Coupe-styled four-doors are all the rage at the upper end of the market. Almost every import luxury brand offers one (or more) to draw buyers who want something with more flair than a convention sedan. Audi doesn't go so far as to call its A7 a coupe, but the car's dramatic roofline and large liftgate certainly set it apart from the related A6 sedan.
What's New for 2015
All models get some additional standard features.
Choosing Your Audi A7
As expected in an upper-level Audi, every A7 comes with all-wheel drive. The standard 3-liter supercharged V6 develops 310 horsepower. The optional 3-liter turbo diesel (TDI) V6 is good for 240 horsepower and delivers an excellent 29 mpg in combined driving. An eight-speed automatic is used with both engines. Due to the TDI's generous torque, it motivates the A7 just as swiftly as the V6 turbo. The difference, of course, is the TDI's efficiency and the extra $2,400 you pay for it. All models come with Audi's Drive Select system with four different driving modes.
Unlike lesser Audis, the A7 dispenses with the "base" Premium trim level and goes right to Premium Plus, which carries some additional equipment this year.
- Premium Plus: Equipped with a leather interior with heated front seats and driver memory, four-zone climate control, a power lightgate, a sunroof, parking sensors, a rearview camera, keyless ignition, Bluetooth phone and audio, web-base navigation, WiFi access and a 10-speaker audio system with satellite radio. You also get Audi's Pre-Sense system, which warns the driver of an impending collision, tightens the seatbelts and automatically closes the car's windows and sunroof. The Driver Assistance package comes with Pre-Sense Plus, which adds automatic braking and extra seatbelt tensioning. Also part of the package are adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane-keeping assist and a surround-view camera system. Heated seats and a heated steering wheel are available in the Cold Weather Package. Individual options include a sport-tuned suspension, a Bose surround-sound system and full LED headlights.
- Prestige: Adds even more standard features like adaptive headlamps, a rear collision warning system, ventilated front seats and the Bose sound system. The Driver Assistance and Cold Weather packages and the sport-tuned suspension continue as options. Available only on the Prestige are power soft-closing doors, a premium Bang & Olufsen sound system, and the Black Optic package with 20-inch wheels and revised exterior trim.
Any A7 can get rear thorax airbags, 20-inch wheels and a no-cost black cloth headliner.
Since the Premium Plus is better equipped than last year, the main reason for upgrading to the Prestige in our view is to access a handful of high-end options that are purely a matter of personal taste.