AUDI'S arguably most glamorous five-seater model has been given a few more features to make it even more appealing.

The latest A7 Sportback now comes with all-weather LED headlights, distinctive sweeping rear indicators and stylish 19-inch alloy wheels.

New features are not just limited to the exterior of the car either. Passengers now get deluxe four-zone automatic air conditioning - a boon for the winter days ahead.

And talking of winter the latest version now comes with heated Milano leather-upholstered seats with electric adjustment, so you can get your driving position just right.

The A7 is Audi's sleek, five-door, five-seater coupe which cleverly blends all the space of a saloon with the looks of a low slung sports car.

The SE Executive model that I drove replaces both the standard and SE options in the outgoing range. It's powered by the same size 3.0-litre diesel engine used in Audi's flagship A8, but in this model it gains an extra 12bhp taking it to 272bhp.

That extra power - and the slight weight advantage - improves the 0-62mph acceleration time over the A8 by just 0.2 seconds, although in reality it felt much quicker than its executive cousin and its average fuel consumption is six mpg better.

While the A8 has an eight-speed automatic gearbox the A7 has a seven-speed one, and there's the option to boost the car's performance by slipping the gear shift into Sport or by driving it manually using the paddles behind the steering wheel.

But having tried both options I found this car delivers all the gutsy performance most people crave by leaving in normal Drive mode.

And in Drive even the slightest firm dip of the accelerator brings the car to life with a dramatic surge forward, and the nice thing is just how smooth and refined the power is put down, helped by the four-wheel-drive of Audi's quattro system.

A standard feature on this model is Audi drive select, which allows you to set up the car to your own liking, opting for comfort, dynamic or auto. You can also key in a host of individual settings if you are not content with any of the predetermined ones.

I liked very much the clutter free, clean cut dashboard with its centrally mounted colour screen which turns through 90 degrees as you switch the engine off and disappears into a slot in the dash.

The screen is used for the sat nav as well as operating numerous other features on the car including the audio and heating system, thereby reducing the need for physical switches.

The A7 has a generous luggage area and you can order the car with a self closing tailgate as an optional extra.

So as well as being a superb looking grand tourer the A7 is surprisingly practical. And while I couldn't achieve Audi's official fuel consumption figure of 54.3mpg I did manage just over 37mpg - a respectable figure for such a big car.