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Old 2nd February 2011, 09:21 PM
Architex_mA8tey's Avatar
Architex_mA8tey Architex_mA8tey is offline
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Default New A7 Sportback Vs D4 A8

As some of you know I recently tried out the New A8 - fuller details Here
Well this week Ive had a go in the new A7 Sportback so I thought I would try and do a similar report and take a load more pictures for everyone.

The car concerned is the 3.0TDI quattro A7 Sportback which generates 245PS and 500Nm of torque, enough to propel its occupants from 0 – 62mph in just 6.1 seconds. Even more impressive is the low nominal combined fuel consumption of just 47.1MPG and CO2 emissions of 158 g/km. Ive been looking at what to replace my company car with and a hatchback with a bit more style would certainly come in useful.

My first impressions are good - it feels very different from the D4 A8 in many ways, lighter, sportier, and doesnt feel its size at all. The A8 I drove was certainly quieter inside due to its double glazing but the A7 didnt feel overly noisy, you are just aware of more external noise than in the 8.

The cockpit feels like a nice place to be and feels slightly more intimate in the 7 than the 8 although much of the instrumentation is very similar. This particular car had quattro, and the sports differential and felt very assured on the back roads and on my "private driveway" to work (you'll have to ask IT about that one lol). The interior colour combo in this car was a wonderful mix of nougat brown and black, my only 2 criticisms were the lack of sports or comfort seats (the standard ones are in my opinion narrow and uncomfortable for long journeys) and also the light grey headlining and parcel shelf, which I would almost certainly have in black instead as the large white rear shelf reflects off the slope of the rear window and gets on your nerves visibility wise.

Otherwise, I really cant fault the car - if you like the A8 but want more of a drivers car then look at the A7 (I'm looking forwards to an S7 or RS7!!) whereas if you want wafting luxury and even more rear seat luxury then the 8 is still the daddy!

Heres the full album which Ive linked to here

This particular car had £11,362 of extras!! and a spec list as long as your arm -
Metallic Paint
Parking System - Advanced
Storage Package
Adaptive Cruise (loved this)
HDD Sat Nav with MMi Touch
20" 10 parallel Spoke Alloys - Graphite
Adaptive light and high beam assist (love the high beam assist!)
Ambient lighting
High Gloss Tailpipes
Sports Suspension
3 Spoke Leather Steering Wheel
Through Load with Ski Bag
Folding Door Mirrors with Memory
Extended Leather Package
Inlays - Fine Grain Ash
Bose - Surround Sound System
4 Zone Climate Control
Night Vision Assistant
Phone Prep High

A7 sportback pictures

As you will see in the pics I met up with James again to see how the car measures up to a D2 S8 - I think perhaps it looks a little more sporty than the D4 A8 did next to it (not such a snow plough type grille) and its certainly lower down to the ground than the D4 A8 was

Anyways enjoy the pics and let me know what you all think. . . . I think it might be fun having a 7 and an 8!
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Audi A8 D2 3.7 Quattro Sport 1999 FL - Melange
2nd Place Winner - A8-Freunde Annual German Meet 2012 at Edersee
20" x 9" Bentley GTC Wheels with 385mm W12 Front Discs & Bentley Caliper Covers, Front Lowered on Coilovers, Xenons, Combined DRLs and LED Foglights to modified OEM front fog lamp position, Alcantara/Leather, Full Black Alcantara headlining + pillars and blind shelf, Bespoke Flat Bottomed Sports Steering Wheel, Dark Myrtle Wood, Autodim Mirrors, Bose, Blinds, Digital TV, Ski Hatch, Modified rear exhaust section for extra V8 Burble
Audi S8 D2 Final Edition 2002, Avus Silver with Red Leather Interior
Tiptronic with Sport mode button, Sony rear entertainment package, Bose sound system, Audi Navigation Plus, 20 inch Final Edition alloys, Full Cat Back Stainless Milltek exhaust, giving a great V8 burble
Audi A8L D2 4.2 Petrol with LPG - Ebony Black
Audi A8L D4 FL 4.0T Petrol twin turbo - Havana Black
Audi A2 1.6 FSi Sport - Dolphin Grey with Votex body kit and Red Leather Interior
and some other A8's A8L's and Mercs

Last edited by Architex_mA8tey; 2nd February 2011 at 09:25 PM.
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Old 3rd February 2011, 09:50 AM
René René is offline
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if i had the money i would prefer the 7, looks more young and sporty
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Old 3rd February 2011, 10:42 AM
builder22 builder22 is offline
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Hey there,

Really like the A7 - not sure I would. Thanks so much for all the pictures, you can really get a sense of the car from those. I don't know why the manufacturers don't do something similar so we can all get a greater feel for their products.

Thanks again,

Niall
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Old 3rd February 2011, 11:11 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by René View Post
if i had the money i would prefer the 7, looks more young and sporty
You're right René - it certainly drives a bit more more sporty too

Quote:
Originally Posted by builder22 View Post
Hey there,

Really like the A7 - not sure I would. Thanks so much for all the pictures, you can really get a sense of the car from those. I don't know why the manufacturers don't do something similar so we can all get a greater feel for their products.

Thanks again,

Niall
Thanks for the kind words Niall. I have to thank John and Richard at Swindon Audi for giving me the opportunity, and my A4 for needing some workshop time!!
Actually the car is still in the garage as we speak and I now have a brand new A6 S-Line with 500 miles on the clock. My A4 has just under 60,000 miles on it and they are changing the 1st and 2nd synchromesh gears under warranty and replacing my clutch for just cost of parts while they are there. I dont mind if a car goes wrong, but how the dealership/brand deals with it when it does is very important to me, and that's why I have a lot of time for Audi
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Confidence is the feeling you have before you know better . . . .
Audi A8 D2 3.7 Quattro Sport 1999 FL - Melange
2nd Place Winner - A8-Freunde Annual German Meet 2012 at Edersee
20" x 9" Bentley GTC Wheels with 385mm W12 Front Discs & Bentley Caliper Covers, Front Lowered on Coilovers, Xenons, Combined DRLs and LED Foglights to modified OEM front fog lamp position, Alcantara/Leather, Full Black Alcantara headlining + pillars and blind shelf, Bespoke Flat Bottomed Sports Steering Wheel, Dark Myrtle Wood, Autodim Mirrors, Bose, Blinds, Digital TV, Ski Hatch, Modified rear exhaust section for extra V8 Burble
Audi S8 D2 Final Edition 2002, Avus Silver with Red Leather Interior
Tiptronic with Sport mode button, Sony rear entertainment package, Bose sound system, Audi Navigation Plus, 20 inch Final Edition alloys, Full Cat Back Stainless Milltek exhaust, giving a great V8 burble
Audi A8L D2 4.2 Petrol with LPG - Ebony Black
Audi A8L D4 FL 4.0T Petrol twin turbo - Havana Black
Audi A2 1.6 FSi Sport - Dolphin Grey with Votex body kit and Red Leather Interior
and some other A8's A8L's and Mercs
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Old 3rd February 2011, 11:41 AM
jayzee jayzee is offline
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Nice touch with the Ronin image

Certainly looks to be the nicer car, and can see what you mean about that parcel shelf being a pain.

The only thing that bugs me is that they all look the same to me from the front and back I know Audi aren't the only ones to share the same "family" design throughout their range, but I wish manufacturers would make a proper effort to distinguish each of their model range.
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Old 3rd February 2011, 12:06 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jayzee View Post
Nice touch with the Ronin image

Certainly looks to be the nicer car, and can see what you mean about that parcel shelf being a pain.

The only thing that bugs me is that they all look the same to me from the front and back I know Audi aren't the only ones to share the same "family" design throughout their range, but I wish manufacturers would make a proper effort to distinguish each of their model range.
lol I wondered if anyone would spot that
I suppose they would all say that it helps to "strengthen their brand image" but I know what you mean. I do think that the A7 sportback has some nice shapes to it though and looks quite a bit sportier in the flesh than it looked online and in pics. Most importantly of all though it actually drives like a sportier car too and feels a lot smaller than its size to drive
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Confidence is the feeling you have before you know better . . . .
Audi A8 D2 3.7 Quattro Sport 1999 FL - Melange
2nd Place Winner - A8-Freunde Annual German Meet 2012 at Edersee
20" x 9" Bentley GTC Wheels with 385mm W12 Front Discs & Bentley Caliper Covers, Front Lowered on Coilovers, Xenons, Combined DRLs and LED Foglights to modified OEM front fog lamp position, Alcantara/Leather, Full Black Alcantara headlining + pillars and blind shelf, Bespoke Flat Bottomed Sports Steering Wheel, Dark Myrtle Wood, Autodim Mirrors, Bose, Blinds, Digital TV, Ski Hatch, Modified rear exhaust section for extra V8 Burble
Audi S8 D2 Final Edition 2002, Avus Silver with Red Leather Interior
Tiptronic with Sport mode button, Sony rear entertainment package, Bose sound system, Audi Navigation Plus, 20 inch Final Edition alloys, Full Cat Back Stainless Milltek exhaust, giving a great V8 burble
Audi A8L D2 4.2 Petrol with LPG - Ebony Black
Audi A8L D4 FL 4.0T Petrol twin turbo - Havana Black
Audi A2 1.6 FSi Sport - Dolphin Grey with Votex body kit and Red Leather Interior
and some other A8's A8L's and Mercs
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Old 3rd February 2011, 11:20 PM
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tonupkid tonupkid is offline
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Ooooooo! these have been catching my eye since they came out. I love that fluid muscular bodywork and, of course, the swept roof.
O-60 in 6.1. I still remember when the E Type could get there... Almost.

Definitely on my wish list.

Great write up and Picts. Thanks again
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Old 3rd February 2011, 11:38 PM
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Fantastic write up Neil, had it not been for the riots in Egypt and Tunsia I would have made it to lunch with you and James
Fantastic write up, very thorough photos and as Niall said they really give you a feeling for the car. This is my favourite new Audi at the moment. Let's hope Audi make an RS 7
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Old 14th February 2011, 12:19 AM
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Hmm guess where I've been today . . . . lol

They had 7 A7's in their window all the same colour with alternating spoilers up and down and another one on the ground floor and 2 more outside
It was like automotive porn!!!

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__________________

Confidence is the feeling you have before you know better . . . .
Audi A8 D2 3.7 Quattro Sport 1999 FL - Melange
2nd Place Winner - A8-Freunde Annual German Meet 2012 at Edersee
20" x 9" Bentley GTC Wheels with 385mm W12 Front Discs & Bentley Caliper Covers, Front Lowered on Coilovers, Xenons, Combined DRLs and LED Foglights to modified OEM front fog lamp position, Alcantara/Leather, Full Black Alcantara headlining + pillars and blind shelf, Bespoke Flat Bottomed Sports Steering Wheel, Dark Myrtle Wood, Autodim Mirrors, Bose, Blinds, Digital TV, Ski Hatch, Modified rear exhaust section for extra V8 Burble
Audi S8 D2 Final Edition 2002, Avus Silver with Red Leather Interior
Tiptronic with Sport mode button, Sony rear entertainment package, Bose sound system, Audi Navigation Plus, 20 inch Final Edition alloys, Full Cat Back Stainless Milltek exhaust, giving a great V8 burble
Audi A8L D2 4.2 Petrol with LPG - Ebony Black
Audi A8L D4 FL 4.0T Petrol twin turbo - Havana Black
Audi A2 1.6 FSi Sport - Dolphin Grey with Votex body kit and Red Leather Interior
and some other A8's A8L's and Mercs

Last edited by Architex_mA8tey; 5th September 2011 at 09:31 PM.
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  #10  
Old 14th February 2011, 03:32 PM
gninnam gninnam is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Architex_mA8tey View Post
It was like automotive porn!!!
You need to get out more (or is that less)
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