2016 Audi A7 Reviews and Ratings

The Audi A7 is a premium full-size performance sports sedan with coupe styling and a luxury feel. Its exterior is stylish and its interior is practical. Audi’s legendary Quattro all-wheel drive is standard. A7 seats four.

The 2016 Audi A7 tops its class on fuel mileage with the available turbocharged diesel engine: The A7 TDI rates and EPA-estimated 24/38 mpg City/Highway, for 29 mpg Combined.

The base engine is a supercharged 3.0-liter V6, and it’s very quick. For 2016 its horsepower has been increased to 333 hp from 310, yet the EPA fuel mileage rating stays the same, at 20/30 mpg City/Highway, or 24 mpg Combined.

Both engines are smooth as well as powerful, their fuel mileage assisted by an 8-speed automatic transmission, which keeps the rpm at a steady level, with a tall final drive keeping the rpm lower at 70 mph on the freeway.

For 2016, Audi A7 gets new LED headlamps, along with tweaks to the bumpers and aerodynamic touches. Inside, the shape of the switchgear is slightly changed for 2016, and the Multi Media Interface (MMI) can be enhanced with a head-up display. New available materials include Valcona leather and Beaufort walnut trim, also a black-out trim.

Safety-wise, the adaptive cruise control is now able to bring the car to a complete stop and resume, a feature that might be used in stop-and-go freeway traffic jams. However, people behind you will be impatient and may be upset because these systems don’t do bumper to bumper as well as human drivers can.

The night vision system is improved, as is the system that senses a crash. On the outside, a new mesh insert on the rear bumper is available, and there are tweaked exhaust tips with certain trim levels.

The upscale Prestige model is more handsome to some, with black honeycomb replacing chrome at the front, diffusers and oval tailpipes added to the rear, and aluminum and carbon interior trim.

If the A7 isn’t sporty enough for you, Audi offers the S7 and RS7, with more performance and less fuel mileage, at 20 and 19 mpg Combined, respectively. These models are distinctive, with rear spoilers, painted brake calipers and other touches that say high performance. But they’re all about the powertrain, a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine mated to an S Tronic dual clutch 7-speed transmission. The S7 makes 450 horsepower, and the RS7 a breathtaking 560 hp. The exhaust note is magnificent.

The 2016 Audi A7 Premium Plus ($68,300) includes leather upholstery, three-zone automatic climate control, heated 12-way adjustable power seats with four-way lumbar support. Audi A7 Prestige ($70,500) upgrades to four-zone automatic climate control, ventilated front seats and other features.

The Audi A7 grille, front fascia, and headlamps have been sharpened for 2016, and the LED turn signals are way cool, as a row of white lights flash in sequence. Another thing: Audi has made Daytime Running Lights a thing of beauty. It’s art on the highways, instead of an ugly glare in your face.

The A7 resembles the A6, except for the grace of the roofline that makes it look like a two-door coupe instead of the four-door sedan that it is. The fastback slope down to the rear bumper is sleek, although the glass hatch cuts into cargo space, a tradeoff most A7 buyers will not care about.

The A7 interior is classy all the way, calm, cool and collected. Its style comes from the flagship A8. Elegant lines and materials abound, with lines that lines pass over and under the dash from different directions, yet the layout somehow remains centered on function. Despite the blends of materials and shapes, there’s not a hint of chaos.

Overall, the cabin feels spacious and open, especially with the available panoramic roof. When you add the A7’s high technology, the cabin emerges as exceptional. An improved MMI system is quicker, using a Nvidia Tegra 30 processor with twice the power, enabling the pop-up high-resolution LCD screen to display Google Earth data. The available HUD, or head-up display, is tidy and doesn’t intrude into the visibility through the windshield.

The seating for four is comfortable. The front seats are well bolstered and can be adjusted virtually to infinity, although the rear legroom could not be said to be ample. The rear seats fold for more cargo space, offering more than a sedan with a trunk, and more than a two-door coupe. However the sloped glass hatch limits not only the size of the items that can be carried, but headroom too, despite scallops in the headliner. Between limited legroom and headroom back there, the A7 is a compromised sedan. If you want your sedan to look like a coupe, which the A7 pulls off beautifully, don’t expect it to offer all that a sedan does, for passengers.

The steering wheel is slightly offset toward the right, which some might notice and others might not. The instruments are angled toward the driver, making him or her feel special.

The available Bang & Olufsen sound system is wonderful. If you love your music, the A7 can become your concert chamber.

The Audi A7 TDI model uses a 3.0-liter turbocharged direct-injection diesel engine with an 8-speed automatic transmission. It makes 240 horsepower and a gigantic 428 pound-feet of torque that delivers quick acceleration: 0-60 mph in just 5.5 seconds. On top of that, you get green: 24/38 mpg City/Highway, for 29 Combined EPA miles per gallon.

The racier engine, the 3.0-liter supercharged V6, makes 333 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. Its mileage is 20/30 City/Highway, 24 mpg Combined.

The handling of the A7 is quick, almost nimble, even with its size. It feels well balanced, unlike the Audi of old, back when they felt nose-heavy. Its Quattro all-wheel drive adds to grip and cornering when the car is pushed. Meanwhile, the ride is very comfortable.

Sports sedan shoppers will go for the S7, with its twin turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine and 450 horsepower with 406 pound-feet of torque. It comes with the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission with paddle shifters. If that’s not enough there’s the RS7 with 560 horsepower and neck-snapping acceleration: 0-60 in 3.7 seconds.

Handling in both the S7 and RS7 inspires confidence, despite steering that is short on feedback. They both have adaptive air suspension that helps keep the car from leaning in corners, and makes for a softer ride.

The Audi A7 is a magnificent machine, no matter which one you’re talking about. There are four disparate models, if you count the S7 and RS7. The TDI is both fast and green, the V6 TFSI is supercharged and sporty, the V8 S7 is super sporty, and the RS7 is high performance.