Audi RS 7 Sportback 2019 Review - International

German prestige brands have plainly settled on the old-fashioned imperial figure of 600hp as the magic number for their muscular high-performance passenger cars.

There's a certain new coupe from Munich that's just been released with the metric equivalent – 441kW – but the 'Ingenieurs from Ingolstadt' have beaten their archrival to the punch with the new Audi RS 7 Sportback.

Sharing its powertrain with the Audi RS 6, the RS 7 features a liftback rear end to give it a slightly more rakish look. Like its four-door counterpart, the RS 7 sits lower than the standard A7, but Audi has not gone to town with an ostentatious look, relying instead on subtle details to convey the car's intent through the visual medium.

That makes it something of a 'sleeper' which, in this reviewer's opinion, is always a good thing. Thanks to a price projected to be up around a quarter of a million bucks when it arrives here around mid-way through 2020, the RS 7 will be a rare sight on Australian roads. Only true Audiphiles will necessarily pick it from the pack.

On our brief test drive from Frankfurt on a loop through the Odenwald region, the RS 7 was let off the leash on the unlimited autobahns. However, in congested traffic, it never looked like achieving the 305km/h top speed that is possible with the optional Dynamic Plus pack fitted to the test vehicle, including a 'quattro Sport' differential. The ceramic brakes proved their worth on a couple of occasions when slower vehicles pulled out in front of the ballistic Audi.

At times the RS 7 was up around the 250km/h mark – where it felt wonderfully composed. There was very little noise from the tyres (Pirelli P-Zero 285/30 R22, front and rear), and wind noise was very well suppressed too.

Configured for enthusiastic driving, the RS 7 produces performance that startles, even though you’re prepared for it. Set the Audi Drive Select System to 'Dynamic' mode and shift the transmission lever to 'Sport' and the RS 7 immediately delivers improved throttle response – not that it was slow in the normal powertrain setup anyway. Full-throttle acceleration pushes you back in your seat and the sound from the fiery V8 is a delight (although, if memory serves, not as dramatically loud as a Mercedes C 63).

The engine fires back through the exhaust on the overrun for a touch of race-track flavour and the automatic ZF transmission is a willing and competent partner to its formidable performance. The auto shifts down while you're still pondering whether or not to do so. Although highly adaptive in Dynamic/Sport modes, it is never aggressive or unrefined in any circumstances.

About the only point that soured the experience for us was the launch control system's failure to do what it was meant to do. Even with an Audi engineer behind the wheel and the second of two programmable RS modes selected, the RS 7 refused to ramp up the revs with the brake pedal pressed and the accelerator pushed all the way to the floor.

It would still polish off the 0-100km/h sprint in under five seconds, but with its quattro drive and launch control working to specification it should be able to knock a good second and a half (down to 3.6 seconds) of what we were able to achieve. The engineers took the troublesome RS 7 away for a health check and came back with the technical explanation that it was a glitch.

Our test drive took place on Friday the thirteenth, so the glitch was either a supernatural gremlin or more likely a pilot-build issue. Hopefully any such problem will be resolved by the time the RS 7 Sportback reaches Australia – although it will presumably be a moot point for most owners if they have neither the place nor the inclination to use launch control.

Driven gently – either through country towns or at sensible speeds on the open road – the Audi RS 7 Sportback exhibited nicely calibrated ride comfort. It was softer riding overall than the Mercedes-AMG E 63 tested at last year's ABDC although, in Dynamic mode, the suspension imparted a slightly jiggly quality at touring speeds. And there was an occasional knock from the front suspension in this mode as well. It seemed to have no bearing on the car's behaviour though and, like the launch control glitch, may have been merely a symptom of the car's early build number.

In Dynamic mode, the RS 7 has the agility to match its stunning performance, turning in sharply and conveying a nice feel to place the car precisely on the road. It's impressively nimble for what is fundamentally a large car and, while a comparison with something like a BMW M8 Gran Coupe (we're told that car will surface in the near future) could reveal it to be more grand tourer than sports car, in isolation the RS 7 felt very sharp.

Between the brakes, the steering, the adaptive powertrain and the whole seat-of-the-pants messaging from the chassis, the RS 7 was very communicative. The driver could quickly learn just how far to push it before the tyres began to protest that they were reaching their limits.

That was during a very brief drive in anger: on the autobahns the RS 7 proved itself to be stable and easy to drive at higher speeds without needing constant focus on the job of holding it steady. In other words, it's equally at home with some high-g motoring along short straights and through tight turns, or cruising at speeds above 200km/h on the freeways.

Little of this is relevant to the Australian experience though, unless buyers choose to take the RS 7 to a track for a bit of weekend fun. But it's nice to know the Audi has that all-round competence anyway.

Inside, the Audi RS 7 Sportback is very stylish but functional. More than just a glamorous design featuring high-quality materials and breath-taking colour matching, the cabin of the RS 7 stands out in particular for its commanding position behind the wheel.

All the controls are where they should be and operate appropriately, the Virtual Cockpit display remains a benchmark to which other manufacturers should aspire and the seats are excellent for comfort on longer journeys, yet snug enough to hold the occupants securely in place during harder cornering and braking. Even the rear seats are well shaped for comfort and support – as indeed they should be.

But as big as it is, with plenty of legroom for stretching out, if you’re an adult of average height the RS 7 with sunroof is a little light-on for rear headroom. If rear-seat accommodation is important, the RS 6 with its slightly higher roofline might be the better choice.

Rear-seat occupants in the RS 7 Sportback are served by adjustable vents in the B pillars and centre console for the separate climate control zones. There's seat heating all round, with seat cooling in front as well.

For the connected generation, there are two USB ports in the rear, and more in the front under the centre armrest/lid for the storage bin.

The boot of the RS 7 Sportback is large, but a little shallow. Audi supplies a tyre repair kit under the boot floor. The rear seats fold flush with the floor, but not quite flat, although the slight upward tilt will reduce the prospect of goods sliding forward while the car is slowing.

Ultimately, the RS 7 Sportback is a car that plays to its strengths in the areas of performance and driving dynamics. It doesn't need to be as practical as an SUV when it's such a great drive. The question remaining is whether or not it will be a match for the BMW M8 Gran Coupe when that car arrives in Australia around the same time next year.

How much does the 2019 Audi RS 7 Sportback cost?
Price: Around $250,000 mark, plus on-road costs
Engine: 4.0-litre eight-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 441kW/800Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 11.6L100km (WLTP combined), 12.6L/100km (as tested)
CO2: 265g/km
Safety rating: TBA