Audi A7 Sportback
SECOND REPORT Four-wheel steering gives exec handling boost
IN my first report (Issue 1,529), where I picked up our Audi A7 Sportback from the dealer, I remarked on how much tech was crammed into the beautifully trimmed cabin. This is the way modern cars are going, with more connectivity and gadgetry – but they’re still cars first and foremost and, for now, still driven by humans. So, bearing that in mind, what’s the A7 like from behind the wheel?
This is a car that majors on comfort and refinement. Many long trips over the past few months have brought this home to me, especially the refinement.
Sounds from outside like wind and tyre noise are well attenuated due to the acoustic glazing. So well, in fact, that the whistle from the turbo is audible in the cabin, even on a whiff of throttle. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I don’t mind this, nor the faint bassy rumble from the V6, as it connects you to the powertrain.
Comfort is mostly great as well. Air suspension (£2,000) controls the 20-inch alloys (£150), but hit a pothole and you still know those wheels are big.
It more than occasionally struggles to deal with badly surfaced B-roads, with drain covers sending vibrations through the body. At least on the motorway the A7 floats along serenely; especially on the slate-smooth surfaces on the Continent, as I experienced having travelled to both France and Belgium recently.
This comfort should be a given in an executive car like this, but the surprise is that despite the Audi’s 1,800kg claimed kerbweight (with all the options on our car it’ll be well over 2,000kg, I reckon) there’s an acceptable level of composure when you start to push the pace.
The four-wheel steering (£1,900) helps manoeuvring by virtually shortening the car’s wheelbase; it’s the same principle in tight turns and on roundabouts, and with a little lock from the rear to help tuck the A7’s nose in, it gives a nicely positive sensation once you’re used to the speed of the steering and how the system works. There’s still very little road feel, though.
Yet I very rarely drive the car in Dynamic mode, because although the body control is tauter and the steering response that little bit sharper, those nasty sensations from the ride are even more noticeable. Instead, I’m quite happy to put up with the looser damping and a bit of roll.
It’s no sports saloon, then, but the Audi acquits itself really rather well. And while that grunty motor and quattro traction performance are good, I’m still yet to be fully convinced by the eight-speed automatic gearbox.
THE Volkswagen Arteon is a good-looking car that attracts either quiet approval from those who know what it is, or bewildered fascination from those who don’t. Despite bearing a distant resemblance to the CC that unofficially preceded it, the Arteon is a much more dramatic, far more successful design than just about any other previous big VW.
There are several reasons why. One, its proportions are almost perfectly in balance from front to rear, which is unusual for such a big car. Two, the line from bonnet to tail is entirely unbroken as it swoops rearwards, which makes the car look like a classically dynamic coupé, rather than a traditional five or four-door. Three, its wheels sit quite beautifully within the wheelarches, and the design is, I believe, kind of breathtaking.
The wheels are 19 inches in diameter, but somehow look bigger. What’s more, they don’t seem to pick up road grime or brake dust like other big alloys; and even when they do get dirt on them, they are extraordinarily easy to clean, with no nooks or crannies that can’t be reached. As a result, I quite often find myself giving them a quick rub down with a cloth to ensure they look pristine.
I know this is sad, but unless you get down and dirty with your car once in a while, you’re never going to bond with it fully. I still enjoy driving it, too, most of the time. I used the head-up display recently, but found it too intrusive. Otherwise the VW continues to be a brilliant long-distance car, even if it’s not one that encourages you to go for a cross-country thrash on a Sunday morning. It’s best to clean it instead...