Audi RS7 review

Good news: this is considerably more engaging to drive than the RS7 before it, and in the infamously inconsistent RS family tree, this is among the good ‘uns. The four-wheel steering and Sport Differential systems – standard on the updated Performance cars – lend it an agility that’s at odds with its colossal 2,065kg kerb weight. Good job, really, given that’s a whole 200kg more than a rival BMW M5 Competition.

Sure, it still feels its weight under hard braking (although the optional £9,200 carbon ceramics are mighty) and its 621bhp sledgehammer powerplant plus near two-metre width isn’t exactly conducive to a blast on a British B-road, but this is still an RS saloon with a deft touch of which we’ve not really seen the like since that mesmeric B7 RS4 of the late 2000s. It’s also completely and utterly rapid.

Sounds great. What else do I need to know?

The steering feels natural and with even moderate commitment you can feel the car move around beneath you. Nothing scary, just a sense there’s more to this four-wheel-drive system than limpet grip. Indeed, get back on the power early in a corner and this thing will even slide. Albeit in a tidier, less yobbish way than an AMG or M Division car. Now, of course that’s a silly car journalist observation with little relevance in the real world, but it demonstrates there’s a sense of humour to this car and - crucially - that enthusiasts have had a big say in how it handles. 

That standard four-wheel steering really works too. With less unsprung weight from those lighter wheels and carbon ceramic brakes, this thing now turns in supremely sharply. There’s much less understeer than you’d expect from a big Audi and as a bonus the slow-speed manoeuvrability is remarkable. Plus, at motorway speeds the rear wheels steer in the same direction as the fronts to improve stability.  

This is a car about so much more than its performance figures and burly appearance – not always an RS given. It’ll still be surefooted in bad weather, too, with simply outrageous grip levels if you’ve not loosened the ESP (like most normal humans). Indeed, leave the car’s myriad systems in their softest setting and it’ll still do Autobahn storming like little else, making 140mph feel as serene as the 70 you’re able to do on Britain’s sedately limited motorways.

What’s the suspension like?

Well, there are some key options to consider here. Air Suspension is fitted as standard, with unruffled comfort in its softest mode (which is some 50 per cent stiffer than in the standard A7), and nary a jiggle in its sportiest. For all-weather, everyday use it’s a no brainer. But if you really want to drive this car with vigour then the optional sports suspension might be the better option, endowing the RS7 with notably sharper responses, but undoubted extra fussiness when the road is bumpy. On Britain’s worst roads it might prove a little much, although the lighter wheels and brakes certainly calm things down.

Are there different drive modes I should know about?

While the usual mode selections remain, anyone with a leaning towards enthusiastic driving will quickly collate their favourite mix of settings into one of the RS buttons on the steering wheel. Clearly inspired by M Division, they’re called RS1 and RS2, so if you’re anything like us you’ll make the latter your button of choice purely for retro fast Audi cool points. Set the steering and suspension how you like, but stick the engine sound in its middle mode and you’ll have plenty of V8 rumbling without a horribly overdramatised augmented sound underlying it.

And all the efficiency stuff? It all works away beneath the surface and asks of no adjustment from the driver. You’ll simply forget about those mild-hybrid claims, while still reaping the benefit of a small shaving of the mpg figure. It whispers through town, too, using its electrified wizardry to make a 600bhp+ saloon sound like a limo. A proper all-rounder, then – as the RS7 ever was – just with genuine petrolhead kudos this time around.