caesar2011

Had the pleasure to attend an Audi event at a race track. I drove both the A6 and A7 twice around the track for a total of about 20 minutes or so of track driving time. This was my first time driving on a race track, but the differences between the A6 and the A7 really stood out.

The A6 felt a little lighter accelerating in a straight line, while the A7 felt more solid and more purposeful. I know officially the A6 is supposed to be 0.1 second faster 0-60, but this was not noticeable to me as was the overall feel of the cars. The A7 definitely had the better steering feel.

However, where the A7 really stood out was taking the turns. With the A6, I felt more body roll. The A7, on the other hand, felt much more solid and sure of itself taking the turns.

Like I said above, I am just a novice race track driver. So, I ran these impressions by one of the head instructors of the track and a 20 year racing veteran who was participating in the event. He confirmed my impressions and suggested that the 4 seat configuration of the A7 probably contributed to the differences between the 2 cars I had experienced.

So the A7 and the A6 don't just differ in looks. They differ in track performance as well. The A7 is the sportier car!

AudiR8A7

This makes me extra happy for choosing the A7 over the A6. Thanks for the review!

audi40

What kind of set up were both cars running (sports package? tire size, etc.) as this would certainly impact handling characteristics if they were not similar set ups.

Not sure what the "4 seat configuration" of the A7 would have to do with anything - both cars are built on the same platform and have very similar dimensions (per Audi website), with differences being A7 2" lower height, A7 0.5" wider track, A6 being about 150 lbs lighter.

caesar2011

Neither car had the sport package. The reason I know is that my A7 has the 19 inch sport package, and you really feel the road. As an aside, the A7 sport package has much more road feel than the A7 with 20 inch sport wheels but no sports package, even in "comfort" mode. With that said, I think the standard wheels on the A7 are wider than the standard wheels on the A6.

As for the "4 seat configuration", I think he was trying to say that it actuated the dimensions you mention above. And according to him, allows the car to turn a bit better with less roll.

Gear Junky

I've only driven S-Line versions of the A6 and A7 back to back and on that occasion I felt the A6 was the better performer with a more positive turn-in, though it did lean a tiny bit more.

CharlieSlasher

A7 is noticeably sportier.

Longer wheelbase, wider track, lower height make it feel very different and planted in corners vs the A6.


The A7 feels more "coupe" like, where the A6 feels more bloated (like sedans usually do).

aquarian

Can anyone confirm that the new A6 also has the electronic torque vectoring like the A7 does?

roho3323

A6 does not have electronic torque vectoring...but in the US, neither does the A7. Hate to break it to you (and myself) but this torque vectoring is Euro spec only.

Check out the Motor Trend review... they complain about the lack of US options compared to Euro, but overall very good impression and review of the car.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...est/index.html

aquarian

Actually, the A7 does have electronic torque vectoring that uses braking to the inner rear wheel so that the outer rear wheel gets more torque when cornering. Motor Trend was referring to the sport differential that is currently not available to the US, the same system that the RS5 and S5 have.

The Sport Differential in Audis uses mechanical torque vectoring (like SH-AWD in Acura) that transfers torque to the outer rear wheel when needed by activating the rear differential.

http://www.automobilemag.com/feature...owertrain.html

https://www.audiworld.com/news/11/roadtest-2012a7/

http://www.torquenews.com/1058/audi-...rt-performance

http://www.automotiverhythms.com/aut...k-30-tfsi.html

All those reviews talk about the brake-assisted torque vectoring that's available in every A7.

roho3323

Thanks for clarifying! I wonder why Motor Trend simply didn't refer to it as Sport Diff... oh well. Glad to know that we have electronic torque vectoring on the A7...so I guess, we still need to answer the OP if this comes on the A6.

Cheers!