Audi S7 (2012 - 2016)
What You Get
You'll buy this car because of what it says about its brand and because of what it says about you, with a look that's measured, efficient, sporting and quietly exclusive. The long bonnet, the long wheelbase and the short overhangs create perfect proportions, while the swooping roofline is reasonably successful in giving this five-door model the character of a coupe. Subtle, eye-catching details around the single-frame grille, the front bumper, the side mirrors and the sills set the S7 apart from its humbler MK1 model A7 stablemates.
And there are more to be found as you move further back past the 19-inch wheels with their black callipers and appreciate bespoke touches around the rear bumper, the diffuser and the tailpipes. At motorway speeds, a rear spoiler extends from the rear hatch to improve stability.
The interior is similarly restrained but impressive. Everywhere you look, there's a beautiful blend of craftsmanship and technology. And a discreet reminder of what you've bought, with illuminated door sill trims and displays for the MMI and the driver information systems that highlight the S7 logo on start-up. A red ring adorns the start-stop button, an aluminum clasp the selector lever. The footrest, the pedals and the soft keys of the MMI operating system get a gleaming aluminum-style finish.
There's full leather of course and at the front, multi-way power-adjustable sports seats designed exclusively for this model. The three-spoke S quattro steering wheel has colour-contrasting stitching and a set of aluminium-look shift paddles just behind it. Beyond them, you view a set of bespoke instruments featuring grey dials with white needles.
Rear seat accommodation is equally beautifully trimmed, but the main drawback for family folk with three children will be that on an S7, you don't get the option that was available on ordinary A7 Sportback models of a three-person rear bench. If that's not an issue for you, then you'll find little else to criticise here. This car is, after all, a hefty five metres in length, so you'd expect two adults to be able to stretch out very comfortably here - as indeed they can.
And luggage space? Well, at 535-litres, it's a little more than you'd get in a rival BMW 650i GranCoupe or Porsche Panamera from this era and you can extend this to 1,390-litres by flattening the split-folding rear seats. Not far off, in other words, what you'd get with Audi's S6 Avant estate, yet delivered in what many will feel is a more stylish bodyshape. In other words, you can see this S7's appeal.