So what if we're
barely in to 2011?
Checkered
Flag Audi is officially bringing 2012 in with
style!
The all-new 2012 Audi A7 has officially
arrived at our premier
Hampton
Roads Audi dealer, Checkered Flag Audi. This
beautiful beast is already earning praise from the automotive community
even though there are just a few available, so far, here in the
U.S. Check out the review of the A7 from Car and Driver then,
call
Checkered
Flag Audi at (757)490-1111 to schedule your 2012 A7 test
drive. Of course, you may also want to stop by our
Audi
on Virginia Beach Blvd this weekend and take a sneak peek
before it goes!
Review source: [
CarandDriver.com]
When automakers begin development on a new
model, there are typically three or more competing design proposals,
one of which is then chosen to make it into metal. This standard
operating procedure was discarded with the Audi A7 Sportback, says Audi
boss Rupert Stadler: "Everything was right in the first place." Indeed,
this large hatchback could be the most beautiful of all Audis. Long,
wide, and low, it's styled with smooth and supremely clean lines. The
front end is better proportioned than the latest A8's and seems cool and
almost stoic-especially with the optional LED headlights. The side view
recalls the most handsome (if not the most reliable) of 1970s
hatchbacks, such as the Rover SD-1 and Citroën CX; the rear end is cut
off sharply, like an Italian supercar of that same era. This car is free
of the gimmicks you'll find on many others in this class, and we
haven't talked to anyone who doesn't admire its
looks.
Now that we've established that the A7 is
beautiful, we'll note that the car really is little more than a
dressed-up, next-generation A6. It uses Audi's modular longitudinal
architecture; a good 20 percent of the A7's body is made from aluminum,
which is more heavily relied on in the more expensive
Audi
A8, but most of the A7 is made from less costly
steel.
Our experience behind the wheel of the A7
bodes well for the next A6. The chassis glides over uneven roads with
far more grace than before; this is a very comfortable car, with none of
the harshness and forced sportiness that characterizes many other Audi
models. The 114.7-inch wheelbase, up almost three inches over the
previous A6's, definitely helps in keeping body motions controlled and
the cabin serene. But whereas the A7 can be considered a big car, at
least in Europe, it doesn't mind being pushed through the corners. This
is especially true for those versions equipped with the Quattro
all-wheel-drive system, which feeds 60 percent of torque to the rear
wheels as a default; as much as 70 percent can be shunted to the front
and 85 percent to the rear. All U.S.-bound A7s will have
Quattro.
Even without the optional sport
differential, the A7 is agile when pushed. It stays neutral up to insane
cornering speeds and never discourages you from playing. Audi's
wheel-selective torque vectoring is so well programmed that the
stability control has one of the lightest workloads of any of the
systems in this car. Besides the 3.0 TFSI Quattro-the U.S.-bound
configuration-we drove a front-wheel-drive 3.0-liter TDI. It is also
predictable in its handling and fairly agile but ultimately tends toward
understeer and is less quick to recover speed when exiting
corners.
The 300-hp 3.0 TFSI is the same engine found
in the current A6 and S4-it makes 310 hp in the former, 333 in the
latter-and it remains great in the A7. Despite its misleading "TFSI"
moniker, this V-6 is supercharged with a Roots-type blower. It's smooth
and responsive and delivers excellent performance, or so says Audi. The
company claims an A7 thus equipped can achieve 62 mph in 5.6 seconds-we
estimate that to be about right-and the top speed is governed at the
customary 155 mph. In Europe, the 3.0 mates to a seven-speed wet
dual-clutch gearbox, but we'll get the same ZF-supplied eight-speed
automatic found in the A8. The seven-speeder executes quick shifts, but
the exhaust sound is subdued; this is clearly a luxury car with
sportiness playing second fiddle-although it is, as noted, plenty
capable.
The most popular engine in Europe likely
will be the 245-hp, 3.0-liter V-6 TDI Quattro (it's the same engine as
in the front-wheel-drive version we sampled, but it made a weaker 204 hp
there). There also is an entry-level gasoline engine that is a
naturally aspirated 204-hp, 2.8-liter V-6. The best engine is yet to
come: a 4.0-liter turbocharged V-8 that will be available in the
upcoming S7 and mated to the seven-speed dual-clutch S tronic gearbox.
The S7 will arrive after the S8 sometime late in 2011, and it just might
be worth waiting for. Of course, if you need a sportier look right now,
Audi is happy to oblige with an S line package that adds boxier front
air intakes, although we found them disrupting to the front-end
aesthetics.
Opulence and
Simplicity
Inside, the A7 simultaneously oozes
opulence and simplicity. The high center console creates a sporty,
cockpit-like feeling; the instruments are clear and crisp; and the
materials are, as usual for Audi, stunning. The aluminum and wood trim
options could be considered an industry benchmark, with the layered oak
being the most luxurious variation.
Complementing the A6-based mechanicals are
lots of gadgets that first appeared in the flagship A8, including the
touch pad that can detect fingertip handwriting and a feature whereby
our test car constantly updated its navigation system with Google Maps
data (we'd be interested in checking out the cellular data bill after
the multiwave, two-week press launch). The A7's head-up system is crisp
and clear, and there is a full set of nanny and assistance systems,
including radar sensors to detect slow or stopped vehicles ahead,
blind-spot monitoring, active cruise control that can operate to and
from a complete stop, and lane-keeping assist. The data fed into the
latter helps in the event the car begins to slide by increasing or
decreasing the power steering assist. We like the
speed-limit-recognition technology, which displays road signs in the IP
as you pass them-handy if you're driving in unfamiliar locales-but we're
unsure if it will make it to U.S. models.
End of
review.
