Audi’s vast range of cars represents an all you can eat buffet when it comes to different models. There’s the appetising little A1 that’s ideal for urban life, a more filling Q5 for the family, or how about a naughty R8 Spyder for desert? The A7 has always been something of an Audi connoisseurs choice as it blends the rich flavours of the flagship A8 with a more sporting profile.

Clearly an indulgence amongst its ring-wearing siblings, a new variant of the A7 intends to let you have your cake and eat it. What if you could have your decadent slice of luxury Sportback while being kinder to the environment? Meet the 55 TFSI e, an A7 plug-in hybrid.

Exterior

Looking every inch as smart as you’d expect a top-flight Audi to be, this generation A7 looks as distinguished as a tailored suit. It wears Audi’s latest design language with disdain, and our S-Line Competition specification car in Tango Red certainly got the neighbours curtains twitching.

Its lengthy profile begins with Audi’s bold hexagonal grille that spans much of the front facia, proudly wearing the four interlinked rings. The front bumper takes an athletic form with large intakes and a pronounced lower lip. Raked headlights sit beneath a domed bonnet that features suggestive creases, leading your eyes to the glasshouse. This car’s sloping roofline elegantly tapers to a supplied rear, full of contours and dominated by intricate signature lighting.

As handsome as this A7 is, it’s the details that really seal this as a premium product. Its stoic set of 20-inch alloy wheels that fill those arches with impeccable proportions, the frameless doors that add elegance, and even the covert nature of the deployable spoiler on the boot lid. However, the real magic happens at dusk when its LED-Matrix lights put on an impressive show – standard on S-Line cars.

Of the German ‘big three’, the Audi A7 cuts a far sleeker shape into its environment than anything BMW or Mercedes-Benz can muster.

Interior

If you want a masterclass on how to do an interior well, look no further than a high-ranking Audi. From the second you slip into the A7’s cabin you are bathed in premium materials, excellent design and build quality that is unrivalled this side of £100,000. It sounds too simple to say ‘it feels expensive’, but it really does. Every time you take a seat in one of this car’s expertly upholstered leather seats, you know that you’re in a space that’s had a lot of time poured into its creation.

Front occupants are divided by a high console that leads to a centrepiece comprised of two touchscreen displays. A combination of metallic and gloss finishes coat the dashboard, with letter and Alcantara lining the doors. Customisable ambient lighting lines the cabin for a greater sense of theatre at night.

The heated leather seats are highly adjustable, meaning that a comfortable driving position is only a few prods of a button away. They are wonderfully supportive and the perfect companion for a lengthy journey. The same goes for the rear bench that encourages passengers to sink a little deeper into their seats.

As you’d expect with a roofline such as this, rear headroom is reduced somewhat. That said, it can still happily facilitate the average adult – something bolstered by acres of leg room. However, the middle passenger does have to deal with a sizeable transmission hump thanks to this car being all-wheel drive.

Open the electric tailgate to reveal a large hatchback opening and 535-litres of luggage space – more than the 440-litres offered by BMW’s 8 Series Gran Coupe. While that’s a generous amount of space, a chunk of that is taken by a small case of charging cables that have nowhere else to live.

Technology and equipment

The Audi A7 is packed with great technology that really makes you feel like you’ve bought into a flagship model. One of the standout features of the cabin is Audi’s dual screen MMI infotainment system. Not only does the implementation of a second screen cut down on interior switchgear clutter, but it also allows for different displays dependant on which menu you’re in. Both screens make use of haptic feedback, a clever bit of tech that uses vibrations to simulate touching a button. It worked for Apple on the iPhone 8, and it works for Audi in the A7.

The infotainment system itself is intuitive to use, responsive and full of rich graphics that makes the experience feel more immersive. With the second 8.6-inch screen playing a supporting role, the large 10.1-inch main screen doesn’t have to trouble itself with the myriad of submenus you find in some competitors. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also supported.

This car’s aforementioned heated front seats are standard, as is Audi’s mesmerising Virtual Cockpit. In short, satellite map imagery is overlaid onto the 12.3-inch LCD instrument screen, with customisable digital gauges feeding you desired information. It’s not only visually very impressive, but also a really functional way of glancing at the navigation. Other things you’ll find on all A7s is DAB radio, wireless phone charger, rear-view camera, cruise control, lane departure warning, voice recognition, and a 10 speaker audio system.

The Audi A7 is also rated at autonomy level 3, meaning that it can drive at speeds up to 37mph with no input from the driver in specific scenarios. However, UK law has yet to catch up with autonomous tech, and so the car’s capacity for level 3 lays in wait.

Being an S-Line model, our specific A7 gets those snazzy dancing LED lights along with its other sporty aesthetic details. This car also features optional four-zone climate control, Comfort and Sound Pack, and the City Assist Pack. Comfort and Sound delivers a really impressive 360 degree camera setup as well as a mighty Bang & Olufsen sound system.

As always, the Audi options list is extensive and costly – this quite reserved specification came with extras totalling £3,955. However, that is far less of an issue on a vehicle as opulent as the A7.

*This early production test car was in Competition trim, a grade not currently available in the UK.

On the road

The Audi A7 is available in a wide variety of petrol and diesel guises, but this 55 TFSI e is part of a new breed of plug-in hybrids. Power comes from a turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine and a 14.1kWh liquid-cooled battery. This combination is good for 362bhp and 273lb ft of torque, an out put that equate to a 0-62mph dash of 5.7 seconds – brisk for a big car. On electric power alone, and during a warm spell of wether, we saw an electrical range of 28 miles.

The car starts silently and glides using battery power in the wonderfully serene way only an electric vehicle can. Operating at the level of a whisper, it’s a soothing drive through town and even on dual carriageways thanks to the speed the system can operate at. Ask for more grunt with your right foot and the petrol engine seamlessly steps in to oblige. The way its electric and combustion systems work in tandem is nothing short of impressive, being almost imperceptible from within the cabin. Dare we say it, but this might be the slickest hybrid system we’ve come across yet.

There are several modes for the hybrid system that allows you to run solely on electrical power or to conserve battery for a later time. However, leave the car to its own devices and it will use a combination of mapping, traffic information and your driving behaviour to determine the correct setting. For example, you’re just leaving the motorway and the car has been using a combination of battery and petrol power – the car notices that you’re soon to enter a town – it will switch to battery power by itself through populated areas. Very clever.

The driving experience in the A7 is mainly a relaxing one, its light steering makes effortless work of manoeuvring this big car in a precise and controlled manner. Swapping cogs is the responsibility of a 7-speed automatic transmission that goes about its business in a fashion that makes it invisible to occupants. This quiet composure is only interrupted by a slightly firmer ride than you might expect in this sort of car. Most of the time the A7 is well-damped, but high-frequency road imperfections can make their way into the otherwise peaceful cabin.

This Audi does feature a Quattro all-wheel drive system, but it’s of a new generation that can actually decouple drive to the rear wheels for greater fuel efficiency. That reassuring Quattro grip is reengaged in the blink of an eye should the car need it or driving behaviour changes. The net result is that the A7 feels as reassuring to drive in all weathers as any other Audi.

When driven dynamically in its sport setting, you can take full advantage of that all-wheel drive grip, with its ‘glue to the Tarmac’ sensation allowing you to go cross-country at considerable pace without much hesitation. The electric element of this drivetrain also enables instant throttle response while the turbo spools on the combustion front – something that makes this Audi feel rapid.

It’s far from the most engaging car to drive though, with a general sense of distance between you and the road. The steering is inspiringly accurate, but lacks feedback, and you feel isolated in the cabin from what the car is doing. In this regard, you’d be better served by something from BMW.

The A7 55 TFSI e feels right at home on the motorway, with long hauls ticking by without complaint. Set the cruise control and let the car take the strain as you relax and enjoy the high levels of refinement this executive machine has to offer. Strong overtaking potential awaits thanks to the car’s responsive replies to requests for torque.

You’ll find a pair of fuel doors on this A7, one for petrol and the other for electricity. It plugs in via a Type 2 connector to a 7.4kW charger that can have this car topped up from zero to full in 2 and a half hours – ideal for home charging. Your other alternative is a regular three-pin plug, but this is more for emergencies as it would take 7 hours to charge. We’ve found ourselves occasionally topping up using a public charger at the supermarket (free via Tesco’s VW-installed units) while shopping, but ideally you’d start every day with 100% battery via an overnight charge at home. The car’s electric range means that the bulk of your daily commute could be covered in EV mode. We used hardly any fuel on days of predominant urban driving.

Verdict

The Audi A7 TFSI e Quattro is a highly impressive machine in many regards. Highlights include that masterful interior, its practical boot and the hordes of onboard technology. It comes at a price though with out test car costing £73,095 in its specification. However, such a figure actually makes it good value next to the 8 Series Gran Coupe range that lacks any hybrid drivetrain options at all.

This is not really a car for the keen driver as its focus is on providing business class travel for the road – much more Learjet than fighter plane. Its ride comfort is a little at odds with its quest for refinement, but it is very far from an uncomfortable way to travel. In fact, this highly accomplished hybrid model is a credit to the smooth operation that is an A7.

Compromise is often seen as a negative, but this combination of electric and petrol power makes this arguably the most commendable and versatile A7 in the range.

Facts and figures

Model tested: Audi A7 55 TFSI e Quattro

Price: £73,095

Engine: 2.0-litre petrol engine + 14.1kWh battery

Transmission: 7-speed automatic

Power / Torque: 362bhp / 273lb ft

0-62mph: 5.7 seconds

Top speed: 155mph

Seating: 5

Boot space: 535-litres

MPG: 134mpg

CO2: 46g/km

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