With seven seats, four wheel drive, air-suspension and a smooth 4.2-litre V8 snarling away under the bonnet, the Audi Q7 has the capacity to cater for almost any motoring eventuality. There are elements of MPV, 4x4 and luxury saloon in the car's make-up but the question is whether it's ultimately too compromised in each of these specialised roles to be the ideal all-rounder for well-off families. We aimed to find out.

The Q7 just won't sit easily with some motorists - mainly those who aren't in it. It's a car with towering road presence courtesy of its generous dimensions and a domineering front end that rises out of the traffic like the bow of a battleship to the pedalos and leaky rowing boats the rest of us drive. It's a car that makes other road users feel small and some people won't like it because of that. The time we've spent with a black S-line specification Q7 has confirmed that it's a vehicle for those that like to be the centre of attention. Ranging from bewilderment and disgust to unbridled admiration, the full gambit of reactions are provoked in passers by, no matter who's at the wheel or how they're driving.

If drivers of other vehicles can feel a little daunted in the presence of a Q7, you won't be surprised to learn that this five-metre long, 2,300kg vehicle also has the capacity to unsettle its driver on occasion with its sheer bulk. You really feel like you're at the wheel of something substantial with that expanse of bonnet bulging out in front of you and your third row passengers distant specks in the rear view mirror. Audi have sensibly gone the whole hog with the parking and manoeuvring aids, our model featuring parking sensors front and rear, plus a reversing camera that gives a clear view of what's behind you in glorious Technicolor on the central display screen. A vehicle of the Q7's size is always going to be a tricky one to park and thread through traffic but the proximity warning systems do their job well and on the open road, you soon forget you're piloting something quite so large.

"The V8 engine has some serious punch"

The big Audi is an assured handler out on the road, very composed and comfortable on the motorway and able to hurry along a winding B-road quite nicely with the air-suspension turned to its Dynamic setting. In this mode, the Q7's ride stiffens up so corners are taken flatter with less roll and the steering takes on more weight to inspire greater confidence. The brakes perform adequately but you are reminded when you order up a sharp deceleration of just what kind of physics must be involved in the undertaking of stopping the Q7.

The V8 engine has some serious punch and can perform the feat of launching the Q7 from standstill to 60mph in a hot hatchback worrying seven seconds. Drive with such a leaden boot however and you'll soon pay the penalty in unleaded fuel with the Q7 capable of unleashing a frightening thirst. Having said that, even with your last trip to the filling station fresh in your mind, it's hard to resist giving the throttle a good prod and feeling the 350bhp doing its thing.

Our test has largely been restricted to on-road driving just as the majority of Q7 owners will undoubtedly shy away from putting their £50,000 vehicle down a rock-strewn track or through a swamp but a few minor detours off the beaten track have revealed it to be a safe bet for mild off-road conditions. Torque is split 40:60 between the front and rear wheels via a Torsen centre differential. If slip is detected by the ESP stability control system, power can then be diverted with as much as 65% channelled to the front or 85% to the rear. The adaptive air suspension system can be jacked-up to offer different degrees of ground clearance. 'Offroad' mode is 35mm higher than standard and 'Lift' mode is 25mm higher than that, giving a total clearance of 240mm. There's even hill descent assist and a trailer stabilisation system for owners looking to tow.

Buy a Q7 and it'll only be a matter of time before some eco-warrior tears you off a strip for the hefty 4x4 mechanicals you never use and the V8 engine that you use far too much, causing unwanted strife to the environment on both counts. The best angle of attack to scupper their whingeing is your vehicle's seven-seat capacity. Yes, the Q7 does produce a lot of CO2 compared to a family hatchback but you'd need two of them to carry the same number of people and what about two-seater sports cars with big fuel-hungry engines? Surely these are more malevolent enemies of the planet? It definitely won't wash if you and the gaggle of shopping bags in the back seat are the sole occupants of your Q7 at the time but by the time you've laid out your argument, they'll probably have lost interest anyway.

Audi claims 28 seating and loading configurations are available in this car and the seats in the second row are adjustable for fore/aft movement. This allows Audi to not only lay claim to the most generous second row legroom in the class but also - with the second row slid forward and the rear folded - to also pinch first prize for luggage capacity, a huge 775 litres. The space in side is very versatile and the rearmost seats fold down flat in one movement, the headrests flipping down automatically to make this possible. One gripe is that legroom in the very back is tight unless you have the middle row seats quite a long way forward and then the motors for the power-adjustable front seats mean that middle row occupants can't get their feet underneath them, making seven-up journeys a little uncomfortable if all passengers are adult-sized. Naturally, this being an Audi, the quality of the construction and design in the cabin is first class and the control interface is wonderfully easy to use with even the more complex functions readily accessible.

Can the Audi Q7 adequately fill the role of MPV, 4x4 and luxury saloon? After an extended period at the wheel, I would say it can. There are obviously drawbacks in that a large MPV would be more easily manoeuvrable and spacious for adult passengers and a luxury saloon would offer greater refinement but there are advantages in the Q7's imposing looks, its versatility and the way it comes close to combining the best features of these very different vehicles. We're impressed.