2016 Audi S7 Review - The Coupe With Too Many Doors [Video]

2016 Audi S7 Review - The Coupe With Too Many Doors [Video] - 2016 Audi S7 4.0L DOHC direct injected V8 turbocharged CRDi,...

2016 Audi S7 Review - The Coupe With Too Many Doors [Video] -

2016 Audi S7

4.0L DOHC direct injected V8 turbocharged CRDi, cylinder deactivation (450 horsepower @ 5.800 to 6.400 rpm; 406 lb-ft @ 1.400 to 5.700) 7-speed dual-clutch automated manual 17 city / 27 highway / 21 combined (EPA Rating, MPG) 19.1 (observed MPG) base price: $ 83,825 * As Tested: $ 95,00 * * prices include $ 925 destination charge.

Coupe-like style is one of the biggest buzzwords to new parties launch of the car. Although this is more a modern phenomenon, the root of seemingly contradictory cut four doors is older than you might think.

In 1962, Rover was down the rear roof line on its P5 sedan and dared to call a four-door coupe. In 04, Mercedes has picked up on this idea with the Coupe CLS-class. It was only a matter of time before Audi and BMW joined the party with the A7 and 6 Series Gran Coupe.

Now many of you say that we already have a name for the four-door coupe. It is a sedan. I agree with you. Audi is not entirely convinced by the designation "cut" either, and they dare to mention only twice in the 62-page brochure. This means that the S7 is an exercise in style atop a tasty and convenient S6 $ 12,000.

Exterior
how BMW, Mercedes and Audi arrived their cut four-door is essential to understanding the differences between them.

Mercedes took the class E, it stretched, slammed the roof line, removed the door sills, the rear end and pinched - here is - say hello to the CLS. Audi has done something similar with the A6, but took things a step further by reworking the rear end to accommodate its liftback signature. BMW did not "cut-specify" the 5-Series. Instead, he took the 6-series of two existing door and stretched until it could accept a second set of doors. Although Audi describes the S7 occasionally as 5 door, it's hard to tell from the outside because the back is designed to hide the fact that the glass lifts the lid of the trunk.

Audi endorses the "same sausage, different lengths" design school - except with the R8 and A7 / S7. While the front end is still very much the same as the S6, the rear end is much more dramatic with strong lines and folds replacing the theme "sparkling" used by some Audis. 2015 brings new LED headlights and taillights with a "Y" shaped to accent strip bisecting the module calls Coupé Concept and Volvo XC0. (In case you were wondering, the Volvo concept came first.) The rest of the conversion S6-S7 was to add standard LED headlights, remove the window sills and the integration of a spoiler in the liftback that appears to 80 mph so that the cops know you speed to reduce rear lift at higher speeds.

inside
the relationship of S7 to the A6, the CLS class E and Gran Coupe 6 Series is important inside.

positioned his BMW 6-Series 2 door decently above the 5-Series and priced it $ 17,000 more than the cheapest 5. This then means that the A7 and S7 using an interior that is widely shared with the A6 2.0T $ 46.0 and CLS shares his bowels with the $ 52,650 E250, the 650i Gran Coupe has an internal shared only within line 6-Series and largely unique, both the 5 Series and Round 7 - although parts are shared. Consequently, the interior of the four-door coupe Mercedes and Audi does not feel as special or as distinctive as the BMW. This distinction is most noticeable in the design of the dashboard. S7 gets the head-up display that is optional on the A6. Unlike most luxury cars that use a design slightly different dashboard when HUD equipped, Audi turns a large "donut" at the top of the cockpit gauge to house the projection unit.

Although space is limited at the front that many luxury sedans that are the same length, there is still enough room for my frame of 6 feet and a passenger 6 feet 5 . The rear seat is another matter. Like BMW and Mercedes, there is simply not enough room for a passenger to 6 feet to sit comfortably for any length of time. Although the A7 will accommodate shorter three people in the back, the S7 loses the middle seat, the fall of the total number of seats to four. This makes the most practical S6 transport people as it has a generous amount of rear headroom and leg.

Although space for rear passengers is certainly less convenient compared to the A6 / S6, Audi compensates with a more practical cargo space. Thank you to design and liftback rear seats which fold almost flat, you can actually block a barbecue from your home improvement store in the back, or a large flat screen TV. The hard tonneau cover is less convenient than a unit roller shade style, but it offers more separation of luggage with the rear seats are locked in place.

infotainment
MMI infotainment system Audi has recently received a major overhaul with new hardware and a faster graphics processor. The new equipment enables smoother animation and screen changes, but we still do not find the expanded voice commands to USB / iDevice control the media library like those found in the Lexus, Cadillac and Acura. The refreshed software adds support for several new features connected to the Internet such as INRIX traffic information and Siri Eyes Free Apple support. Unfortunately Android carplay Auto are not for the ride. On the hardware side, there is a new LTE cellular modem for faster downloads and an integrated WiFi hotspot.

The LCD 8 inches in the heart of the system remains unchanged and is still wearing a standard aspect ratio, not the big favorite screen size by BMW. Nestled between the speedometer and tachometer is a 7-inch LCD option with a set of extended functionality that includes a full screen navigation with 3D moving map and topographic information. Perhaps the most important change for 2016 may be the simplest: Audi, Volkswagen has finally abandoned its own cable MDI. Lifting the armrest reveals two regular USB ports and you can now connect your device with a USB cable old you have lying around.

Training
Part of the difference of $ 22,000 in price between the A6 and A7 is in the sedan hatchback conversion, and a part under the hood. While the A6 has to do with a basic turbo 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine and front wheel drive, the A7 starts with standard all-wheel drive and 333 horsepower, 3.0-liter supercharged V-6. But we're here to talk about the S7, which is about $ 12,000 more than the S6. As the CLS550 and 650i, the S7 uses a twin-turbo V8, but Audi has chosen a smaller displacement of 4 liters vs. 4.7 in the Mercedes and BMW in the 4.4.

Some German scientists, moving Audi is the most effective choice. Thank you to the modern miracle direct injection, turbochargers and intercooler coupling, power is always healthy 450 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque, 30 hp bump vs 2015. While Audi has the advantage of the power compared to 402 in the Merc and 445 in the Bimmer, the torque of the Audi is the lowest in the group with 406 vs 443 in the CLS 480 and the 650i. If this is not enough power, Audi spool same basic building blocks up to 560 horsepower and 516 lb-ft in the RS7.

As we've come to expect from Audi, all S7 models are all-wheel drive, a major distinction from Mercedes and BMW offering two-wheel drive by default. In most circumstances, 60 percent of the power is sent to the back in the S7, but Quattro is capable of sending as much as 80 percent or as little as 20 percent to the rear. In an interesting twist, the 333 horsepower and 560 horsepower A7 RS7 use 8-speed automatic ZF-sourced, while the S7 uses a dual-clutch 7 speed transaxle manufactured by Borg Warner. Apparently, the DCT is rated for a maximum of 406 lb-ft of torque, which is why the power got hit recently, but the couple remained the same.

Thanks to the choice of effective displacement, torque converter box without (that is the correct term since Audi integrates the front axle in the gear housing), a Multi-Displacement System that deactivates half cylinders when not needed, and starting / stopping standard, fuel economy is the highest in this phone booth--size segment. At 17 mpg city and 27 mpg highway, the S7 even beats the competition two-wheel drive with at least 1 mpg on the highway and match their numbers to rear wheel drive city. In the real world, producing over 400 horsepower requires a certain amount of fuel and the conduct of all their hard on your preferred route will result in better fuel economy in the low teens.

player design of the Audi all-wheel drive system drives the converter and engine torque entirely forward of the front axle, but its weight is distributed more evenly than the CLS 550 4Matic. In fact, at 55/45 (front / rear), the S7 is pretty close to 53/47 weight distribution of the 650i xDrive. This means that the occasional complaints of "Audi plowed into corners" does not really apply to the S7, nor does the Merc or BMW.

Although I prefer the feel a CLS rear-wheel drive and 6-series on a track, the S7 is the best vehicle handling in the real world. part of the reason is the selection of Audi tires. While most luxury sedans feature a staggered tire design, the S7 gets the same tires on all four corners -. 265 / 35R20s or 275 / 30R21s that our model was equipped with 265-width rubber is abnormally high in front and the list of cars that run on the front axle 275S is even shorter. Although this choice would usually cause heavy steering and perhaps reduces steering feel, we live in an era of electric power steering, so things are quite numb anyway.

despite being 300-pounds heavier than the Mercedes CLS 550 4Matic, the wider front tires and the overall suspension design S7 are simply the best companion on your favorite winding road. It is also the fastest companion. Put the pedal to the floor and the S7 scoots to 60 in a blistering 3.9 seconds. If you wonder why this is so far official Audi 4.5 seconds run there are two reasons. The first is that Audi, BMW, has been underestimated things for a while. Second, Audi has not updated their official figures after giving the S7 power bump and software refinements. Looking into the numbers, even the 1.3-second time is 0-30 incredibly short for a car without a torque converter.

Thanks to the large front tires, the 4,564- pound Audi defies physics by stopping 60 to zero in a registered 116 feet. Because the front tires and the brakes do most of the braking, the brakes S7 shorter than the CLS550 lighter and slightly heavier 650i because wider tires.

This wide rubber on the S7 sets apart the S6 as well. Traditional Audi sedan comes only with 255 rubber width of the plant and the difference in confidence level is visible when you start to push harder sedans. The handle on the front axle is particularly extreme and instantly noticeable in the S7 when driving the car on hard cornering.

For a performance car with 450 horsepower V-8 and a dual-clutch transmission, S7 is surprisingly civilized. last DCT Audi software allows low-speed crawling almost on par with a modern automatic transmission. Almost. Unless I climbed a steep hill to 2 mph, it was impossible to tell what was under the hood. Also unusual is the choice of Audi air suspension with four corner along the lines of the Mercedes S-Class, Range Rover and Jeep Grand Cherokee. As off-road options with air suspension, the S7 enables "high up" mode for increased ground clearance when approaching driveways. Thank you to the air cushions, round the S7 is also very bright for this segment. On the down side, the air suspension will feel "floaty-Boaty" compared to a traditional installation of steel coils. The choice of suspension makes the most comfortable S7 for everyday driving.

After a week with the S7, my mind was made up. If money were no object, I would take the 650i Gran Coupe. 6 has a distinctive interior, dynamic rear-wheel drive is more fun on a track, I prefer to iDrive and MMI 8 Automatic BMW ZF is a smooth hair. For those of us who make our own money, however, the S7 is the best choice overall.

The 2016 Audi S7 can not be inside as unique, or the happy tail as the 650i, but BMW is not just $ 10,000 more than the Audi. The price of a base 650i about the same as our S7 well equipped, but lacks all-wheel drive and are not as fast at highway speeds. On the side of Mercedes, the S550 is less than the S7 by a great couple, but not a better deal. The S7 is at least some large nicer inside, is faster and offers more polite conduct.

I realize that some outlets have complained about air suspension the suspension of the S7 standard and all-wheel drive. Although I acknowledge the rear-wheel drive Mercedes and BMW have more fun on a track where you can explore the driving dynamics on two wheels and air suspension of the Audi feels more like a boat I do not live and commute on a track. For the average buyer, the S7 is just easier to live. The funny thing is the S7 is so easy to live with and yet so incredibly fast that honestly I see little reason to go to the RS7, or CLS AMG M6 Gran Coupe

There are that only one problem .: The Audi S6. No, it's not as sexy as the S7 and it does not handle well either. However, there is about $ 10,000 less expensive when compared with. Like the S7 vs 650i comparison, the S7 is not just $ 10,000 more than the S6. Because of the way Audi has taken to create the S7, it does not have a unique interior to help cushion the shock is. If my money was on the line, I would take the S6 and spend ten grand on wider tires.

Audi provided the vehicle, insurance and a review of gas

Specifications testing

0-30: 1.3

0-60 3.9

1/4 Mile: 12.3 @ 112 mph