First Drive: All-New Audi A7 Sportback

The A7 Sportback exudes an easy elegance. Audi’s second-generation grand touring luxury coupé is a graceful car and a polished example of industrial design. It is a highly technical mobile gadget too, offering the latest driver-assist innovations and a fully digital cockpit. It is also a lovely car to drive, as I am about to experience.

Mine is the uber-refined 340ps 3.0-liter V6 petrol, teamed here with the optional four-wheel steering system for a smoother drive. The chassis is agile yet comfortable and the quattro will get to 62 mph in 5.3 seconds while achieving a top speed of 155 mph. Audi is offering mild-hybrid assistance with stop-start on all its engines, which is always a handy feature especially in congested, urban areas.

Driving to one side, I suspect it is with its looks that the A7 is likely to impress. Here the design echoes the marque’s latest visual language, first seen on the Prologue concept four years ago, then introduced on the new flagship A8 production car.

On the A7 the focus is on the play of wide subtly-sculpted surfaces and chiseled sharp edges, replete with a low, sexy coupé roofline. The single-frame grille, a distinguishing feature on contemporary Audis, is slim and horizontal, extending the width of the car. At the rear, the flat full-width light strip forms a continuous light graphic that does a little unexpected dance when you lock and unlock the car. This animated feature is reserved for the more premium Audis.

Elements of this staged sense of fun continue inside the A7 where the cabin lights up at night with a wide choice of theatrical ambient lighting. It is noticeably comfortable driving this car even though the roofline is tighter than the outgoing model. Interior length has increased by 21 mm, so there is more knee and head room for rear passengers. On models with the three-seat rear bench design, with the backrest fully stowed, the luggage capacity can expand from 535 to a generous 1,390 liters. However, there seems to be adequate space to carry our three small suitcases without the need to lower the back seats. There are twin leather­ upholstered seats with full electric adjustment, as well as a menu of massage treatments to soothe aching muscles while on the road.

The cabin is also pleasantly uncluttered thanks to Audi’s virtual cockpit, seen on the Prologue and introduced on the A8. A fully digital MMI multimedia system replaces the usual Audi rotary controller and satellite buttons so most operations now take place by touch on the duel-screen which is perfectly integrated into the dashboard. Navigating the system is intuitive since it functions much like a smartphone with the addition of haptic and acoustic feedback as confirmation when a fingertip triggers a function. Up to seven drivers can store their preferred settings in individual user profiles and some 400 parameters can be personalized.

The few remaining mechanical driving elements also integrate within the single unit that houses all digital themes to reflect the shape of the radiator grille outside. This sense of precision, which is so very Audi, makes all the difference when you sit in and drive this car. These are the subtleties of design that almost should go unnoticed yet add to our sensory experience. The Ingolstadt marque has long known how to build a seamless relationship between digital and analogue - something that is not always the case with other carmakers.

It almost feels natural for the A7 to be one of the most advanced cars on the road today - certainly in this price range. This is a hugely technical car offering 39 driver-assist innovations such as hands-free autonomous driving in traffic at speeds of up to 37 mph and self-park in a garage or a bay from the outside. Sadly, at this stage local regulations mean many of these cannot be enabled, but as laws gradually relax Audi promises to introduce them in stages during the year.

There are other rival four-door luxury coupés of this size and prestige on the market - most notably the Mercedes-Benz CLS and Porsche Panamera, both equally brilliant products. This niche genre is tricky to master as the GT coupé buyer needs to be impressed with both the sporting looks and space and comfort. The A7 has achieved these aims. The design is so precise; every element has been meticulously studied yet the finished product feels modest, possibly even a little reserved yet with just that little touch of unexpected theatre delivered in a very technical Audi way.

The A7 Sportback is priced from around $77,000 with first deliveries expected in April 2018.