myAudi app on your phone, from the MMI touchscreen inside, from the brake pedal or from the seatbelt buckle release. All four doors open and close at the push of a button.

That sounds like a convenience feature, and it is, but the practical implications go further than that. The doors open to a wide angle, which makes getting in and out easier when you are carrying shopping bags, loading a child seat or manoeuvring a pushchair. More importantly, the doors are fitted with surround sensors and obstacle detection. If there is not enough room for the door to open fully, it stops. If a cyclist or another road user is approaching, the system detects them and holds the door in place.

In a country where car parks are getting tighter and dooring incidents with cyclists are a persistent urban hazard, a door that checks before it opens is a genuinely useful safety feature. It is also one that parents of young children will appreciate, because a child hitting the door release in a car park will no longer guarantee a dent in the car next door.

Six Seats Or Seven

The Q9 is available in six-seat and seven-seat configurations. The choice between them comes down to whether you prioritise comfort or capacity.

The six-seat layout replaces the rear bench with two individual seats in the second row. These are electrically adjustable and feature active ventilation through both the seat cushion and the backrest. Audi is pitching this configuration at business users and long-distance families who want second-row passengers to travel in conditions comparable to a business-class seat.

The seven-seat version uses a conventional three-seat bench in the second row. All three positions can accommodate child seats, which is a practical detail that will matter to parents with multiple young children. The standard specification includes partial power adjustment on all seats, and the third-row seatbacks fold electrically at the touch of a button for a quick switch between passenger space and boot capacity.

Access to the third row is a perennial weak point in full-size SUVs. Audi has not quoted specific dimensions for the third-row legroom or the entry aperture, but the combination of wide-opening electric doors and a sliding second row should make getting back there less of an ordeal than it is in some competitors.

A Sunroof That Replaces Its Own Blind

The panoramic glass roof measures approximately 1.5 square metres. It can be opened for a full open-air experience, but the more interesting technology is in the glass itself.

The roof uses laminated safety glass with nine individually controllable segments that can be switched from transparent to opaque at the touch of a button. You can darken the section above the front seats while leaving the rear section clear, or vice versa, or block out the entire roof. The glass is coated to reflect infrared light and blocks more than 99.5 per cent of UV radiation as standard.

There is no conventional roller blind. The switchable glass replaces it entirely. When the car is parked, the roof automatically turns fully opaque to prevent anyone looking in. When you start the car again, it restores whatever setting you had before you switched off.

On the top trim level, 84 LEDs embedded in the roof can illuminate it in one of 30 colours, synchronised with the cabin’s ambient lighting. It is not a feature anyone needs, but in a car at this price point, the ability to set the mood lighting in the roof is the kind of detail that separates a premium product from a mainstream one.

Sound You Can Feel

The Q9 introduces what Audi calls a 4D sound system, built around an updated Bang and Olufsen premium audio setup. The “4D” designation refers to actuators built into the front seats that vibrate in time with the music, adding a physical dimension to the listening experience. It is a technology that has appeared in other manufacturers’ flagship models and works well with bass-heavy music and film soundtracks.

The system also includes headrest speakers that allow individual passengers to take phone calls, hear navigation prompts or listen to their own audio without it bleeding into the rest of the cabin. That is a feature with genuine everyday value in a family car where one passenger is on a work call, another is watching a film and the driver wants to hear directions.

The interaction light, a continuous LED strip spanning the full width of the cabin, can synchronise with the music, matching its colour to the album art of whatever is playing. Combined with the ambient lighting in the doors, dashboard and centre console, the overall effect is a cabin that feels more like a lounge than a car interior.

Charging And Storage

Two wireless charging pads sit in the centre console, both compliant with the Qi2.2 standard, and USB-C ports deliver up to 100 watts of power. That is enough to fast-charge a laptop, not just a phone. The ability to charge two devices wirelessly and simultaneously is a welcome step up from the single wireless pad that most competitors still offer.

The boot features a new aluminium rail system integrated into the side walls. Sliding hooks and adjustable anchors allow you to secure cargo in three dimensions without losing floor space to fixed tie-down points. Every Q9 also comes with a roof rack designed for the standard roof rails included in the box. That is a small but telling detail. Competitors typically charge several hundred pounds for a roof rack as an accessory.

What We Do Not Know Yet

This is an interior preview only. Audi has released no information on engines, whether the Q9 will be available as a plug-in hybrid or mild hybrid, what gearbox options will be offered, how much it will weigh, how large the boot is with all seats in place, or what it will cost.

The competitive set gives some indication of where pricing is likely to land. The BMW X7 starts at around £82,000 in the UK. The Mercedes-Benz GLS starts at around £85,000. The Range Rover starts above £100,000. The Q9 will almost certainly sit somewhere in that range, but Audi has not confirmed anything.

The world premiere on 29 July 2026 will fill in the gaps. Until then, what Audi has shown is a cabin designed to compete directly with the best interiors in the full-size SUV class, with a particular focus on practical family features, passenger comfort and technology that goes beyond the usual touchscreen-and-leather formula.

Whether the Q9 can match the Range Rover’s road presence, the X7’s driving dynamics or the GLS’s refinement remains to be seen. But on the evidence of the interior alone, Audi’s first entry into this segment looks like it has been designed to take the fight to all three.