VectorA7

1 month old A7 - fully loaded Prestige with Innovation. Love the engine, suspension and toys. And of course the looks. But the steering is mushy and uneven, transmission is choppy off the block, and the brakes are mediocre. Overall driving experience is much worse than my 10 year old A6. Just me? Or did I get a lemon?

hashluck

Have you tried the Steering in 'Dynamic' mode? Have you tried the Gearbox in 'Comfort' mode? Brakes are fine once you get used to pedal feel. They will stop you dead when needed.

VectorA7

Thanks. Yep, tried all modes. Tranny is a bit smoother in Comfort mode, still jerky from 1st to 2nd, and coming down from all gears. Steering is sloppy in all modes, even Dynamic.

My issue with the brakes is when driving a Q5, A4 or my old A6, I just touch the pedal and the brakes engage immediately. With the A7, I have to push the pedal down halfway to the floor before they even start to grip.

Sccpmusc26

The biggest "downfall" of the A6/A7 is numb steering. It isn't you. Many reviewers (Motortrend/CNET) have criticized the vehicle for this. As for the braking, this seems to be the "normal" in most Audi models, including the 2013 S8. They don't "bite" until the pedal is halfway pressed. I don't mind it.

Not sure about your transmission. Mine is silky smooth.

hashluck

Gearbox should be smooth. How many miles have you driven? Reason I ask is that the gearbox will adapt to your style of driving and can feel a bit strange at first.

looking@audi

Your post sounds like it could be from a troll...

I am always amazed when I read complaints on a car that are easily identifiable during a test drive. You did test drive the A7 before you purchased it - right?

By the way, your 10 year old A6 was never noted for great steering feel. The new A6 and A7 have superior steering feel.

The reason that newer Audi's brakes don't engage during the early part of pedal travel is due to the regenerative braking designed for improved fuel economy. Rest assured, they have plenty of stopping power.

Anyway...set the steering to dynamic and everything else to comfort or automatic.

looking@audi

The A7 may not be a Porsche 911, however let's look at the CNET and MotorTrend reviews you mentioned. MT even likes the steering better than the A6 or BMW 5 Series.

Here are CNET's comments on the A7's steering:
The steering feels pleasantly powered, making for easy turning even if the car is stopped.

Like many sport luxury cars, the A7 lessens power assist for its steering system as speed increases, to enhance road-feel. But Audi leans toward a luxury feel, even when the car is in its Dynamic setting. As such, the steering always feels a little too easy, lacking serious engagement.

MotorTrend:
Speaking of steering, unlike the A4 and A5, which use a power hydraulic rack, the A7 boasts a new electromechanical system that consumes no energy when the vehicle is moving straight. That helps lower fuel economy, according to Audi. Further, the new steering serves up some of the best feel and linearity from any Audi to date, and doesn't suffer from the extreme light-to-heavy transition that we felt in our long-term A4 Avant when switching from comfort to sport in ADS.

[The new A7 drives better than other big Audis. The handling, and specifically the steering feel, is a major improvement over the A8 we played with last summer and the soon-to-be-launched-here-in-the-States A6. Yes, it's a bit over-boosted in dynamic mode, and downright sloppy in comfort. But dynamic mode's not bad, and the A7's steering feels just slightly better than a contemporary BMW 5 Series,

feralc

Same thing happened to me regarding the shifting in lower gears it was resolved by resetting the tranny and driving it for like 500 miles.
I have a different "problem" with the tranny but I hate hijacking threads so I will start a new one, let me know if the same thing happens to you.

VectorA7

Thanks for the troll comment - always appreciate hearing from a lower life form. During the 3 test drives with 3 different A7s, the steering was mushy, but not as uneven as my purchased vehicle. Which is why I suspect the tires - Eagle LS-2. Going to give them another 1000 miles to see if they get any better, or then just swap them out Michelin MXV4's.

VectorA7

Thanks for the suggestion. How does one reset the tranny? VCDS? Or something more physical?