Audi RS 7 Sportback 2020 Review

Forget the pay packet: being an executive or bureaucrat of any description would be a tough gig at the moment.
There’s a certain unpredictability about the world, and with expectations of many wresting on your shoulders, days would be long, busy and stressful.

But if automotive escapism is a way to mitigate the tension, there are few vehicles better to escape in than the new Audi RS 7 Sportback.

Renewed for 2020, the RS 7 Sportback and its mechanically identical RS 6 Avant wagon stablemate feature more equipment, a reworked twin-turbo V8 engine, sharper styling and a stronger value equation than before.

For the well-heeled executive, the updates deliver a more cohesive driving experience; one underlined by first-class comfort and a bristling cabin. Not to mention a brutish V8.

Your humble correspondent is hardly corporate or bureaucratic, but it’s worth testing the automotive escapism card regardless: a long, unwinding drive of the new RS 7 Sportback through Bathurst, Orange and surrounds.

The 2020 Audi RS 7 Sportback is priced from $224,000 plus on-road costs, representing a price cut $34,000.

The biggest Audi Sportback’s mechanicals have been revisited (more on that later) with revised 441kW/800Nm outputs from an upgraded 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8.

Physically, the 2020 update ushers in a raft of nip-and-tuck measures which amount to a sharper, more purposeful appearance.

New flared guards add 20mm in width over the standard A7, now totalling a broad 1950mm overall, and the RS 7 officially measures 5009mm in length and tips the scales at 2140kg.

Standard equipment includes HD Matrix LED headlights, an electric boot, tinted windows, power-assist door closure, RS front sport seats, Nappa leather interior, a panoramic glass sunroof and metallic paint.

Audi’s ‘virtual cockpit’ digital instrument cluster and ‘connect plus’ media systems are standard, along with wireless Apple CarPlay, digital radio, wireless phone charging, four USB outlets and 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system.

Though the Audi RS 7 Sportback doesn’t come with a specific independent safety rating itself, its second-generation A7 donor car was awarded five ANCAP stars in 2018.

Standard features on the performance model include adaptive cruise assist with Stop&Go and traffic jam assist, active lane assist and 360-degree cameras with kerb view.

Additionally, tyre pressure monitoring, an alarm and anti-theft wheel nuts with loose wheel detection are also standard fitment.

The Audi RS 7 is backed by a shorter than average three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. Audi’s genuine care service pack is also offered at the point of purchase, priced from $2380 over three years or $3910 over five years – each spaced over 12-month/15,000km intervals.

There is no spare wheel (only a tyre inflation kit) and the boot measures a sizeable 535 litres – expanding to 1390 litres with the rear pews stowed.

Updated with 3mm bigger turbos delivering 0.2-bar more boost pressure, the TFSI 4.0-litre engine’s 441kW/800Nm is just shy of the outgoing RS 7 performance model’s 445kW, but tops it by 50Nm in terms of torque.

With the aid of a new launch control function, it is 0.1 seconds faster to 100km/h than the ‘performance’ model at 3.6sec and hauls on to 200km/h in 12sec. It offers the same choice of three top speeds as before: 250km/h, 280km/h and 305km/h, depending on how much you want to spend.

At this point, it’s worth mentioning the $234,900 4.4-litre V8 BMW M5 Competition sedan makes 460kW/750Nm from its twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 and accelerates to 100km/h in 3.3sec. The $240,540 Mercedes-AMG E 63 S sedan makes 450kW/850Nm from its twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 and accelerates to 100km/h in 3.3sec.

Paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission and a rear-biased all-wheel drive system as standard, the RS 7’s engine works in concert with a 48-volt mild-hybrid electrical system that Audi claims can recover up to 12kW of power while coasting under light throttle.

Audi claims the hybrid system saves a 0.8L/100km on the combined cycle, amounting to an 11.6L/100km average.

A new feature debuting in the RS 7 is dynamic all-wheel steering, which turns the rear wheels in either the same or opposite direction as the front wheels depending on vehicle speed to deliver “dynamic handling with unshakeable stability”.

Adaptive air suspension has also been added, while an RS sports exhaust and 22-inch Audi Sport alloy wheels are standard now too.

The Audi RS 7 Sportback comes with two new configurable driving modes for 202 – RS 1 and RS 2 – alongside Audi’s standard Drive Select options.

Stopping power comes from large 10-piston callipers up front gripping huge 420mm front discs and 370mm rear discs.

Optional packages are available, including carbon and black styling packs, ceramic brakes and a 305km/h top speed option. There’s also a handy $2850 Dynamic Ride Control (DRC) option which seemingly extends the car’s dynamic threshold – more on that shortly.

Our drive of the 2020 Audi RS 7 Sportback takes in the scenic roads between Bathurst and Orange, including a cheeky lap of Mount Panorama.

The RS 7’s bristling cabin is particularly enamouring on one of region’s typically cold mornings, with heated seats, climate control with half-degree increment adjustment and comfortable seats doing their bit to mitigate the near sub-zero temperatures outside.

Similarly, Audi’s excellent virtual cockpit and roomy rear seat accommodation (now with three pews across the rear instead of two) imbue the RS 7 with strong real-world virtues.

On the road, the RS 7’s supreme ride comfort offers effortless passage through the pockmarked and at-times broken bitumen familiar in these parts.

On 22-inch wheels, it skims over small-amplitude imperfections and recovers quickly from larger hits alike, with only a slight thud emanating through its sleek body.

To our mind, the cabin isn’t quite as well isolated from the outside elements as the equivalent RS 6 is, with a slightly sportier edge apparent as obstacles pass underneath.

Like the RS 6 Avant, turning up the wick on the RS 7 is a case of simply depressing its new steering wheel-mounted RS1/RS2 button, which wakes the engine and driveline to life.

And wake they do – the body hunkers down, the steering takes on more meaningful weighting and the engine very quickly dons its sportier hat.

Responses from the engine, driveline and chassis are ridiculously sharp for a big two-tonne car; if ever there was a case to shun the ubiquitous performance SUV, this is it.

In long, sweeping corners, the RS 7 hunkers down, using its underlying AWD grip and electronics to provide tenacious grip levels.

Similarly, our test car, fitted with an optional $2850 Dynamic Ride Control (DRC) with cross-axle hydraulic damping, manages to sequence almost nonchalantly through fast tighter bends, too.

The DRC system stops the RS 7 becoming squirrely or unhinged during corner approach and exit, where its full heft would typically be front of mind.

Instead, the Sportback simply grips up and rotates in a way that almost defies belief, hunkering itself into corners and shrink-wrapping its mass.

At this point, the V8 engine provides crisp throttle response and forward surge, allowing the RS 7 to launch out of the blocks in any gear and at any speed.
This is big-displacement motoring at its finest.

The new Audi RS 7 Sportback nails its brief yet again.

It does so without the same inherent practicality as its mechanically-identical RS 6 Avant stablemate, but for the well-heeled (and possibly stressed) professional, it proves the ideal escape vehicle with the same ballistic performance, plenty of cabin flexibility and more style.

There’s something solid and reassuring at play here: for a prospective owner, a sense that practical German performance remains alive and well in a time that’s far from normal.

How much does the 2020 Audi RS 7 Sportback cost?
Price: $224,000 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol
Output: 441kW/800Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 11.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 256g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (A7 ANCAP 2018)