Unbeatable on-road presence; super interior; efficient turbo-diesel; sharp price
Do you need to seat three in the rear?
For Car Showroom it was love at first sight when the Audi A7 Sportback first appeared. A four-door coupe with Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive dynamics and stunning luxury interior certainly raised our heartbeats.
For the German brand, the A7 Sportback was a natural addition to this growing market niche. On the one hand Audi has the A5 Sportback and Coupe, but the A7 steps-up the ranks to tackle the likes of Mercedes-Benz CLS.
Audi A7 Sportback Overview
Audi offers the A7 Sportback in two versions – the 220kW/440Nm supercharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol ($147,800) or – as tested by Car Showroom – the 180kW/500Nm 3.0-litre turbo-diesel ($142,750). Both drive through seven-speed transmissions and Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system.
The Audi A7 Sportback is a four-door coupe with massive interior space and abundant luxury for four people. Like the ‘Benz CLS, the Audi A7 makes a styling statement, but is also big on practicality with massive luggage space for a weekend getaway.
And at those prices it’s somewhat of a bargain.
Audi A7 Sportback Engine
Audi has a couple of versions of its 3.0-litre, V6 turbo-diesel engine, but the 180kW/500Nm version is exclusive to the A7 Sportback and A6 sedan.
It’s a common-rail direct injection design with four valves per cylinder. Maximum power of 180kW is delivered at 3800 – 4400rpm and peak torque of 500Nm is available between 1500rpm and 3250rpm.
Drive is via Audi’s seven-speed S tronic transmission and Quattro all-wheel-drive system.
The Audi A7 Sportback accelerates from zero to 100km/h in 6.5 seconds, returns fuel economy of 6.5l/100kms and exhaust C02 emissions are rated at 158g/km.
A couple of comparisons: for BMW’s 530d version of the 5 Series GT, you can chalk-up 180kW/520Nm, but the Mercedes-Benz CLS 350 CDI wins this German muscle contest with 195kW/620Nm.
Audi A7 Sportback The Interior
As you would expect, Audi’s superb interior design, quality materials and craftsmanship are on display in the A7 Sportback. Trimmed in Milano or Valcona leather with a choice of aluminium, walnut or fine grain ash highlights, the Audi A7 delivers the kind of feel those spending north of $140K look for.
You might think rear seat space would be restricted with the Audi A7’s sloping roof, but unless you’re a giant, this is not the case – in fact the two individual seats provide real luxury. The rear hatch has electronic operation and luggage space is massive – 535-litres with the rear seats in place or 1,390-litres when folded.
Up front, the driver is naturally well catered-for (hey this is an Audi – they don’t do anything less!) with rake/reach adjustment for the superb three-spoke sports steering wheel and no less than 20-way electronic and pneumatic adjustments for the seat. We loved Audi’s fold-away 6.5-inch colour monitor for navigation and the 14-speaker Bose audio system (upgraded Bang & Olufsen is optional).
And of course, the usual exemplary Audi instruments are gloriously presented in a conventional layout (head-up display is on the options list). There’s seemingly endless technology to make life easier including park assist and adaptive cruise control.
Audi A7 Sportback Exterior & Styling
As styling jobs go, the Audi A7 drew gasps when it debuted as a concept at the Detroit Motor Show and the production version is just as spectacular. It’s large (4.97-metres long) and those swoops and curves deliver a standout on-road presence as well as aerodynamic efficiency (drag CD 0.28).
Aluminium is used extensively – 20 per cent of the body, including the bonnet, doors and rear hatch, plus numerous non-visible areas - and this keeps the weight down. Our Audi A7 3.0 TDI tipped the scales at only 1695kgs and that includes the massive glass sunroof.
At the front, the hallmark Audi grille, xenon plus headlights and LED DRLs deliver a purposeful/athletic look and the incorporation of the sloping roof and rear hatch are superbly executed. The rear hatch spoiler can operate manually or deploys automatically at speeds above 130km/h (retracts when you slow to 80km/h).
Standard wheels are 18-inch alloys, but you can bling-up with optional 19s or 20s.
Audi A7 Sportback On The Road
The Audi A7 Sportback runs five-link front suspension, a trapezoidal link rear and Audi’s latest electromechanical power steering (doesn’t draw power when straight ahead, saving around 0.3l/100kms in fuel consumption). It’s big however (4.97-metres long) and we thought it might test the Audi chassis dynamics.
Nope – this thing was brilliant. Audi’s 180kW/500Nm turbo-diesel is predictably perfectly matched to the seven-speed S tronic transmission and qauttro all-wheel-drive system, the shift paddles are perfectly placed for instant cog swaps and the ESP calibration is spot-on for enthusiast drivers.
Typically Audi, the A7 Sportback’s chassis balance was superb with precise turn-in and great mid-turn stability. And if that’s not enough, there is an optional sports suspension package.
Around town, the low front spoiler and 11.9-metres turning circle required some attention in our tight city car park, but the standard reversing camera eased visibility issues (rear three-quarter is a tad restricted because of the coupe roofline, thick C-pillar base).
Our only criticism of the Audi A7 Sportback was steering feel over our high-speed mountain loop. Sure the new electromechanical system, like others from Europe, is brilliant, fuel-saving technology – but, again like the others, it feels just a tad vague at straight ahead and, when rapidly changing direction, the transition is sometimes clumsy.
Audi A7 Sportback Challenges
Apart from that minor steering feel anomaly, you cannot fault the Audi A7 Sportback – you can tick style, performance, appointments, even value-for-money.
So let’s just say it should have an optional three-seater for the second row and leave it at that.
Audi A7 Sportback Verdict
We drive lots of new cars at Car Showroom so it takes something really special to halt us in our tracks for an extra gaze before we climb inside. The Audi A7 Sportback did that every day.
And when you do climb aboard, the massive interior space and usual Audi luxury combine to deliver a very desirable five-door coupe. How often you have three people in the rear seat is a question to consider - but the two rear-seat passengers in the Audi A7 Sportback are accommodated in five-star style.
We would love to have driven the supercharged V6 petrol model, but certainly the turbo-diesel we tested was fast, refined and delightful in the twisty stuff.
The Audi A7 Sportback will be one of the most desirable cars we drive in 2011.
Audi A7 Sportback The Competition
An eclectic mix in this league.
If you don’t love the looks of the latest Mercedes-Benz CLS, you should get your eyes checked. However the CLS350 CDI requires a ramp-up in the dollars department to $159,200 ($142,750 for the Audi A7 Sportback 3.0TDI).
BMW 5 Series GT is also a direct rival for the Audi A7 Sportback - the 530d is only $1350 more and virtually the same in performance. Styling preference is up to you.
You should also consider the Jaguar XF – the 3.0d Portfolio model is a couple of grand cheaper than the Audi A7 Sportback at $138,638 and its V6 twin-turbo-diesel packs a 202kW/600Nm punch (to the Audi’s 180kW/500Nm). Sure the Jag’s styling is not in the emotive league as the A7 but it’s nicely equipped, beautifully built and nice to drive.
