The Audi A7 is an interesting critter in that it’s about the same size as a mid-sized BMW 5 Series sedan and other mid-sized luxury sedans but costs about $20k more to start than they do.
But you do get something for the money that you do not get in sedans like the BMW 5 and Mercedes E.
That thing being a standard six cylinder engine.
Something that used to be a given in mid-sized luxury sedans such as the BMW 5 and Mercedes E, both of which now come standard with four cylinder engines instead.
A six is still standard in the A7. The downside is you’ll be paying about $20k more to get it.
But you’ll get something else for the money, too.
What It Is
The Audi A7 is a mid-sized luxury sedan that’s also a hatchback sedan – Audi calls it a Sportback – which is another way it’s not like the BMW 5 and Mercedes E, which both have trunks and so have less in there as well.
Also unlike every other mid-sized luxury-brand sedan currently on the market, the A7 still comes standard with a six cylinder engine. These have become optional in the others, which all come standard with four cylinder engines now.
But, there’s a price to be paid for the standard six, the sleek looks and the additional interior space.
The A7 starts at $72,000 – for the Premium trim – which comes with a panorama sunroof, leather seats, three-zone climate control and a dual flatscreen instrument cluster, plus a standard turbocharged 3.0 liter V6 and AWD.
There are two other trims available: The $77,700 Premium Plus – which coms standard with a fancy Bang & Olufsen premium audio system, among other upgrades – and the top-of-the-line Prestige, which comes standard with soft-close doors, a Heads-Up display and massaging seats.
A BMW 5 Series – which is a slightly larger sedan – stickers for $58,200 to start. But you don’t get a six for that money, or even AWD (both are available but extra-cost). The Mercedes E-350 sedan starts at $62,450 – but it also comes standard with a small (2.0 liter) four and without AWD.
A BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe looks more like the A7 as both share “coupe like” styling – and both are hatchback sedans. But the 4-Series Gran Coupe is also a smaller car than the A7 and also comes standard with a smaller (four cylinder engine). The Mercedes CLA also looks “coupe-like,” but is also a smaller car with a smaller engine – hence the smaller price tag.
The A7 thus occupies its own unique spot in that it’s larger than other-brand models that have similarly sexy lines and sexier than other-brand models that are about the same size.
Even sexier, higher-performance versions of the A7 – the S7 and RS7 – are also available; it will be reviewed separately.
What’s New For 2025
Additional equipment has been added to the various options packages available with each trim. For instance, the Convenience Package that’s optional with the base Premium trim now includes selectable color ambient interior lighting. The mid-trim Premium Plus now comes standard with the Executive Package that used to be optional and the top-of-the-line Premium now comes standard with the previously extra-cost massaging seats.
What’s Good
Much more practical than mid-sized luxury sedans such as the Mercedes E350 and sedans due to hatchback layout and 24.9 cubic feet of total cargo-carrying space.
Sleeker-looking shape than other same-sized mid-sized luxury-brand sedans.
Standard V6.
What’s No So Good
Much more expensive than other same-sized luxury-brand sedans such as the Mercedes E350 and the BMW 5-Series.
V6 is not especially powerful – for the price.
Almost every feature is controlled through a big touchscreen that you have to look at in order to be sure you’re touching the right control.
The A7’s standard 3.0 liter turbocharged V6 – which makes 335 horsepower – is somewhat anomalous in that it’s about the same size and has the same number of cylinders that used to be standard in same-sized (mid-sized) luxury sedans such as the BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes Benz E350 – but you’re paying $15k-$20k more than a current-year four cylinder-powered BMW 5-Series or Mercedes E350 costs.
In the recent but rapidly receding (in memory, especially) past, when you ponied up more than $70,000 for a car, the expectation was that the least you’d get was a V8.
But at least you’re getting more than a four.
But you’re not getting that much more power.
The 335 horsepower made by the A7’s 3.0 liter V6 is more than the 255 horsepower you’d get if you were to buy a 2.0 liter-powered Mercedes E350 (which really ought to be the E200 now) or the BMW 530i. Which likewise ought to be the 520i, in the interests of under-the-hood honesty. But it’s about as much power as you used to get – within recent memory, for those who can remember – when a new BMW 5 Series or Mercedes E-Class came with a six about the same size (or even larger, such as the 3.5 liter V6 that was once standard in the E350) that made around 300 horsepower.
What’s happened is a kind of shrinkflation – along with inflation – in that you get less while paying more.
You also get more – in the way of complexity.
The A7’s V6 is supplemented by a “mild hybrid” system that is there to turn off the V6 as often as practical, chiefly to allow Audi to offer the V6 at all. Because when the gas engine is off, it isn’t “emitting” any of the dread gas CO2, which has been transformed by etymological jujitsu into a “pollutant,” even though it has absolutely nothing to do with pollution. Nonetheless, the car companies must reduce the “emissions” of this non-polluting gas and there are only two ways to do that. One way is to reduce the size of the engine (viz, the proliferation of fours in lieu of sixes) and the other is to turn off the engine.
That’s the purpose of the “mild hybrid” system. Here – and generally.
It isn’t to propel the vehicle. And it isn’t to “save gas,” either. The A7’s 22 city, 30 highway is nearly identical to the 20 city, 29 highway posted by a 2015 Mercedes E350 with a V6 and without the “mild hybrid” addendum.
The A7’s hybrid system thus offers no tangible fuel-economy benefit but it does benefit Audi in that enables Audi to continue putting a V6 in the A7 by reducing how much gas (CO2) it “emits.” And that benefits prospective A7 buyers in that they still get a V6 rather than a 2.0 liter four.
A seven-speed dual clutch automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive are standard equipment.
On The Road
There is one benefit – to the driver – of the A7’s mild-hybrid addendum. Throttle response – which is electric car-immediate, because of the instant torque-assist of the electric side of the A7’s tandem drivetrain (this is a good way to think of hybrid drivetrains – plural – because that’s exactly what they are).
The A7 is also much quicker than a four cylinder-powered BMW 5 Series or Mercedes E. Despite weighing 4,343 pounds – or about 300 pounds more than a current BMW 5 or Mercedes E – it still gets to 60 in just under 5 seconds.
THere’s another, subtler benefit (to the driver) as well. It is that the mild-hybrid system eliminates the annoyance of ASS – automatic stop/start. ASS is a more primitive expedient resorted to by car companies as a way to comply with “emissions” regs pertaining to the dread gas, CO2 – by stopping and restarting the engine using the starter motor and the 12V starter battery. This stopping – and restarting – is noticeable, both audibly and (literally) in the seat of your pants as you feel the starter cranking the engine back to life. It’s not just unpleasant, it is also a great way to prematurely wear-out starters and 12V starter batteries.
The A7s mild-hybrid system uses a much more powerful 48 volt electric system and a high-torque belt-driven starter to almost immediately (and seamlessly) restart the engine. You hear – and feel – next-to-nothing, which matters a lot when you’re paying $72k-plus not to hear (or feel) that kind of thing.
Though more of a luxury car than a sporty car, the A7 is sporty enough to be fun to drive, once you turn off all of the “advanced driver assistance technology,” such as Lane Departure Mitigation and Forward Collision Mitigation – with “brake assist” that sometimes applies the brakes when you probably wouldn’t have. Because you could see there was plenty of room between you and the car ahead (and the one on your right) when you decided to thread the needle in between them in order to get around the slow-moving car ahead of you. These systems are programmed to “intervene” when the programming decides you’re cutting it too close for its liking.
And that can be extremely annoying.
Other than that, the only other thing to not especially like about driving the A7 is having to take your eyes off the road to look at the LCD touchscreen and see your finger tap the right icon to control/operate features such as the audio system and climate controls. It is difficult if not impossible to accurately use a touchscreen by feel – because there is nothing to feel (other than the flat glass of the touchscreen).
The car companies have gone all-in on touchscreen displays – and controls – chiefly because they reduce manufacturing costs and because they make the car’s interior look “high tech.” But one result of this is that cars have smartphone-like interfaces and weren’t we supposed to not tap/swipe our phones while driving?
At The Curb
Arguably, the A7’s chief sell isn’t so much what’s under the hood but rather what you can see. It is a striking car from any angle. Not that same-sized mid-sized sedans like the BMW 5 and the Mercedes E aren’t attractively styled. But there is a difference between that and . . . striking.
And that’s a big part of what you’d be paying $72k to get.
The hatchback – Sportback – styling has the effect of making the A7 look much lower than it actually is. In fact, it’s actually only 1.9 inches lower to the ground than the Mercedes E350 sedan.
The tapering roofline also makes the A7 seem longer than it is.
A BMW 5 – which is 199.2 inches long – is almost a full-sized sedan by current reckoning. The A7 – which is solidly in the mid-sized camp at 195.6 inches long – conveys a more elegant line to the eye. Audi may have erred in making this car look as expensive as an A8 – which stickers for $90,900 to start.
But the thing that might draw some sales away from the A8 is that the latter – like the BMW 5 and the Benz E – is a sedan and so has a trunk that doesn’t have nearly as much room for cargo as the comparatively immense 24.9 cubic feet of space you’ll have to work with in the A7. Despite being a definitely full-sized sedan that stretches nearly 210 inches long, the A8 only has 12.5 cubic feet of space in its tiny trunk.
The $90k-plus A8 also comes standard with the same 3.0 liter, 335 horsepower V6 and mild-hybrid set-up.
Remarkably, the A7’s head and legroom (front and rear) compares favorably to what you’d find inside more formally styled mid-sized sedans such as the BMW 5 and Mercedes E. The sleek-profiled Audi has 37 inches of headroom front and rear – as compared with 37.3 inches up front in an E350 and 37.6 in the rear. The much longer (and much higher) BMW 5 only has marginally more front and rear seat headroom, 38.8 inches and 37.5 inches respectively.
And while the BMW 5 has a decent-sized 18.5 cubic foot trunk, it’s not even close to the size or the openness of the A7’s cargo area. The Benz E’s 12.7 cubic foot trunk is so small that it negatively affects the car’s viability as a 4-5 passenger sedan since it only has room for two people’s things in its trunk.
The Rest
One of the other very appealing things about the A7 – especially relative to the much more expensive A8 – is that you can get massaging seats. This is a feature that – as recently as just three or four years ago – was generally restricted to top-of-the-line models like the A8 and its analogs, including the Mercedes S-Class and the BMW 7-Series.
Rear seat heaters and separate climate controls for those riding in back are additional features that you used to have to step up to a top-of-the-line model to get.
Now you don’t.
The Bottom Line
It costs more than other same-sized sedans but you do get more in exchange for what you’re paying – both under the hood and in the cargo (and looks) area. It’s also fair to say you’re getting more than what people who buy an A8 get for the money they spend.
. . .
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For about the same money, you could be driving around a fully restored 1968 Charger, one of the most beautiful cars ever designed:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1968-dodge-charger-54/
It promises not to nanny you like a child or rat you out to the insurance mafia when you go fast.
Cost of the electricity to drive an EV 60 miles…about 100km….in the U.S….compared to a diesel…
In California, peak rates for PG&E customers can be as high as $0.60 per kWh in the afternoon
What test drivers are actually getting driving in the real world driving EV’s is they are getting 2.4 miles of range for every kwh…that equates to 20 mpg….lol
In big heavy EV’s like trucks, it is a lot worse, less then 2.4 miles of range for every kwh…
ATTENTION: What test drivers got in the Hummer EV:
they are getting 1.23 miles of range for every kwh or using 80.69 kwh to go 100 miles. that equates to 10 mpg
Cost of the electricity to drive an EV 60 miles…about 100 km….in the U.S.
60 miles getting 2.4 miles of range for every kwh = 25 kwh times $0.60 = $15.00 for the electricity…
Cost of the electricity to drive an EV 60 miles…about 100km….in the U.S…$15.00
but…… there is another hidden cost…the battery wearing out….$22,000 battery replacement after 100,000 miles or less = cost $0.22 per mile….60 miles times $0.22 = $13.20 plus $15.00 for the electricity = $28.20 total….
In the diesel you don’t have to pay $0.20 per mile to rent the fuel tank…..
Cost of the diesel fuel to drive a 100 mpg Audi A2 3L…. 60 miles…about 100km….
Cost to drive a 100 mpg Audi A2 diesel 60 miles…about 100 km in the U.S….about $1.87…..diesel $3.12 gallon….total fuel bill….$1.87…
Cost to drive the diesel 60 miles…$1.87
Cost to drive the EV 60 miles…..$28.20…$15.00 for the electricity…$13.20 for the battery usage/rent/death/replacement cost…
The Audi A2 3L – The REAL 100 MPG car!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTPnQneEtVs
EV’s cost $50,000….then the cost to drive it is too high….
Cost to drive the EV 60 miles…..$28.20…$15.00 for the electricity…$13.20 for the battery usage/rent/death/replacement cost…
Slaves can’t afford it…they will walk…
Only a small group of people can afford or want EV’s…they already bought them….and they are trading them in for ice cars now…lol
The Audi diesel powered race cars dominated endurance racing…WEC……like Le Mans…
Audi always had advanced technology….
The king of them all..
Audi’s Craziest SUV – The £155,000…$196,000… Q7 V12 6.0 lt. twin turbo DIESEL….. Exclusive Concept!
738 lb ft torque detuned from 1000 lb ft…to save the transmission…
The only V12 diesel in a road car in history….they are now a collector’s car….
It sold terribly, only about 50 units over the full course of production of 4 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAcjeGOVwWQ
When the TDI unpleasantness began I thought about trying to get an A7 TDI to put away for a few years. What a car!
Nice car…compared to the other new cars on the market….but could have been far better…
An other ice car ruined by the regulations, in many ways…
It will probably have a shorter life span then the older ice cars…
For example it has direct injection…trying to squeeze out better fuel economy….
Direct injection shortens a gas ice engine life….
3 Big Problems With Direct Injection Engines (Gasoline)
Fuel dilution…chain wear…and low speed pre ignition….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVd-ZS5bnyY
This Audi A7 is far better then any EV…..and cheaper to own/run….
Cost to charge an EV in Europe….compared to a diesel powered car….
U.S. diesel cost….
Cost to drive a 60 mpg diesel powered car 60 miles ….about 100 km……U.S. diesel price per gallon $3.12….one gallon….total fuel bill….$3.12…
How Much It Costs To Charge An EV In Europe at a public charger… By Country
EV electricity cost…
Cost of the electricity to drive an EV 60 miles…about 100km….
The lowest Iceland…2.9 euros about $3.19 U.S.
The highest…Norway….18.9 euros…about $21.00 U.S….
Diesel powered car fuel cost….
Cost to drive a 60 mpg diesel powered car 60 miles…about 100 km…. in Iceland…diesel $9.20 gallon….. total fuel bill….$9.20 ….
Cost to drive a 60 mpg diesel 60 miles…about 100 km in Norway…about $8.00…diesel $8.00 gallon….total fuel bill….$8.00…
a Tesla Model 3 was considered for this dataset.
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/how-much-it-costs-charge-ev-europe-country
The EV costs twice as much as a small diesel powered car
The depreciation cost is far higher in the EV
The insurance cost is higher in the EV
More frequent tire replacement in the EV….more $$$$$
Higher maintenance cost in an EV…or can’t be fixed…or no parts available….just gets scrapped….far more down time at repair shop…not getting fixed…have to have a second car as backup…
EV less safe…higher fire hazard….
Longer fueling times in an EV…25 minutes to go 60 miles….data from test…
Fueling time in a diesel powered car….3 minutes to go up to 600 miles…
The EV took 8 times longer to charge to go 1/10 the distance…lol…EV’s are a bad joke….
In the test it says it took 25 minutes to get enough electricity to go 60 miles….that is bad enough….
but….didn’t account for the time lost driving around, trying to find a working charger…
or waiting in the line up for the charger…
or the 10 minutes trying to get one of the multiple aps you have to use to use the charger….to even work….
That 25 minutes could be an hour easily….
the test didn’t include the battery cost per 60 miles…$13.20…
$22,000 battery replaced after 100,000 miles = 22 cents per mile battery cost…times 60 miles = $13.20….a hidden cost nobody sees….
So in Norway…$21.00 for the electricity and $13.20 for the battery cost….
In Iceland….$3.19 for the electricity and $13.20 for the battery cost….worse then the diesel….
Although I have had it with Audi, I can say that the A7 is a bad-ass ride! If Audi hadn’t fully pissed me off for YEARS now, I would’ve loved to have one! It’s basically an A6 that starts with the bigger engine and better trim. It also shares much in common with the A6 Avant that is not available in the USA because Audi is a bunch of eurofags. The A6 Avant is, of course, what used to be my dream car. Well, that or the equally unavailable S6 Avant, which is also not available in the USA.
If you can afford it and you can stomach Audi’s shit, it’s wonderful!
I enjoyed owning a 2014 model for eight years and 70000 mls. It was just the best car that I’ve ever had. The handling, thanks to multilink suspension all around and permanent AWD, was impressive. The car’s handling limits were very high, but, it reached, the vectoring rear differential could be called in to work its potential by pressing the go pedal. It was pretty fast, more than its 2 metric ton heft would suggest. It was also quite reliable, except for new neon bulbs. Maintenance was expensive, with its one full break job costing twice than for a typical car. When I sold it, I believe that its battery was about to give up and the valve cover gaskets were leaking a little. By then, it was a decade old and had run 90000 mls. under the belt and the depreciation was ok, but that’s because I bought it when it was just two years old and had run 22000 mls. It was a looker and it aged quite well, inviting spontaneous compliments throughout my ownership.
I should also add that some months before I sold it, it required new engine mounts, but the cost was in line with a typical car. Also, even at its age, the interior looked pristine and the switchgear and their graphics were intact. Audi’s reputation for quality interiors is warranted.
Hi Augustine,
I’d like it if Audi (and VW) resumed selling wagons in the U.S. – but apparently there is not enough market demand in the United States for wagons. Sigh…
I’m with you. But I did use my A7 in a move. Folding the rear seats and stuffing several boxes through its huge hatch was almost as good as a SW.
The Allroad was the apple of my eye
That’s what they say, i.e., “not enough market demand”, but I don’t know if I believe that. I think that they just wanted to steer their customers into the Mexican Q5 garbage SUV because that (probably) has a higher profit margin.
Go look at how, on any auction site that sells Mercedes E-Wagons, or BMW wagons, there is always huge interest and you won’t be finding one that the “rare” enthusiasts miss. No way. The hold their value with basic maintenance very well.
Any time that I’ve been in Europe, I have seen never ending wagons. Even Ford wagons that aren’t sold in the USA!
The “not enough market demand” is cover story IMO. Americans will buy and drive just about any damn thing you put in front of them if the “bang for buck” equation makes any amount of sense.
The more likely story is that different vehicles, that are not wagons, have a higher profit potential for automakers like Audi/VAG and therefore they purposefully and knowingly steer customers away from wagon and into what makes them more money.
How many A7s does Audi sell? They’re damn expensive! That price chips away at the practicality that the hatch and its greater storage would get you.
How many RS6 Avant examples, which start at over $100K, are they selling? I’d bet my last dollar, they’d sell WAY more base model A6 Avants than RS6 Avants if they were available.
Automakers have clearly lost their minds. Their stories don’t add up, and we see this more and more with the futile stockpile of bullshit golf carts that they intend to FORCE on us.
Sell what sells?? No, no. They know people have to drive *something* and so, fuck you and me, drive what THEY want you to drive.
They do THAT, but with wagons it’s somehow all about market demand?!
SUUUURE!
It’s a beautiful car. I think if you were with a company with a generous car program it would be an excellent three year vehicle.
But damn there’s a lot going on in there.
I assume you put more miles on the nicer cars (particularly if they aren’t EVs) but what do you suppose is your average?
Thanks as always for the excellent review!
A sportback is a hatchback with a sexier name?
Poor folks sitting in the back would be terribly uncomfortable.
I think your right Jim. They’ve made these late model cars way too complex. Probably a feature to make EV’s look better.
As for the A7, beautiful car. Always liked/wanted one.
However, now with the mild-hydrid, not so much interested anymore.
I much preferred the older Audi supercharged engines, I think went away 2018?
In 10 years we’ll probably be pining for the good old days when you could get a huge 2.0 four for only $60 grand.
A pox on them all. It’s never been easier to go around the system and roll your own.
Put a NA V8 in the chassis of your choice, put the pre 66 body of your choice on it, and you’re there. Mine sports a Chrysler 360 in late 40s Ford drag. 360 lumpy horsepower in 2800 lbs of art deco voluptuousness. No motherflunking seat belts, much less buzzers.
You can’t drive for fun most places in our open air concentration camp anyway. For creature comfort and cheap daily utility there are metric tons of older Toyotas and Hondas.
a Chrysler 360 in late 40s Ford drag
I like it. Mike Finnegan’s 55 Chevy with a Chrysler 426 Hemi he calls BlaspHemi:
https://www.motortrend.com/features/mike-finnegan-blasphemi-1955-chevy-gasser/
‘The A7’s standard 3.0 liter turbocharged V6 – which makes 335 horsepower – is about the same size and has the same number of cylinders that used to be standard in same-sized (mid-sized) luxury sedans such as the BMW 5 Series.’ — eric
Despite both having sixes, there’s an important difference between the A7’s 3.0 liter six and the BMW 540i’s 3.0 liter six: the latter is an inline engine. An I-6 is inherently balanced, in a way that a V-6 cannot be.
Taking a step back, though, both of these overpriced luxury sedans, with their indifferent reliability and costly parts and repairs, highlight the decline of German automotive industry. By passively tolerating America’s destruction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Germany’s NATO-puppet quisling leaders have saddled its auto industry with uncompetitive costs which can’t be overcome.
Thus, cars like the A7 and 540i aren’t going to be around much longer, nor are their makers. So these posh barges might be worth buying for future rarity value, despite their ridiculous prices. You can always put them up on concrete blocks in the weedy front yard and just enjoy the massaging seat, while making vroom vroom noises.
Sic transit gloria Germania.