By Mike Torpey on 2011-07-09 - Driving Force news editor and responsible for organising our daily output. He was staff motoring editor of the Liverpool Echo for 20 years.
Audi A7 Sportback
3.0 TDI quattro SE
EXECUTIVE travel with a new slant is how Audi describes its super coupe, the A7 Sportback.
Long, lean and packed with techno wizardry, the model is also very much a niche product in that every car is being built to order - the estimate is 3,000 a year - giving it a shedload of exclusivity.
The name on the label may be Sportback but as a spacious four-seater with plenty of room for luggage it's realistically more of a grand tourer.
The A7 oozes quality from every pore, whether it be the power of the engines, development of the technology, appointment of the cabin or precision of the engineering. It cuts a dash in every department.
Audi fans have a choice of four engines - 2.8-litre FSI with 204ps and 3.0 TFSI with 300ps petrol plus a pair of 3.0 TDI diesels producing 204 or 245ps - and SE and S line trim grades.
Of the quartet only the front wheel drive, lower power diesel doesn't feature Audi's quattro all-wheel drive system, instead using the company's multitronic automatic transmission as opposed to the quattro's seven-speed twin clutch S tronic box.
And while this model is the most economical in the line-up boasting an average 53.3 miles per gallon, it's the tested, higher powered, oil-burner that takes the biscuit.
Refined and well balanced, it shows terrific poise through bends, possesses a huge amount of grip and feels superbly engineered, while the car's sound insulation is also of high order.
For those who want to vary the driving experience there's the Audi Drive Select system with its Auto, Comfort and Dynamic modes, the latter of which substantially firms everything up.
Upmarket gadgetry is everywhere in the A7 Sportback, from a night vision camera and internet ‘on the go' to parallel parking. Problem is, the gizmos don't come cheap.
In fact you could buy another premium model just by speccing the car up with some very tempting extras.
The test car, in entry level SE grade, didn't come with Audi's most sophisticated options yet the likes of Milano leather upholstery at £750, 19-inch alloys for £990, ambient lighting (£300), front seat ventilation (£840) and MMI Navigation Plus at £1,175 added another £7,000 to the tab.
It did, however, have a a smart phone link to the internet that turns the car into a wi-fi hotspot for passengers with laptops.
From a practicality viewpoint there's ample rear head and legroom for two tall passengers plus a long but shallow boot that can cope with a useful 535 litres of clobber. Fold the rear seats down and the flat floor can cope with a couple of golf bags and trolleys.
Audi A7 Sportback 3.0 TDI quattro SE
Price: £47,200
Mechanical: 245ps, 2,967cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving four wheels via 7-speed automatic gearbox
Max Speed: 155mph
0-62mph: 6.3 seconds
Combined MPG: 47.1
Insurance Group: 40
C02 emissions: 158g/km
Bik rating: 22%
Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles
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