Sure-footed and cack-handed
Report 3 Audi A7 £56,955 OTR/£73,875 as tested
Either I’m slowly going deaf, or the A7 has become noticeably quieter since I’ve done some hard miles in it. After receiving it with less than 75 miles on the clock, the suspension has settled, there appears to be less wind noise, and the engine has loosened up considerably – both in terms of cold-start chuntering and miles per gallon: we’re now talking about 40mpg in normal driving and 50mpg on a run.
That’s pretty good for such a big car. And there’s more good news, the A7 is one of those cars that happily eats miles without any fuss, and does so with a good deal of grace. The infotainment is excellent, and now runs CarPlay for Spotify and Waze traffic (my particular favourite apps), so I’m quite capable of making use of the car’s 650-mile range on a full tank. Proper progress maker.
Yes, I think it might well be just that little bit more absorbent with either 19- or 20-inch wheels – the ones you see here are 21s – but you have to admit they do look pretty good. The other thing is that you really do notice the extra security of quattro during our inclement weather.
We’ve had a little bit of snow and a fair amount of ice where I live in Lincolnshire. And pulling out of various uphill junctions, the A7 has stepped away lightly where I’ve seen several cars spin or struggle. It’s a small thing, but this is on summer rubber, and it gives you a good deal of confidence. Quattro on winter rubber seems like it might make for a decent combination.
And yet, I’ve managed to screw up, showing off the A7’s tech. Basically,
I was demonstrating the car’s 3D and top-down camera views, and didn’t quite clock that the ‘block paving’ I thought I was next to was, in fact, a six-inch high row of bricks. I turned too sharply, missed the alloy and scraped the plastic side skirt in no uncertain fashion. All of zero-point-five milesper-hour, but I didn’t stop blushing for about two days. Sometimes you just can’t get the help…