Audi A7 and S6 2015 Review

In the A7 Audi has built the perfect vanilla exec saloon… Just as well then that the masters from Ingolstadt allowed the engineering ratbags to have their way with the updated S6. Frugal turbo-diesel or bi-polar biturbo V8 – which would you choose?

An intra-state highway trip, a long weekend worth of suburban chores and the normal working week with two airport runs… I couldn’t have asked for a better week in terms of replicating the average exec saloon driver’s behind-the-wheel pallet.

And, I guess, as it turned out, I couldn’t have asked for a better average exec saloon.

In its bahn-storming RS variant, the Audi A7 is an ultra-fast, ultra involving, fire and brimstone supercar in a three-piece suit. In its more urbane 3.0 TDI quattro guise, it’s everything a well-heeled professional type might want – but never lust after.

Priced as tested at $118,800, the entry-level Audi A7 3.0 TDI quattro S tronic does everything well but nothing exceptionally. It looks good, but not great in the Florett Silver of our test car. Its charcoal on grey interior is precise and beautifully executed, but not sumptuous, nor particularly welcoming.

Indeed, in a world where we are told a growing number of car buyers are looking for a way to stand out and make their cars an extension of their personality, this Audi, at least, is doing its very best to fade into the background.

Even the sheer width and dramatic silhouette of the A7 ‘super coupe’ seems to be diminished in this spec.

The A7 has been freshened by Audi, hence our re-sampling. The update arrived Down Under in March bringing with it minor styling changes, equipment tweaks and additional tech.

Two turbo-diesel A7’s are now offered. Our test car featured quattro all-wheel drive, a seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch gearbox and the base 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel rated at a rather modest 160kW/500Nm. Audi claims 0-100km/h in 6.8sec and ADR Combined fuel economy of 5.2L/100km.

There’s a bi-turbo version of the turbo-diesel V6 that offers a significantly more muscular 235kW and 650Nm. Nonetheless our ‘little’ turbo-diesel powertrain provided not inconsiderable pace and proved efficient (7.3L/100km over the week). That said, it’s not a car that goads you into driving the long way home just for the sake of it. Nor was it totally devoid of irritations…

If you get the impression I didn’t like the A7 on test, you’re wrong. It’s Teutonically efficient and beautifully built. What it isn’t is exciting, engaging or entertaining.

The A7’s steering is too light and too remote. The power delivery which is smooth and muscular when on-song is laggy and slow to respond when called upon in a hurry. Even the idle-stop (normally a feature I like) seemed off kilter – over-zealous to kill the engine when crawling in stop-start traffic and just a touch slow to jump back into life when the light went green.

And given that aspect got on my nerves I started nit-picking a little. The DAB+ radio exhibited more blackspots from systems in other cars I’ve driven recently. For example, the new Ford Mondeo’s digital tuner worked significantly better.

And can I suggest that any car of this price should include seat heating – at least for the fronts – as standard.

In the interests of full disclosure there are pluses that might not be immediately apparent. General economy, shouldn’t surprise anyone, but what about the tail-lights? By far the most dramatic aspect of this A7 is the way the arrow-motif tail-lights pulse when you unlock it remotely. It’s a surprise and delight feature – and very, very Buzz Lightyear.

The A7 is a car that’s admirable for its poise and precision in parts, but when you’re spending six figures on a car it that enough?

Contrasting the A7 was its close sibling S6 I swapped into after a week. Although hellishly expensive at nearly $190,000 as tested, this Audi was possessed of a character that’s so different, were it not for the common UX and shared architecture, it could have been built by another carmaker.

The S6’s 331kW/550Nm twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 is a pungent, bitey stilton to the A7 turbo-diesel’s Kraft singles. At start-up a quick rev signals its intentions and even cruising around town the V8’s burble was obvious and enticing.

Its steering, although still devoid of feel, had a precision and weighting more as you’d expect from something sport with European pedigree.

And thanks to its Audi Design Studio interior, there was plenty of cabin ‘theatre’.

Although a hefty $6800 option, the Aaras Red interior of our S6 tester was commented on by everybody who stepped into the car. The quilted seat stitching might be more Crewe (Bentley) than Ingolstadt but it was a big hit – and a real contrast to the relatively ‘conventional’ and understated exterior bodywork tweaks.

Indeed, this S6 deftly straddles the area between ‘standard’ OEM model and the sometimes over the top M/AMG/RS type variants. Audi offers an RS 6 if you want to ante up but the step-up in spend is even more eye-watering and arguably given our speed limits and draconian policing Down Under, just a little pointless.

This is especially so, given this new iteration of S6 seems to have had an extra dose of mongrel injected.

Do you really need a 0-100km/h sprint faster than 4.4sec in this sort of vehicle? Make no mistake, even without the extra R, this is one very muscular and rapid sedan.

I’m a real fan of fast four doors. As much as I enjoy sportscars and supercars (and can’t wait to drive Audi’s all-new mid-engined R8), there’s something just a little bit special about taking a ‘normal’ car and making it sound, feel and perform like the S6.

In a perfect world I’d want an amalgam of these two Audis. The A7’s sculptural fastback lines combined with the S6’s understated but telling styling tweaks, big wheels and tyres, cabin upgrade and, of course, that melodic and muscular V8.

Sound like something tasty? Have I told you about the latest Audi S7….