2012 Audi A7 Pros and Cons at TrueDelta: Performance and handling, sporty and luxurious. by HCMatt

Handling

The A7 inspires confidence, and always feels well connected with the road. It drives intuitively, does not do things the driver does not expect; it inspires confidence. Corners flat at speed. The steering wheel has good on-center feel at speed. The engine, transmission, and weight are extremely well balanced for excellent road handling, being sporty and luxurious at the same time, and the handling can be customized via the MMI/drive controler. This is a car I love to drive, or just sit in.

Powertrain performance

Supercharged engine is powerful and pulls smoothly, adn Quatto keeps the car firmly attached to the road. 3-mode Tiptronic automatic transmission; manual mode is especially useful in mountains, the automatic shifts smoothly and almost imperceptively, and the sport mode is most useful in city driving. The car gets 30-33 mpg on all highway driving, and 25-27 mpg for my normal country and town driving mix. In all big city driving, stoplight to stoplight, it drops to 20-24 mpg. Range is 600 miles on all-highway driving. The powertrain and chassis are perfectly balanaced, making the car a superlative drive.

Exterior styling

Fastback shape, and a close to the ground feel. Aggressive front end. LED front running lights which get you noticed and LED stoplights too. Beautiful sculpted 3D flanks. Classy 19 inch wheels, but they are nearly flush with the outside rubber of the wheel, so scratch easily when curbed. Clean styling overall, no fussy creases. The paint is water-based and rock chips easily on the low exposed nose. I strongly recommend a clear plastic protective nose mask be applied.

Materials & workmanship

Georgeous paint. Fit and layout inside is beautiful, a car you want to sit in, very comfortable seats. Looks expensive. The MMI screen is the right size and with sufficient resolution, and I love the fold-away feature. I haven't found anything that doesn't fit right, or has fallen off.

Driving position & visibility

The view from the drivers seat over the hood is empowereing. The dash and layout look expensive, and all the guages are there. I would prefer a needle gas gauge instead of the progressive lights. The front seats are very comfortable and supportive; I don't find myself squirming on long trips. The rear seats also feel good and there is ample legroom, and seat and shoulder room, with the 2+2 seating. Visibility from the rear seats is above average for the class. The folding center armrest could be narrower for a more spacious feel. The rear view camera is a significant safety option. I use it all the time.

Audio & nav systems

We love the Google Earth navigation, and use it on all of our trips. However, we've found that the point-of-interest database is 1 to 2 years out of date, with restaurants and gas stations out of business or moved. It is useful, but not something that you can completely rely on.

Feature availability

There is almost nothing not to like about this car. But I would prefer needle gauges rather than the progressive 8-digit gasoline and temperature gauges. Also, I noticed that the computer over estimates the actual gas mileage by 2-3 mpg.

We bought this car after road testing it against 2 major competitors. This car performed best all around, and felt the most comfortable on the road in performance and handling. It has performed as expected, and is beautiful in styling and detail. We are extremely pleased with the car.