Audi A7 Sportback 3.0 TDI Biturbo 2013 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $148,600
Options fitted (not included in above price): Metallic paint $2300; electric steering column adjustment $1000; S line sports pack with 20-inch alloys $7900; LED headlights with high-beam assist $2700; adaptive cruise control with pre-sense plus, active lane & side assist with park assist $4295
Crash rating: Five-star (based on Euro NCAP test of A6)
Fuel: Diesel
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 6.4
CO2 emissions (g/km): 196
Also consider: BMW 640d Gran Coupe (from $184,800); Mercedes-Benz CLS 350 CDI (from $159,200); Porsche Panamera (from $196,700)

It's no longer enough to have a prestige badge affixed to your large, luxury four-door passenger car. To let the neighbours know you've really arrived, you must be seen in something occupying a wafer-thin stratum above the E-Class, 5 Series and A6 they're getting around in.

Audi's answer to the CLS 350 CDI, the 640d Gran Coupe and the Panamera is the A7 Biturbo – a car based on the A6 platform, but with frameless windows, exotic tail lights and a low, sleek look that could pass for an Italian super saloon... from the A pillars back at least.

This particular A7 arrived at Camp Carsales with the new Biturbo diesel V6 under the bonnet. It's quite a gem – and that's not a term one uses lightly to describe any diesel. Sounding refined but sporty, it goes hard and yet averaged 9.4L/100km powering this large, stylish luxury sedan with a liftback tailgate.

Under load, the engine howled like the athletic V6 it is – and willingly passed 5000rpm before the transmission shifted up a gear. At cruising speeds the engine was barely discernible. Particularly impressive was the lack of vibration at engine speeds below 1500rpm, where diesels are frequently called upon to operate for optimum fuel consumption.

The barest vibration can be detected at times through the steering wheel but overall this is an engine that effectively matches – or betters – Jaguar Land Rover's excellent twin-turbo V6 for all-round performance and efficiency. Other than occasionally steeper prices for the fuel the A7 demands virtually none of the concessions buyers expect when opting for a diesel in a passenger car.

The engine drives to all four wheels via a very smooth-shifting eight-speed automatic transmission, replete with paddle-shift control. In combination, the responsive engine and the equally responsive transmission provided the right level of performance for rocketing out the other side of tighter bends. Those shift paddles and the engine's willingness to rev higher than the norm for a diesel mean the driver can rapidly find the right gear to match the engine's power delivery; and the icing on the cake is the quattro system's all-wheel drive traction.

On the way into bends the A7 could carry some extra speed and let you know when it was reaching its limits with just a touch of lift-off oversteer. Steering was significantly better than we recall of Audis from the past with electrically-assisted steering, and was light enough for most drivers without feeling disconnected from the front wheels.

Ride comfort was fine over smaller bumps and at lower speeds. The car felt firmly damped (but well controlled) at higher speeds and coped very well meeting the conflicting needs of passengers and driver.

Inside, the A7 maintained Audi's reputation for comfortable, quality interior design. Trim materials were up to par and everything fit together as it should. There was a sense of style about the way the constituent parts came together, although the S line treatment of the press vehicle lacked colour to lift the interior. Everything was grey, silver, black – tending towards the monochromatic end of the colour scale. But the sports seats were well designed for comfort and held the occupants in place very well without feeling too aggressive in their bolstering.

From the driver's seat the A7 provided a clear and legible view of the instruments, which were mounted in a panoramic array. Whilst the speedo shares with some French cars that mismatch of speed increments to the Australian road environment, it remained easier to read than the French examples. The dials were large and the illuminated calibrations on the black faces were informative at a glance. On occasions in the past we've found sun glare can swamp the LEDs arranged in a bar chart simulacrum around the edges of the instrument binnacle for the fuel and engine temperature gauges. There was no opportunity to check for that in this instance, but in the A7 they did shine brighter than we recall previously in the A8 and A6.

Front-seat accommodation was up to scratch for this average-height reviewer, but headroom in the rear was borderline, with the headlining hanging low to accommodate the sunroof. In this respect it's probably on par with its direct competitors. Kneeroom in the rear was plentiful, and there's some wriggle room for toes under the front seat.

The rear seats fold down almost flat, to allow larger items to be carried in the rear of the car, essentially turning the A7 from what's almost a fast-back sedan into a station wagon.

There were some tricky gadgets in the A7 we quickly learned to appreciate; the speed-dependent audio volume, for instance, or the parking camera display that switched from rear-facing to forward-facing as soon as 'Drive' was selected after 'Reverse'. It's a logical feature for parallel parking, but it's not a common one in the market. On our final day with the A7 the pre-sense plus safety system slowed the car when a BMW in front took too long to round a corner. Clearly the system works; it reduced torque from the engine and applied the brakes expeditiously.

If there's one quibble about the A7 with this engine and the options fitted, it boils down to price. As tested it came in just under $167,000. But the base price is still cheaper than any of its direct rivals...

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