Some vehicles fill a driveway. This one fills a room, even when the room is a patch of red murram road under a cloudy Nairobi sky.

The first thing you notice is the colour. A warm metallic champagne bronze that cannot decide whether it is sand, gold or taupe, so it shifts with every change of light. Against that finish, the Q7 looks like it was cut from a single block. The huge octagonal Singleframe grille stands tall with its chrome bars, the quattro badge sits beneath the four rings, and slim LED headlights sweep back with a crisp, glowing signature. Along the front wing sits the S line badge, and below it the five arm alloys in gloss black and polished metal fill the arches. Look closely at the tyres and you will see the numbers: 285/40 on 21 inch wheels. That is the size of wheel that makes a car look like it means business. Silver side steps and sharp body creases finish a profile that looks muscular without ever shouting.

Now open the door and let the evening go quiet. Black leather seats with fine pale stitching wrap you in a cabin that is all horizontal lines, from the wide strip of vents across the dashboard to the brushed aluminium trim that runs the full width. Ahead of you sits the Audi virtual cockpit, a fully digital instrument display that replaces the dials with sharp, configurable graphics. The flat bottom S line steering wheel has perforated leather grips and a chrome trimmed base, the pedals are brushed metal, and the gear selector sits in a sculpted centre console with the controller, cup holders and drive select buttons arranged exactly where your hand lands. Press the start button and the central display rises smoothly out of the dashboard like it has an appointment to keep. Overhead, the panoramic sunroof lets the sky into the whole cabin, and at the front of the glass a dashcam is already fitted.

This is the Q7, which means the space is the real story. It is a full size Audi SUV, and the cabin is wide, long and calm, built for families, clients and long journeys in equal measure. The seats are wide and supportive, the centre armrest is generous, and the ride has the soft, composed quality that Audi does so well. Take it on the highway and it settles into a quiet, unbothered cruise. Take it through the city and the elevated seating position lets you see over the traffic like a captain over a crowded deck.

Under the bonnet is the 2.0 litre turbocharged petrol engine, paired with an automatic gearbox and quattro all wheel drive. The turbo gives it a smooth, eager surge when you want to overtake, and quattro puts the power down cleanly through wet roads, murram and upcountry tracks. It is refined and quick without being thirsty in the way larger engines can be, which makes this Q7 a sensible luxury choice as well as a beautiful one.

And the number that makes buyers lean in: 47,000 kms. For a 2019 flagship SUV, that is a car in its prime, with the leather, the cabin and the paint all supporting the story of a vehicle that has been well looked after.

This is the SUV for the executive who wants to arrive in the most understated way possible. The family that needs space, comfort and a badge that holds its value. The entrepreneur who knows presence is part of the business. And the careful buyer who wants German engineering without the risks that come with high mileage.

A champagne S line Q7 with low mileage does not sit on the lot for long. Book a viewing, sit behind that flat bottom wheel, open the sunroof and take it for a drive. Fair warning, once you have driven a Q7 with this much character, the plain grey SUVs in the car park will start to look like they are hiding something.