Like it or not autonomous cars are coming and there’s nothing we can do to stop them; they are autonomous, after all.

Personally, I think it will be great for those long, monotonous journeys across country, or the late-night runs home after a concert when you’re really starting to sag just a couple of miles from home, or even for taking the strain out of tackling stop-start urban traffic.

Some cars already display a degree of autonomy – adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance are just two of the ways that ours are being trusted to think and act independently – and I’ve just been treated to some rather clever tech in Audi’s Q7, the subject of this review.

Gallery1

The current Q7 is three years old but it remains an imposing sight. The front end – and probably quite a few rear view mirrors – is dominated by a huge grille.

The front headlamps, which are more typically understated in the design, are accentuated with cleverly styled running lights. The rear lights mirror the shape of those at the front, while the profile is reassuringly familiar. You could interpret that to mean a little uninspiring – it’s a profile that it shares with the smaller Q3 and Q5 after all – and that wouldn’t be too wide of the mark.

Climb inside and, to be honest, you’ll stop caring what the outside looks like. It’s understated luxury done properly. The brushed metal highlights, leather seats and steering wheel and suedette door linings combine in subtle ways to create an environment that just begs to be touched, prodded and stroked, although I draw the line at fondling.

Even the soft-touch plastics, where they’re used, are tactile and supple.

The cabin has been, as you have every right to expect in an Audi, beautifully put together. All that luxury would mean nothing if the necessary craftsmanship to screw it together properly was missing but once again the German marque has demonstrated excellent attention to detail.

The passenger space is a minimalist's dream made real. Analogue controls are few and far between and, those that do exist, are intelligently positioned to make them both easy to find and easy to operate. What Audi invariably does so well is strike the perfect balance between analogue and digital, with physical controls for the functions that need them, and everything else controlled using a capacitive touch pad.

The 8.3in screen that rises out of the top of the dashboard when you start the engine is controlled with that touch pad that’s no different in form or function to one you'd find on a laptop, so interactions feel natural and intuitive.

You can navigate through the on-screen functions as well as program the sat nav using handwriting recognition. It’s much quicker than scrolling through an onscreen keyboard and seemed to have no trouble reading my occasionally messy scrawl.

The cabin's real piece de resistance – at least from the driver's perspective – is the superb virtual cockpit. It replaces the usual dials and gauges with a full-width 12.3in TFT display and it is gorgeous.

In default mode it looks just like any other instrument binnacle – apart from the virtual bit of course – with the usual array of gauges and dials on show. However, Press and button on the steering wheel and that all changes.

The dials are minimised to make way for the sat nav display – my favourite use – or any other number of options. Coupled with the excellent colour head-up display it brings all the important information within the driver’s eyeline.

Other tech includes the adaptive cruise control that I hinted at earlier. Most systems use a combination of cameras and radar to match the speed of your car to the vehicle in front, some can even cope with stop-start traffic, taking a little of the angst out of dealing with congestion (yes, I'm looking at you, M25). Audi have gone one step further and their system uses the sat nav and GPS to adjust the speed according to your route, slowing the car down as you approach a bend, for example, and then accelerating out of it. You can also instruct it to set the cruise control to the current speed limit using traffic sign recognition. It's all very clever and, in my limited time with the car, worked flawlessly.

The leather seats (heated of course) are soft, sumptuous and supportive. They, and the steering wheel, have plenty of adjustment so finding the perfect driving position should be easy. Oh, and then there’s the wonderful view of the road that’s so typical of big SUVs.

There is lots and lots of space. Middle-row passengers are particularly spoiled with plenty of room for even the tallest people you're likely to carry. They also slide fore and aft individually.

Drawn the short straw and been forced to sit in the middle? Fear not. Unless you’re built like Schwarzenegger you shouldn't lack for shoulder room.

Then again, if you're built like Schwarzenegger you'll probably ride shotgun, won't you?

There’s a third row of seats that is easily deployed thanks to the assistance of electric motors. Press a button and they rise out of the boot floor. As with most occasional seats they are really best left to the children and not only because of their size, but because unless you’re an Olympic gymnast, getting to them might prove, at the very least, undignified.

There’s a full-length panoramic roof among the options – the front half of which opens – which floods the cabin with natural light, adding to the already impressive feeling of space.

Start the engine and you’ll notice that you can’t actually tell that you’ve started the engine. The 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel fitted to my test car really is as quiet as the proverbial mouse. Possibly quieter.

Pull away, effortlessly, and little changes. It’s only when you need to press on that the noise levels rise, and even then barely beyond a whisper. Refinement proves remarkable, whatever speed you’re travelling at and whatever the state of the road beneath your wheels. From the inside it really is impossible to believe that it’s an oil burner providing forward momentum.

There’s a choice of power outputs – either 215 or 268bhp – but even the least powerful unit, which was fitted to my test car, proved more than adequate to haul the two-tonne SUV around with little fuss.

There’s 368lb/ft of torque available from just 1,500rpm to drag the Q7 to 62mph in just 7.3 seconds but it’s the spread of all that grunt that makes it such a unbridled delight on long hauls. Merging with traffic at motorway speeds, or overtaking those annoying motorists travelling at just 68mph, is just breathtakingly effortless.

It’s ably assisted, of course, by the incredibly slick, intelligent and seamless eight-speed automatic box.

Air suspension – a £2,000 option that’s well worth the investment – meant that my test car rode on a carpet of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% other gases that gives the big SUV a forgiving compliance. There’s a degree of float, but not enough to turn you green at the gills.

Audi’s Drive Select is present and correct and allows you to choose from five different modes – Comfort, Dynamic, Auto, Individual and offroad – that allows you to tailor the driving experience to your mood and circumstances. Specify the adaptive air suspension and you get a sixth option – allroad – while the offroad mode becomes lift/offroad.

Unfortunately the steering, which is linear and precise, lacks the feel and weight to really encourage throwing the big SUV around which means that you’re better off sticking it in Comfort mode and just enjoying the quiet luxury and immaculate manners.

The Q7 isn’t the most rewarding drive but if that’s high on your list of priorities you’re shopping in the wrong segment. What is it is comfortable, practical and efficient. It’s also beautifully put together with a healthy dollop of leading edge technology.

It isn’t cheap, especially once you start ticking a few boxes on the options list but, in the Q7’s case, it really does feel as though you get what you pay for.

Audi Q7 3.0 TDI Quattro S line tiptronic

Price: £56,270

As tested: £73,955

Engine: 3.0-litre V6 diesel

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Power: 272PS

Max torque: 600Nm @ 1,500 – 3,000rpm

Max speed: 145mph

Acceleration (0-62mph): 6.5sec

Urban: 42.2mpg

Extra urban: 47.1mpg

Combined: 45.6mpg

Emissions (CO2): 163g/km

For more information visit www.audi.co.uk