Audi A7 Sportback 55 TFSI quattro 2018 Review

The new Audi A7 Sportback — now on sale in Australia — is all about the way it looks.

There are other things, like a new naming game across the whole brand — 45, 50 and 55 now signify the powertrain and equipment range — and some tasty new technology, as well as a chassis that is more refined and responsive.

Audi is also simplifying its optional equipment with a single Premium Plus upgrade for the A7, an approach that will be adopted across the whole family to allow customers to get more of what they want for a sharper price and without the delay for a pick-and-choose car to be built and shipped from Germany.

It’s still possible to choose individual options, but Audi Australia is convinced the Premium Plus package combines the features that buyers really want.

“It’s consumer driven, in the sense that customers are wanting things to be a lot simpler, and it’s around this need for immediacy,” says Nikki Warburton, Audi Australia’s new chief marketing officer.

There will eventually be three engine packages, with a starting price of $113,900 for the four-cylinder turbo-petrol powered Audi A7 Sportback 45 TSI.

But right now the only non-choice is the top-end, petrol V6-powered 55 TFSI quattro, which shares its $131,900 bottom line with the diesel-engined 50 TDI. The 45 and 50 will both be in showrooms before the middle of next year.

At a practical level, there is measurably more cabin space and some nice touches including a 40:20:40-split folding rear seat for access to the cavernous boot.

The special guest at the Australian launch of the Audi A7 Sportback was Andreas Koglin, the chief exterior designer of the car, and he was keen to emphasise the premium-ness of Audi’s latest design work.

Some people might think the new car looks a lot like the old one, once you ignore the clamshell lines across the bonnet, but not Koglin.

“We introduced new proportions with the [new] A7. It was hard to top the previous model. We really wanted to do something new,” he said.

Koglin said the design draws from earlier work on the A8 limousine, which is all about status and presence, and points towards the all-new A6 coming in 2019, which he describes as “the most sporty limousine you’ve seen in this segment”.

“The A7 is the progressive one. It's something we call breathtaking beauty. Something a little untouchable,” he begins.

Explaining the design appeal of the Sportback’s rear-end, and not just the boot space that will win over families, he is just as enthusiastic.

“It’s not the engineering, it’s the message that is flowing above everything. This must be a sculpture,” he said.

Koglin highlights everything from the roofline to the prominent grille, the latest animated LED lamps which turn on their own light show, and the exhaust outlets that are invisible on the basic 45 but get chromed-tipped prominence with the 55.

Inside, where Audi is now the acknowledged worldwide design leader, there is a three-tier approach with different zones and materials but still with an emphasis on genuine materials and all-round class.

“The world changed, so we must change as well. We want to bring a new lounge-like ambience to the cabin,” Kolgin said.

“We wanted to show more of a driver focus. All the lines are pointing where you are going.”

Taking a tape to the new 2019 Audi A7 Sportback provides proof that there is more all around, from an extra 12mm in length to a cabin that’s 21mm wider and a boot that now offers 535 litresof space and up to 1390 with the seats folded.

“You can easily fit two golf bags across the width,” says Matt Dale, Audi Australia’s senior product planning director.

The body is now much more rigid -- 10 per cent better in torsional strength and 20 per cent better on twist resistance – and incorporated 10.9kg of aluminium components.

Digging deeper, there are 10 airbags, up to 39 individual safety-assistance systems -- including one that warns when cyclists are approaching from behind -- illuminated seatbelt buckles and 10.1- and 8.6-inch touch-screens with Audi’s latest haptic feedback to create a sensation more like an old-school button.

The four-cylinder turbo starter engine now makes 180kW of power and 370Nm of torque, and consumes 7.1L/100km via what Audi describes as a ‘mild hybrid’ package that’s extended up the range.

It’s a 12-volt package on the A7 45, delivering a claimed saving of 0.7L/100km with help of idle-stop and the ability to ‘coast’ for up to 50 seconds between 55 and 160km/h with the engine stopped.

Audi says the hybrid deal on the two V6 motors is a 45-volt package that functions as the main electrical system and allows the recovery of 12kW, plus coasting operation from 22km/h.

The 50 TDI 3.0-litre diesel V6 makes 210kW and 600Nm, while the 55 TFSI 3.0-litre is at 250 and 500.

Gearboxes are the seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch auto in the petrol engines, with an eight-speed unit for the extra torque of the diesel, and quattro drive all round.

There are only two significant technical options: rear-wheel steering and laser high-beam lights.

The laser package is claimed to be first in the class, with a range of 600 metres and a light that is like white phosphorus, while the rear-steer system cuts the turning circle by 1.1 metres by providing up to five degrees of counter steering at parking speeds and two degrees the same direction as the front wheels for high-speed stability. The laser package costs $4100 and rear-steer $4200.

The safety stuff in the Audi A7 Sportback is impressive, from a standard head-up display and 360-degree camera system to collision-avoidance when turning across oncoming traffic.

It contributes to what Audi describes as Level 3 autonomous capability, although that’s only for Europe and not really relevant for Australia.

Standard equipment includes sat-nav linked to Google Maps, 20-inch alloy wheels, the Virtual Cockpit digital dash display, electric seats and, on V6 models, S-line dress-up parts including blacked-out trim panels to make the car look a tough more sporty.

The Premium Plus package costs $6500 on the A7 45 and brings 21-inch alloys, a glass sunroof, four-zone auto air-conditioning and a 30-colour cabin light show; on the 55 it’s $8000 and also means adaptive air suspension.

The new Audi A7 Sportback looks much like the old one, at least from the outside.

But once you step inside it’s obvious the car is significantly better, and not just because it is like a giant smartphone with huge screens including the latest -- and very user-friendly -- Virtual Cockpit.

Audi has taken the next step with design and materials, creating a car that is truly as luxurious as many contenders that cost an extra $100,000 or more.

It’s still tough to get on top of the technology, and the haptic displays means messy fingerprints to annoy clean freaks, but it’s all there and ready for action once you get a lesson in Audi 2019.

Audi Australia offered only the A7 55 for its press preview, and all versions featured the optional air suspension and rear-steer to make the best possible impression, but it also provided a tough mountain drive with some final highway running to obtain a fair impression.

The first impression is that the car is very, very quiet and very nicely refined, too.

But the steering assistance is as intrusive as ever, particularly on narrow roads with lots of white lines, and it had to be switched off before I could feel comfortable.

The engine is punchy and sounds good. I enjoyed watching the tachometer needle die when the car coasted downhill at 80km/h, and the operation of the gearbox is smooth and unobtrusive.

The Audi A7 Sportback is not a sports car, but it has good grip in all sorts of corners and -— with the air suspension — it sits solidly and is unsettled by undulations.

There is some crash-through on big bumps, and a bit of kick through the steering, but that’s what I expect in an Audi.

The new Audi A7 Sportback ticks all the boxes for its target buyers, who are looking for quality and technology.

It’s not a brilliant drive, but it’s good enough and compensation comes with the cosseting comfort of a package that’s as sensible for families as an SUV, without going all-out Hulk.

How much does the 2019 Audi A7 Sportback 55 TFSI quattro cost?
Price: $131,900 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre turbo-petrol V6
Output: 250kW/500Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 7.3L/100km
CO2: 165g/km
Safety rating: Not tested