2016 Audi A7 3.0T Quattro Review

The General Sherman is a giant sequoia tree that towers 274.9 feet above the forest floor in California’s Sequoia National Park. While it isn’t the tallest, widest, or oldest tree on the planet, the General Sherman is famous for being the largest known living single-stem tree on earth — its weight is estimated at about 4.2 million pounds. More impressive for me, however, is its age. According to dendrologists (people who study trees for a living), the colossal toothpick is upwards of 2,700 years old.

On a quest to visit Sequoia National Park and stand under the broad canopy of The General Sherman, I loaded my family into a beautiful 2016 Audi A7 — painted Ibis White and featured Nougat Brown leather and layered walnut wood trim with aluminum accents — for a road trip. The German automaker’s four-door hatchback (Audi calls it a sedan) was launched as a 2012 model, making it about as old as a new needle on the giant sequoia, but Audi nevertheless treated the A7 to a freshened look and additional amenities for its fifth model year.

To keep its appearance up to date, the A7 received new treatments front and rear — but, because the A7 was already one of the most attractive vehicles on the road, the tweaks wisely were kept to a minimum. One welcome addition is standard LED headlights, replacing the previous model’s HID units.

The A7’s interior, too, was already one of the best looking, nicely crafted and well-appointed around — so Audi had little more to do than augment its features with a standard power-operated steering wheel, an upgraded MMI infotainment system with 4G mobile WiFi and USB audio connectivity, and optional massaging front seats.

Audi launched the A7 with a supercharged 3.0-liter V6 rated at 310 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. For 2016 the engine has been tweaked for more power, bumping its output to 333 horsepower; peak torque remains the same. Fuel economy has risen from 18 city/28 highway to 20 city/30 highway with the stronger yet more efficient powerplant.

Packing a family of four and their luggage into an A7 is an uncomplicated task thanks to four wide-opening frameless doors and a power-operated rear lift gate that rises to reveal volumes of cargo space. If needed, the second row of seats split 40:60 and fold forward to increase the floor area. We just dropped our suitcases into the trunk and climbed in.

Both front seats are eight-way power-adjustable with lumbar support and offer enough articulation and support to please even the extremes of human shape. Head- and legroom are excellent, and outward visibility is unhampered to all four corners of the vehicle. The rear seats are very comfortable as well, but my 16-year-old son, who stands six-foot one-inch tall, found his hair rubbing gently on the headliner (the A7 is a chopped version of the A6 sedan, which offers more headroom for those in the back).

After departing the Los Angeles Basin, the easiest way to Sequoia is northbound on Interstate 5 to U.S. Route 99 and then to California State Route 65, which turns into California State Route 198 — sounds complicated, but in practice it would be difficult to get lost. The start of the route is a fast multi-lane highway only a few hundred feet above sea level, but each new road becomes narrower, slower, and more challenging as it climbs into the park above 7,000 feet in elevation.

Audi engineers designed the A7 to cruise along the German autobahn at 150 mph, so the five-passenger vehicle barely broke a sweat at U.S.-mandated highway speeds (the automatic rear spoiler doesn’t even deploy until it hits 80 mph). Using the optional adaptive cruise control, part of the Driver Assistance Package, I set the system at 9 mph over the legal limit and rested my feet flat on the floor, fully confident that the system would control our velocity perfectly and monitor a safe perimeter to our progress. Never once did it let us down, even in stop-and-go traffic — Audi’s system is one of the best on the market.

Very little noise permeated the cabin during high-speed cruising (better to enjoy the premium Bose Surround Sound audio package), although because there is laminated acoustic glass on the front doors but not on the two passenger doors, my second-row passengers were treated to a bit more outside noise (when they weren’t wearing their earbuds).

The aggressive running gear — 20-inch alloys mounted with 265/35R20 summer compound rubber — contributes to the Audi’s phenomenal handling but at the cost of noticeable tire roar and thumps on course asphalt and over concrete expansion joints. The A7’s S line sport package includes sport dampers, which hold the unibody platform nearly level during cornering while absorbing harsh impacts without transmitting any of the abuse to the passengers. Brakes, boasting multi-piston calipers up front and plenty of capacity, never call into question their ability.

Forced induction powerplants excel at higher altitudes, suffering less than their naturally aspirated counterparts from the thinner air. Passing slow-moving vehicles above 5,000 feet elevation required nothing more than a quick stab of my right foot. The standard 8-speed automatic transmission then would drop a couple gears and the A7 would rocket forward to blast by the obstruction. Sometimes I would tug on the steering wheel-mounted paddles and shift the gears myself, but that was nearly always needless as the computer is more astute than a human operator.

Quattro, Audi’s famed permanent all-wheel-drive system, is standard on the A7. Even those outside the Snow Belt will find it a welcome enhancement to the vehicle. With a nominal torque split of 40:60 (front to rear), it essentially replicates the dynamics of rear-wheel-drive but with the added ability to send torque to the tire with most grip to improve traction. Full throttle starts are uneventful, without a hint of wheelspin, and the power builds immediately (superchargers don’t suffer lag like their turbocharged counterparts). The Audi launches to 60 mph in less than five seconds; it’s very quick.

From Los Angeles to Sequoia National Park and back to L.A. equates to about 10 hours of seat time, especially if you take in such nearby attractions as driving through the famous “Tunnel Log” located along the Crescent Meadow Road in Giant Forest or hiking up spectacular Moro Rock for breathtaking Sierra vistas — both “must-do” visits on a trip the park.

Even with a full complement of passengers and cargo, it was all smiles throughout the entire journey. Some used the on-board WiFi from Audi Connect for entertainment on their iPads, but all of us enjoyed the four-zone climate control (with optional heated rear seats). Both of my kids, of course, had to complain about something: They wanted reclining seats for the ride home, but the A7’s backrests are fixed. Poor things.

Except for the compromise created by the A7’s sleek styling — limited headroom in the second row — there is little else to fault. My written notes mentioned the somewhat confusing center console and the curious placement of the start button to the right of the shifter (both become more familiar with time), and the odd door-lock switches. In counterintuitive fashion, the bottom half of the toggle is pushed to open the lock, the top half to close it. I also don’t like LED-segment fuel gauges, cringing in wasteful guilt each time it drops an obvious bar. On that note, the trip’s overall fuel economy was 31.2 mpg, notably exceeding the EPA numbers.

The Audi A7 3.0T was celebrated when it arrived on the scene in 2012, and the 2016 freshening only makes the distinguished sportback more appealing than ever. Even if the enhancements are no more than nods to curb appeal and creature comfort, the Audi remains my favorite, and most recommended, in a segment that includes very tough competition from Mercedes-Benz and BMW.