2014 Audi A7 TDI Bi-Turbo: owner review

So we’re talking Audis. You probably know the A5, Q5 and maybe even the A3, A4, A6, Q7 or the A8. But how many of you can identify an A7? It’s amazing how some of the best cars just fly under the radar.

I have an A6 allroad (going cheap….really) and it’s been a fine car. Civilized, heaps of room, and decent economy from its 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel. I also had an old AMG E55 which I sold recently to a collector. The original iron-fist-in-the velvet-glove car that helped put AMG on the map. But every time I drove it on the weekends, I felt like I was wrecking the planet. On a bad day it would get 16 litres per 100 kilometres.

Then a year ago a mate asked me, ”Hey, I want to buy a nice car for the wife, but I also want to drive it. A bit lux. Decent performance. Fun to drive. How about an old AMG C63??”

Knowing his wife, I thought that maybe a C63 was a bit too shouty, so I suggested he look at car I’d thought might be a hidden gem - an Audi A7 TDi Bi-turbo. He found one, test drove it, fell in love, and bought it the same day. But in the end his wife really wanted a cooking-level SUV. So his loss turned out to be my gain, as I ended up selling the AMG and the A6 (still selling!) and buying his A7 as my daily (read: only) driver.

My aim was to get a "have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too" car. And that’s unquestioningly what the A7 does. The car has been a revelation. It gives me the utility of the allroad, with 95% of the capability of the E55, while saving the planet at the same time.

Going down to the beach for a surf? Drop the back seats, open the huge rear hatch and pop in the Malibu's. Carting some stuff home from Bunnings? Ditto. Towing a boat? No problems! Got 2km of twisty road coming up? Change the drive mode to “Dynamic”, pop the shifter to “Sport”, and that 2km is gone in a blink of growling exhaust note and blurring trees. Want some peace and quiet? Drop the car into Eco mode, turn on the active cruise control and dial up the excellent stereo. The only danger is falling asleep – it’s that relaxing!

Did I mention fuel economy? It's around 900km between visits to the petrol station! The A7 Bi-turbo TDi really is a high-class Swiss Army Knife. There are certainly harder-edged, and faster cars out there. There are cars that will use less fuel. There are cars that are even MORE luxurious. There are cars that will carry more luggage. There may even be prettier cars. But no car I have ever owned scores more highly across a greater range of desirable categories than this car. So, as Professor Sumner Miller would have asked: “Why is it so?”

I’ll start with the engine. A 3.0-litre V6 diesel that puts out 235kW and 650Nm at just 1400rpm, and will run 0-100km/h in a touch over 5 seconds. Tickle it a bit and it gets closer to 270kW and 800Nm! And those performance figures don’t tell the whole story. In deference to the huge torque this engine puts out, I’ve been told by my mechanic that the Audi engineers have placed torque-limiting software to “watch over” 1st, 2nd and reverse gears. While this might limit the A7’s traffic-light-derby performance, the engine is unfettered when it comes to rolling performance above 2nd gear, which is where it really shines. Coupled with a superb 8-speed traditional auto, and Quattro all-wheel drive, the A7 is simply a rocket when it comes to mid-range performance.

That’s the pleasure of driving this car. It’s almost telekinetic. You just have to think about touching the accelerator and you'll say, “Hey!…..I just passed that car!”

Yet this is achieved in a seamless and totally non-brutal manner. No matter what gear you are in, the surge of torque is just outstanding, and that makes the A7 an absolute breeze to drive. Even better, all that performance does NOT come at the cost of high fuel consumption. At 110km/h on the right road the car uses barely 5 litres of fuel every 100 kilometres.

Then there is the utility this large hatch commands. A very comfortable and stylish front pair of seats, 3 decent rear seats, a big (if a bit shallow) boot, and – in my eyes at least – bold styling. But the huge rear hatch is the real advantage. Fold down one or both of the 60/40 split rear seats and you have a decent sized almost-wagon. As I said, it really is a Swiss Army Knife.

While the A7’s fantastic performance helps it demolish the open road, how does it fare in the typical urban crawl? Very well – mainly due to features such as the dynamic cruise control that will effectively drive the car in stop-start traffic, pretty much eliminating the chance of one rear-ending the car in front. Manually set the car to (say) 60km/h on cruise control, and it will then happily sit in traffic all day, quietly accelerating and braking as required. This allows you to play with the many options that the A7’s dashboard systems allow you to display, manage and tweak.

“Hmmm….How do I want my exhaust-note, suspension settings and seat-belt pre-tensioning to function in the “Individual” mode? Decisions, decisions!”

Could Audi have made a better A7? Well, there are just one or two minor things I could fault. While the huge power-lift rear hatch is wonderful, it could do with a wiper for when it’s wet – but then it does have a full rear camera (with options for what view you want). At almost 5 metres long, it’s definitely not a small car. But hey, it’s still 700mm shorter than a Maybach! And to get the best out of its very good car sound system, one does have to purchase a separate connector to plug one's DAC / amp into the Audi MMI system. But really, I’m nitpicking.

Yes, the A7 is a rare car. In 3.0-litre TDi Bi-turbo form, even rarer. That could have something to do with its high new-car sticker cost - $150,000 plus options. But at around $40,000 for a top-notch used car loaded with features, the A7 really is a hidden gem. If you really want a fly-under-the-radar car that can do pretty much anything (other than go off-road) then the A7 TDi Bi-turbo is well worth investigating.

Owner: Anthony Learmonth

MORE: Everything Audi