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I Sat In The New Audi Q9—It Raises The Bar For Audi Interiors

Audi showed off the new flagship Q9 SUV and its lovely interior, complete with captain’s chairs, automatic doors, and an advanced panoramic roof.

2027 Audi Q9 Interior

Photo by: Audi

Jeff Glucker

By: Jeff Glucker

May 11, at 6:01pm ET

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Audi enters a new era with a fresh flagship: the 2027 Q9 SUV. You’ll need to wait a bit longer to learn all the details on this full-size luxury family hauler. For now, though, we’ve got the lowdown on the interior, and it’s fair to say that Audi nailed the upscale vibe on this cabin space.

Much of it comes down to the footprint. When you jump to a larger vehicle, your canvas grows. Audi takes full advantage of this opportunity by applying rich textures, lots of color, and top-tier tech throughout. Even on its most basic level, the Q9 interior is anything but.

2027 Audi Q9 Interior

2027 Audi Q9 Prototype

Photo by: Audi

Three Rows Of Excellence

Audi offers the Q9 with a choice between a six or seven-passenger layout. While the second-row bench works just fine, the Q9 looks most upscale when spec’d with sport plus captain’s chairs in the middle. These are proper thrones, with active ventilation, full electric adjustment, and easy ingress and egress.

Paired with the available cabin illumination, the overall effect delivers a premium experience without feeling overwhelming. One particularly nice touch is Audi’s decision to hide its speakers rather than show them off. In the past, the automaker was proud to highlight its Bang & Olufsen setup via dramatically rising tweeters. Now? The sound stage is well hidden but also quite well done.

2027 Audi Q9 Interior

Photos by: Audi

The new setup arrives courtesy of 22 speakers and north of 1,300 watts of power. That’s with the base audio system. Step to the 4D premium system, and you add in transducers in the seats which complement the bassier sections of your music. You can also have the ambient lighting system mimic the hues found in the cover art of the current track.

Another good note is the clear lack of piano-black plastic. Audi was an early adopter of that trend, and I’m happy to report the automaker is moving away from it—at least here on the Q9. There are more natural-looking woods, textured fabrics, and other materials that look and feel far more premium compared to Audi cabins of old.

Open And Shut Automatically

Stepping out of the old and into the modern day, this Q9 is the first Audi to offer automatic doors. You can open them with the key, a light tug on the door handle, or via the myAudi app. Step inside, and the doors can be closed with a press of the brake pedal, by buckling your seat, or pressing the button on the inner portion of the door.

Sensors in the door detect obstacles, including pedestrians and cyclists. It’s all a neat party trick that’s simultaneously a gimmick and quite nice.

2027 Audi Q9 Interior

Photos by: Audi

2027 Audi Q9 Interior

Photos by: Audi

That same notion applies to the massive panoramic sunroof. The expansive glass comes standard on all Q9 trims. There are, however, options to dress it up a bit further. You can spec the overhead bit to allow you to adjust individual panels between transparent and opaque. It’s the same tech we’ve seen on the Porsche Taycan, and it works just as well here.

Audi allows you to go a step further, as you can also option the roof with ambient-adjustable illumination. There are 84 LEDs, and you can choose between 30 colors or set it to adjust to the different drive modes.

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When the car is parked, the roof automatically goes full opaque so the cabin doesn’t bake in the sun. Plus, the glass is coated and blocks more than 99.5 percent of UV radiation.

2027 Audi Q9 Interior

Source: Audi

Motor1's Take: The interior of the 2027 Audi Q9 is impressive, as you’d expect from a fresh flagship machine. But there’s so much more to talk about with this full-size luxury family hauler. You’ll just have to wait a bit longer for the rest of the details.

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