I’ve always been a fan of the RS6 Avant for its sheer chutzpah, in the way it combines family practicality with sports car thrills. Hauls ass and lots of luggage, as it were. As a driving experience I far prefer it to sports SUVs, which feel top heavy in the corners.
But Audi’s high performance executive car is available in two flavours and I welcomed the chance this time to test the sleeker, less spacious RS7, which has the same high-performance drivetrain — a 4.0l V8 petrol turbo engine and quattro all wheel drive — in a more athletic Sportback shape.
Priced at R2,482,900 inclusive of a five-year/100,000km Audi Freeway Plan, it doesn’t swallow as much luggage as the RS6 but isn’t short of space. Four midsized rugby players will fit comfortably under the RS7’s low-slung roof without complaining about head- or leg room, and the boot is large enough for holiday-sized baggage.
The roomy cabin smartly blends luxury with sporting décor, with body-hugging sports seats upholstered in high-grade Valcona leather. The optional R64,500 RS styling package adds blue contrast stitching, black Alcantara steering wheel and surfaces covered in a suede-like Dinamica microfibre.
Other sporting highlights include “RS Performance” puddle lights on the front doors and a 12.3-inch Audi virtual cockpit plus. This digital instrument panel changes views depending on the driving mode selected, including a “runway” view that looks very Top Gun.
In the user interfaces Audi has attempted to marry the best of analogue and digital controls with haptic feedback touchscreens, but they miss the mark in terms of user friendliness as the icons often have to be pressed more than once to activate.
From the outside there is no mistaking the car for a regular A7 Sportback, with the RS7’s visual venom enhanced by large-bore dual oval tailpipes, a rear diffuser, an aggressive front grille and spoiler, and 22-inch matte titanium grey wheels that offer improved brake cooling and are each 5kg lighter than before.
The test car was fitted with R504,000 worth of options, bringing its retail price to just under R3m. The most expensive add-ons were R131,500 for the striking Ascari blue matt paint finish, and R90,000 for the RS dynamic package which adds all-wheel steering and a quattro sport differential and increases top speed to 280km/h (standard top speed is 250km/h).
The RS7 covers distance in surprising comfort on the low-profile tyres, aided by adaptive air suspension that softens and stiffens the ride as conditions demand, and raises or lowers the car.
Button-selectable personalities allow this Audi to instantly switch from comfy cruiser to raging racer, or somewhere in between. There are personalisable settings where you can set the steering, suspension, engine and gearshift responses, while the stability control can be minimised or switched off. The modes can be set to have a softer ride with a more dynamic engine response and louder exhaust, for instance.
I usually left the V8 to fully voice its opinion. It makes a rambunctious roar that raises the excitement levels of driving, an acoustic pleasure that will come to a sad end when Audi goes fully electric in the near future.
For a large car weighing just over two tonnes the RS7 handles with good poise, and for all its power it’s a forgiving machine. The quattro grip is excellent and allows liberties to be taken; the car can be wrestled around a handling track and the throttle planted early without breaking traction. It has a planted feel and doesn’t wallow through fast corners. A centre differential is able to send up to 85% of torque to the rear, and only on the ragged limits does the RS7 run into some understeer.
The brakes do a brisk job of stopping the heavy car, and didn’t fade after a few laps of being punished around a handling circuit.
The straight line performance leaves no unwanted power cravings. In their latest Performance guise, the RS6 and RS7 were given a power tweak with larger turbochargers and an increase in boost pressure. Outputs in the 4.0l V8 biturbo engine are raised to 463kW and 850Nm, from 441kW and 800Nm, and the eight-speed tiptronic transmission has faster shifting times.
A reduction in sound-deadening material helps to create a more emotive sound and shaves 8kg of weight.
Audi claims a sea level 0-100km/h time of 3.4 seconds for the RS7 and the test car came close with a 3.56 secs when we strapped on our testing equipment. Take a moment to let that sink in; a 2-tonne family car blitzing the 0-100km/h sprint in a time that will make Lamborghinis sweat. Launch control makes it child’s play to blast the RS7 off the line and the g-forces feel intense.
Delving into the car’s high-performance zone sends the fuel consumption into the red zone, and the test car averaged 16.6l / 100km. But the high thirst seems a fair price to pay for a pleasurably bipolar car that offers comfortable family practicality with the ability to race Lamborghinis when required.
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