Road Test: 2015 Audi RS 7
It’s just like getting shot out of a cannon, without the cannon.
Ok, so we’ve never actually been shot out of a cannon ourselves, but we can’t help but believing that a hard launch in the RS 7 simulates the sensation almost exactly. The cool part about the RS 7 is it is easy to do over and over (and you don’t need a safety net). Here’s how. Simply place the car in Dynamic mode, turn off traction control, put your left foot on the brake, mash the go pedal and let up on the brake.
The resulting launch is as violent and ferocious as any car we’ve ever driven, including the fearsome R8. Unleashing 560 large German horses like this seems cruel to the road, but it is huge fun for the driver. The entire car comes alive, the nose lifts up, the rear drops down, and the car explodes into motion.
The RS 7 is as subtle as a sledgehammer from the get go. In the right colors, its appearance is positively menacing. Massive wheels struggle to contain the equally massive brakes, while the lowered ride height and huge honeycomb shaped grillework combine to intimidate onlookers. This is the kind of car that gets people’s attention, all the time. Our Nardo Gray tester was made all the more ominous by the bright silver 21 inch wheels, and all black trim
As if the extroverted looks weren’t enough, with just a press of the start button, the all-aluminum 4 liter v8 engine comes alive with a raucous cacophony of growling exhaust noise and engine roar that is enough to frighten people at gas stations, or wake up your neighbors if you leave at odd hours. In truth, it never really quiets down or becomes less angry sounding if you leave it in Dynamic mode (which we of course did). If you do happen to set the car to Comfort, it settles down somewhat, but still produces a bunch of engine sound, reminding you that you are sitting on something special.
As we mentioned in our first drive of the RS 7, the engine is lifted from the S8, then is massaged with a slew of upgrades both in software and hardware that raise the power from 520 to 560 galloping Teutonic ponies. Yes, that’s a lot. What’s even more impressive though, is the torque, which reaches its peak number of 516 as early as 1750 rpm, and hangs on till 5500. It is this enormous torque that is responsible for the ridiculous acceleration from 0 to 60, which is widely reported to be in the mid 3 second range in real life. Audi claims 3.7 seconds is all it takes, and those numbers do tend to be conservative.
The RS 7 builds speed with alarming ease. You really want to pay very close attention when you give it full power, and not because the car is difficult to handle at speed, but rather that you‘ll find yourself at go directly to jail speeds before you realize it.
And such is the dilemma with the RS 7. It is enormously powerful and brutally fast, yet incredibly smooth and comfortable. With a huge safety margin that makes it nearly impossible to upset the chassis balance, even with the great gobs of power under the hood, it is dare we say, frustrating to drive. Knowing that you’re sitting on a missile, your right foot is on the launch button, but you are restrained by speed limits. It’s almost unbearable to us.
Luckily the RS 7 is more than just brute raw power and jaw-droppingly sexy to look at. The interior is a sight to behold, with honeycomb patterned quilted leather seats, on top of the already ultra-luxurious interior from the S7. Carbon fiber trim adorns the dash and door panels, and the shifter has an RS logo on top.
Our particular example had the optional heads up display, which we found particularly interesting. Normally we enjoy the HUD when using nav and active cruise, but thanks to the RS 7 specific lap timer feature, we found some some extras to the HUD, such as a very cool shift light which starts out green, then flashes red when it’s time to shift. And since the 8 speed tiptronic is programmed to hold its ratio even at the rev limiter, this comes in quite handy in the lower gears, as the car blows through the gears very quickly.
The RS 7 is a great handling car, and the ample power more than overcomes the larger size of the car. We always hear other reviewers complain that Audis are numb and uncommunicative, but we have no idea what they are talking about. We honestly don’t want a car that makes you feel every single ripple in the road all the time. The RS 7 tells you everything you need to know about what its doing under you. The steering feels great to us, you can without a doubt feel what the tires are doing, and if they are in jeopardy of losing grip, you will know it long before you need to panic.
We drove the RS 7 through snow, and while it was a challenge to restrain ourselves and not try to see if the massive snow tires were up to the challenge of finding enough grip for 560hp. Lets just say that we can easily spin the tires on an A4 in snow, so the RS 7 was WAY too much fun. It is important with a car like this though, to remember that is is a big car, and when you pitch it sideways, you need to make sure you leave yourself enough room for the sexy rear end. Make no mistake, the RS 7 LOVES to play.
If we were to plan our dream garage, without a doubt an RS 7 would be included. To date we have not sampled a car that can combine the raw brute strength, aggressive looks and handling, with supreme comfort for 4 adults, luggage room, and enough high tech gadgets to keep you entertained when you aren’t able to stretch the RS 7’s extremely long legs. Which is sadly all too often.
But when you can… oh my.
