Audi advances: the new A7 Sportback

Maintaining premium standards and Vorsprung durch Tecknik (progress through technology) Audi clearly want to fill every possible niche out there.

The only product unlikely to emerge from Ingolstadt in the near future is a traditional MPV or anything with the word 'budget' attached to it.

Recent additions include the A1 premium hatchback and the upcoming RS3 Sportback which will turn up the wick in the super hatch sector with a £39,950 price tag and 335bhp.

Put simply, if you have the cash, there is an Audi out there for you.

Audi's latest introduction is this, the A7 Sportback, a car designed to go head-to-head with large executive coupes like the Mercedes CLS and BMW's 5-Series GT, adding the four-wheel-drive quattro system into the mix.

A7 Sportback has Mercedes CLS in its sights

The CLS should certainly be considered as the A7s main target, however, as anyone who has already bought into the philosophy of the bloated 5-Series GT is probably unlikely to appreciate the added style and finesse offered by Mercedes and Audi.

With a silhouette extremely similar to that of the A5 Sportback, but a sharper-edged rear end and TT-style retractable rear wing, the A7 is handsome and deceptively large.

That extra space is evident inside, with ample room for four to stretch out (there is a full, folding rear bench but just two rear seatbelts).

The A7 sits between Audi's A6 and A8 saloons in terms of price and size, at 42mm longer and 56mm wider than the current A6. A 71mm longer wheelbase also explains the added legroom.

Orders for two trim levels and four engine choices are being taken ahead of the A7s January 8 showroom debut.

Prices start at £45,220 for a 201bhp 2.8-litre SE-specced A7 and top out with the 296bhp three-litre TSI-engined A7 S-line at £49,860.

Audi's options list is a wallet worrier

A choice of 201bhp or 242bhp three-litre TDI diesel engines are also on offer.

Be warned, serious damage can also be done with the options list.

At the press launch I drove a A7 TDI SE specced to thrill with a £72,965 price tag.

The options list is stacked with technology including night vision cameras with pedestrian detection (£2,100), a head-up display (£1,450), massage and ventilated seats (£1,600), a mind-blowing Bang and Olufsen stereo system (£6,300) and a parking system which sees the car literally park itself (£410).

The standard SE spec comes with the a pretty comprehensive package of electrically adjustable leather seats, a 180-watt stereo, cruise control and a 6.5-inch colour screen which pops out of the dash to deliver access to Sat Nav and stereo controls via Audi's BMW i-drive style Multimedia Interface.

Audi becomes Apple

As ever, it is impossible to fault Audi's build quality. The typically slick interior is a reminder of how good a car interior can be without resorting to Bentley levels of deep pile carpet and Breitling clocks.

Audi is fast becoming to the motor industry what Apple is to technology and that sense of simple, stylish function is the main thing the two brands share.

Audi's A7 test route took me down fast, open roads, seemingly playing right into the cars limo-cum-coupe DNA.

But the first thing that dawned on me in the expensive air suspension-equipped (£2,000) A7 TDI was the numb, detached feel from behind the wheel.

With 242bhp and a thumping 367lb.ft of torque, the diesel-powered A7 has ample thrust - a 6.3 second sprint to 62mph, as well as 47mpg fuel economy and 158g/km CO2 emissions - but dynamic rewards were in short supply.

Assured stability and impressive refinement were a given and the air sprung ride was silky smooth but, specced as such, the driving was a little short on rewards, feeling overly synthetic, the roads surface completely filtered out.

Expensive air suspension bettered by Sport set-up

It was only later, when I got to drive the 296bhp three-litre TSI, equipped with the far cheaper (£410) sports suspension package, that I discovered that the A7 could do better.

Although fitted with the same dual clutch S-tronic gearbox as the diesel, and having a slight torque deficit (368lb.ft. versus 324lb.ft.), the supercharged petrol car felt immediately more responsive, with a rasping engine note to fit.

And as well as posting a claimed 5.6-second sprint to 62mph, the conventionally-sprung car delivered more feedback, more connection between car and driver.

With negligible loss of comfort over the air-sprung option, the sports suspension-equipped car with its fantastic supercharged petrol engine, emerged as the combination of choice.

Fuel economy of 34mpg and 190g/km CO2 emissions aside, the choice is a no-brainer in sheer driving terms.

Another slick addition

All-in-all the A7 displayed the usual Audi polish and will undoubtedly prove a top seller, despite initial reservations about where it fits into the range.

It adds a dose of style to the traditional luxury saloon formula in accomplished style.

With quality like this, I think Audi could launch the worlds first tractor-cum-sports car and it would still be a hit. Vorsprung durch Technik continues.