The visually dramatic Audi A7 Sportback is progressive in tech and design

With the styling of a coupé, the space of a sedan, and the variability of an avant, the Audi A7 Sportback combines the best of three worlds. The second generation of the Gran Turismo is the essence of Audi’s new design language in a large and visually striking four-door coupé, and is now available for sale in SA.

The exterior design embodies large surfaces and sharp edges with alternating light and shadows. The wide Singleframe grille and prominent air scoops present a bold and edgy façade to the face of the vehicle, while the pronounced wheel contours reference Audi’s quattro genes. The Audi A7 Sportback immediately attracts attention and is a design masterpiece on its own.

The Audi A7 Sportback’s distinctive lighting feature in the front and rear are highlights worth noting. HD Matrix LED headlights with 12 separate strips create a characteristic lighting signature, and are optionally available with Audi laser light technology, allowing pronounced coverage at night. 

As with the previous model, the rear end of the Audi A7 is tapered like that of a yacht. The long luggage compartment lid ends in a prominent, curved lip from which an integrated spoiler extends automatically at a certain speed. A flat light strip – a design feature common to all of Audi’s top-of-the-range models (as seen on the Audi Q8) – joins the rear lights, whose tail lights are made up of 13 vertical segments. 

When the doors are unlocked and again when they are locked, fast-moving light animations play in the rear lights and in the headlights, highlighting the big coupé’s dynamics while standing still. This visual drama from the Audi A7 is a beautiful lighting display to witness.

The interior of the Audi A7 Sportback does not disappoint: it is a unique fusion of design and technology. A futuristic and premium lounge atmosphere greets you when you get in, in a clean and minimalistic setting that conveys airy spaciousness. The interior has grown compared with the previous model, and the luggage compartment can expand from a spacious 535 to 1,390 litres. 

The cockpit offers a wide choice of colours, materials and lighting, suited to the driver’s specific tastes. In addition to a digitised instrument panel, there are two large tablet-style infotainment screens on the dashboard, minimising the number of physical buttons needed. Operation is intuitive, like on a smartphone, and acoustic-haptic feedback provides a tangible click to confirm activation of a function.

Four key values characterise the interior concept of the new Audi A7 Sportback: progressiveness, sportiness, intuitiveness and sophistication. The standard voice control recognises natural speech with ease. For instance, you can say “I’m hot,” and the digital hostess will ask what temperature you would like in the cabin and set it to your choice. 

The standard contour ambient lighting package is another feature which enhances the atmosphere in the vehicle. Triggers of light traces the contours and interior lines of the cockpit and subtly highlights the inner space in 30 different colours. 

Standard convenience features are aplenty in the Audi A7 Sportback. MMI navigation plus includes the Audi virtual cockpit with a 12.3-inch display as standard, offering accessibility to the driver in his or her direct view. For those needing a digital lifestyle, the Audi phone box offers inductive charging and the Audi smartphone interface (both standard offerings on the vehicle), allows for easy connectivity to Apple Car play and Android Auto.

The Bang & Olufsen premium sound system is another standard feature on the new A7 and delivers fascinating 3D sound to the interior of the cabin so that your favourite tune sounds incredible.

A powerful 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 engine with 250kW supplies effortless cruising and overtaking power in the new Audi A7 Sportback. A 48V mild-hybrid system helps keep fuel thirst down to 6.8l/100km. The Audi A7 Sportback reaches a top speed of 250km/h and quotes a zero-to-100 performance of 5.3 seconds.

The new Audi A7 55 TFSI Sportback quattro S tronic is priced at R1,250,000 and comes standard with the five-year/100,000km Audi Freeway plan, inclusive of all taxes. The new vehicle is currently available for sale at all Audi dealerships around SA.

This article was paid for by Audi South Africa.