Mission-Statement

What we like:

Beautifully-penned bodywork. Comfortable ride quality. Great interior.

What we dislike:

Lack of standard Dynamic all-wheel steering makes it a little difficult to maneuver up tight carpark ramps. Infotainment touchscreen a fingerprint magnet.

Audi’s stylish sister car to the A6 executive sedan, the A7 is now available in Singapore with a more palatable 2.0 litre engine. While the super-smooth 3.0 V6 variant won our hearts, with how it delivered its drive, especially with 500Nm available with a squeeze the right foot, the 2.0 litre variant however, would be the more popular of the two available here; since the average Singaporean buyer would be attracted to the lower road tax they’d have to shell out each year, and its lower retail price.

While the 2.0 A7 does have one bank, and two cylinders less than the 3.0 in-front, you cannot deny that styling-wise it does cut a striking silhouette. We love how subtle-yet-precise lines, pressed on the A7’s side sheet metal gives it character. Like the flagship A8 sedan, the A7 receives a light strip across its rear, and some fancy animated illumination magic to go with it.

Our test car was fitted with 19” 5-spoke alloy wheels, and you can opt to go up to 21” for a premium of $8,113.

One of the best things from an Audi is its interior. The A7’s dash, which is identical to that of the A6, utilises stacked dual MMI Touch Response infotainment glass screens, which consists of a larger 10.1” unit, and a lower 8.6” one. The glass panels which are spring-loaded, allows them to dip to the width of a human hair, for a better tactile feel, and you also do get haptic feedback, giving you an impression that you are pressing an actual button. While the SatNav does support you scribbling your desired address down with your finger, it does leave you with a nasty trail of prints.

Dash decor elements, which adorn the sill below the air-conditioning vents, and on the door cards, are in standard Aluminium Fragment trim, which to me, is best left unchanged. You can however opt for open pore wood inserts, or an alternative Brushed Aluminium finish.

The A7’s interior is spacious enough to accommodate four adults in comfort. Legroom for the rear passengers is more than ample, thanks to its long 2,926mm wheelbase. The only gripe, which is constant with most four-doored coupes, is the sloping roof line, which does impede entry at the rear for taller passengers.

Unlike the Mercedes-Benz CLS which features a sedan-like boot opening, Audi has gone with a liftback style lid, which makes loading and unloading an easier task, though you would need to look out for those lower ceilings. With 525 litres available, and a long passageway, the A7 will have little difficulty in holding your set of golf clubs. Its cargo carrying capacity can be expanded to 1,390 litres by dropping its 40:20:40 rear seats, while its rigid boot boards can be stowed neatly away under the boot floor, providing you with estate car-rivaling versatility.

The 2.0 turbocharged engine, with 241bhp and 370Nm on-tap does a respectable job of propelling the A7. Married to a 7-speed S tronic transmission, and with Audi’s signature quattro all-wheel drive, the smaller-engined A7 clocks 100km/h in 6.2 seconds. Although you do get maximum torque slightly further up the rev counter, versus the 3.0, we like how relaxed the A7 feels as it propels itself quite effortlessly.

While it does sit on smaller 19” rims with 245/45 tyres, the added sidewall, versus the 20” units found on the 3.0, they do provide a more comfortable driving experience.

Cruising at highway speeds, the A7 delivers a quiet ride. Its adaptive suspension, left to its own devices on ‘Auto’ does a good job in switching modes, in accordance to your driving style. It does however also adjust itself in relation to road conditions, meaning that you may get occasional unwarranted firmness, when you really do not need it.

Even without the sports suspension, the mild A7 does a good job of slicing and dicing into corners. While it is not as razor-sharp as some cars out there with tighter suspensions (then again, it is built for a more relaxing drive), it does the job well, albeit with quite a neutral but balanced feel.

Our test car was not equipped with Dynamic all-wheel steering, a $9,338 option, which we feel is well-worth the money, given its long wheelbase, which also improves on the comfort the A7 delivers when switching lanes.

The A7 has two main competing models, the strikingly pretty Mercedes-Benz CLS, which is the most sedan-like among the competition, and the BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo, which is a… LiftbackFastbackCrossoverCoupe kind-of-thing.

Beautifully detailed, and drives well too. The Audi A7 is a pretty way to get there in style; that is if you are willing to shell out more than what you would be prepared for an A6 executive sedan.

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Credits: Words and Photos by Clifford Chow