Audi RS7 Performance First Drive Review

Who said a 2.0-tonne coupe can’t gulp supercars for breakfast? Of course it can and it is called the Audi RS7. With four doors, four seats and a large hatch opening for the boot, it’s as usable as any sports Coupe can be. Put your foot down though and it’s the kind of a car that you can go Ferrari hunting in, of course while facing an appalled mother-in- law, shrieking better-half and scattered luggage in tow. The Audi RS7 is a classic example of what’s possible when you stuff insane amounts of horsepower into an otherwise understated executive express. With a 552bhp twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V-8, the all-wheel-drive RS7 is devastatingly quick. But obviously this must be too slow for Audi, because it is about to launch the Performance version with 596 angry ponies under the hood. God save the egos of the Lamborghinis and the Ferraris.

On the outside the RS7 Performance looks more or less the same as the standard car. So the question is do you really need the extra power? Or are you okay with the standard version? Read on to find out if this even faster rocketship is better than the already manic standard car.

The cabin of the RS7 Performance is quite similar to the standard A7, albeit with higher levels of luxury and sportiness. It comes with kit such as a leather-trimmed dash top, carbon fibre inserts on the dash and around the gear selector. Despite being more than five years old the design still looks fresh and purposeful. The dials are beautifully laid out and they are very clear and easy to read. The retractable MMI screen hosts features like navigation, music system controls, Bluetooth telephony and even lets you know when to get the car serviced or if all the millions of electronics are in proper working order.

The front seats are snug with great lateral support and combined with the adjustable squab, these chairs are as comfortable as a king’s throne. The premium leather upholstery with hexagonal stitching just adds to the overall feel and ambiance. If you are looking for luxury sedan-like space and practicality at the back then you will be disappointed. The RS7 is strictly a four-seater and the rear seats are quite cramped. While they do get adequate leg room, it is just about enough. What the RS7 really lacks is rear headroom, which is hampered mainly due to the tapering roof line. The rear visibility of the RS7, because of the small rear glass, is awful. This means reversing and parking in tight spots can be a pain. Thankfully you do get parking sensors and a camera to help your cause.

So does the RS7 Performance’s 44 extra horses make their presence felt as compared to the standard RS7? The answer to that is yes but only just. The problem is that the standard RS7 is already so quick that we are talking a performance difference in tenth of a second or even less. Sure you will feel the difference on a racetrack but on the road the difference is minimal.

With 596bhp on tap we were expecting it to be quick but the numbers it fired in, just blew us away. The most staggering figure, though, is the 0-100kmph time, which is an eye batting 3.64 seconds! That’s nearly as quick as the mighty R8 V10+ we recently tested. What makes this physics bending number even more special, is the fact that, this car weighs 1995kg and doesn’t even have launch control to shave-off further crucial tenths. Keep full throttle, and it will cross 250kmph and reach its limited topspeed easily. On the road, it's rare that you will have the opportunity to floor the throttle completely though, but in truth you don't need to - the RS7 performance explodes away from a standstill even with a gentle prod of the accelerator. If you keep your foot down the eight-speed transmission shifts through the gears precisely and rapidly, but flick one of the paddles behind the steering wheel and it hands over control instantly and allows you to hold the gears right up to the limiter.

You might be surprised to hear that this is for the first time I felt that the superb sound insulation plays spoilsport in the overall driving experience. In the RS7 you are kept somewhat isolated from the sensation of speed, meaning you really have to be travelling at some pace before you get a sense of it. Thankfully the engine sounds fast and angry enough at full load. The electronically controlled flaps on the standard sports exhaust produces a fantastic series of snarls, barks and roars. But for all of muscle car noise, the RS7 performance still manages to feel calm and composed when you tone it all down. In Comfort mode, it feels remarkably civilised at low speeds, with no jerky responses or nasty surprises. Out on the highway it just feels effortless and combined with the Quattro grip and supple suspension it feels capable of dismissing continents without sweating a drop.

The supple suspension is thanks to the well calibrated air suspension the RS7 runs. In Comfort mode it smoothened out even the sharpest of potholes of our test route to make the RS7 a wonderfully fast cruiser. Even in Dynamic mode it deals well with road imperfections albeit sharp edged rough tarmac does require some caution. One feature which just makes the RS7 even more practical on our roads is the suspension Raise function. The precious few inches of extra ground clearance, makes this low slung coupe capable of dealing with the biggest of speed breakers with ease. The thing you have to be careful of in the RS7 are those beautifully crafted, humongous 21inch alloy wheels. The slim side-walled tyres make those expensive rims prone to damage even in small sharp edged potholes.

In terms of handling the RS7 Performance is very capable. For people who are talented enough to handle oversteer of a near 600bhp rear-wheel-drive car, the RS7 will disappoint. It displays great poise and grip around corners but lacks the purer feel and shenanigans of a rear drive coupe. To get the best out of the RS7 requires clean and neat entries into corners, while keeping the car balanced enough to use the incredible traction from the all-wheel-drive system to rocket you out of corners. The huge dia discs do a good job of keeping everything under control too. But we did experience some fade after we conducted back to back brake tests on the car.

We expect the RS7 Performance to cost around Rs 15-20 lakh more than the standard car. So is it worth the extra money? The thing is, the standard RS7 already costs a whopping Rs 1.47 crore (ex-Delhi). So if you are rich enough to buy one, we would recommend you to go for this Performance variant, because it is that tiny bit better than the 552bhp car. This near 600bhp machine will also give you the satisfaction of owning one of the fastest, thrilling, usable and best looking four-door coupes on the planet. Enough said.

The RS7 Performance will rival the BMW M6 Gran Coupe. The RS7 should undercut the BMW M6 ever so slightly. The M6 Gran Coupe is powered by 4.4-litre turbocharged V8 good for 560bhp and costs Rs 1.77 crore ex-showroom Delhi.

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Pictures by: Kapil Angane