Q: Is there anywhere you can get best advice on driving an auto Q7 2015 through a flood. General advice seems to be to slip the clutch, gun the engine and proceed slowly in first gear. All good advice but how do you do this in an auto. As an aside, what happens if you get some water in exhaust - does it break the cat? reach the engine?. And finally how high is the air intake in the engine off the ground, are there settings to give you the highest suspension possible.

 

I do not recommend driving in water any deeper than the bottom of the floor pans on the vehicle (car or truck). It really doesn't take much more to "float" the car and the tires lose contact with the ground. As far as water getting into the exhaust, it won't as long as the engine is running. The exhaust pressure will prevent water from entering. The intake for the air box is mounted around the top of the radiator but it is NOT water tight and not designed as a snorkel of sorts. It's more setup to be pulling in cooler air in front of the car. Water WILL get in if the water is above the air box regardless and hydraulic the engine. I wouldn't risk it. Cars and SUVs do not make good boats unless specifically designed or modified to do so.