Back in January, I placed an order for a 2016 S7. (I've owned 6 Audis over the past 15 years, and currently drive an A7.)

The S7 is due to arrive in late March.

Lately however, I've been thinking about getting something different. Specifically a Porsche Caymen S.

Certainly not as practical as a daily driver as the S7, but damn the Caymen is nice. I'm supposed to go to the dealership this weekend and test drive one.

I'm hoping I won't like it.

Anyone else get an urge like this? Tell me to snap out of it and just sit tight for the S7. (which, by the way, will be in Misano Red.)

Thanks!

 

I don't think I can help you here. I could understand the debate if it were between the S7 vs the Panamera or a Tesla P85D. But your talking apples and oranges. I recently ordered a 2016 S7 as well but I need the 4 doors for my kids and the trunk space for my bike. If I didn't have kids, or the bike issue, or another car I could use for commuting, I'd go today and purchase a year old 911.
I also think it's normal to have second thoughts. Even though I've ordered an S7, I still look at other options.

 

The bike is an issue with me as well. I bike a lot, so it's easy to put my bike rack on the rear of my A7. The only way to transport a bike on a Caymen is to install the roof racks, which I hate. Thanks!

 

I traded in my S7 for a Turbo S because I hated the S7's steering and brakes. The Turbo is my DD and aside from a slightly stiffer suspension, it makes for a pretty nice, albeit sporty ride. The S7 was very comfortable and full of tech, it just felt like a Lincoln.

If the new Cayman was out when I bought the Turbo I definitely would have considered it.

BTW I live in Mass and the 911 with winters is a blast in the snow.

 

In regards to the bike issue, the reason I like the S7 is because I can pop the front bike wheel off and lay the bike inside the back of the car and lock it up. I sometimes have my bike in the city and it would get ripped off the back of my car if it was hanging on a bike rack. If you're using a bike rack and the bike issue is the only deterrent from buying the Cayman, then I'd say slap the bike rack on the Cayman and definitely get one of those. If I didn't need to schlep two kids around no way would I buy an S7 over a Cayman/911.

 

I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that the S7 is like a lincoln, I'd reserve that more for the A8L. I think the S7 is for a person who needs the four door saloon but also wants to enjoy spirited driving from time to time. I went from an '07 Grand Cherokee SRT8 with a 6.1 L NA Hemi to a 2013 S7 and while the power output, wheel base, and car size are similar the S7 provides a level of refinement and ride comfort that pleased my wife, checked the room enough for the baby seat box, and still left some room for fun on a daily basis. Now, the accelleration is great, but it's not a face melting experience. The car also insulates very well from speed, so usually you end up going faster than it feels (in the jeep, 40 mph felt quicker than forty should feel in any car, 80 felt like maybe we should slow it down, 120 felt like the wheels might pop off). I think if you're really looking for that driving experience with quattro, torque vectoring, and but need that four door convenience, the RS7 with the dynamic suspension is probably the way to go. They cayman is a different beast entirely, you can't really compare the two.

If you can go with a two door coupe and need awd, it's hard to beat the turbo. If you want a really balance driver, don't need the awd, and can't afford the turbo the cayman is great. If you want insane power and a race car saloon and need awd, the RS7. If need a saloon want power, but not AWD the M5. If you want a car that realistically wears two hats as a family car/ comfortable crusier and a sporty saloon, with AWD, and 420 hp/ 406 ftlb are enough for your cravings, the S7 really fits the bill there.

One of the real reasons to get the S7 is the 4.0 V8 TFSI which is a great engine. The added sport diff, torque vectoring, and bigger breaks are a nice touch. But unless you feel like you want that extra power, the A7 really isn't a bad driver either, and i suspect, most who drive both might end up in the A7, due to the significant cost of the marginal benefit between the A7 and S7.

Best of luck.

 

I've had my S7 for 8 months now and I have to say its an amazing car. But I'm changing it out for an S3 (due next week), for this exact reason. I love the engine and the interior still blows me away, but its not really a "fun" car, just a fast car. My biggest complaint on the "fun" thing is that its just too damn quiet in the car when I stomp on the pedal. The engine has a great sound...IF I'm standing outside of the car, but I really miss having a fun, engaging car and its just too much money to not be 100% happy.

Anyhow, hope that helps you with your decision.

Cheers.

 

... and that's why the 2016 has a sport exhaust option.

Aren't you going to take a beating on the sale? If you've only had the car for 8 months you've probably had as much depreciation as 1/3-1/2 of a S3. Why not just keep the car, slap on a new exhaust, and see if that makes you happier?

 

I think the S7 is probably more of a "serious" car than a "fun" car. Not necessarily serious in the way that it will kill you if you're not qualified to drive it like say a 1000 bhp shelby cobra, but serious like a corporate lawyer. It's unapologetically fast and mostly refiend while doing so (the DCT implementation could be better, especially since Audi could share notes with Porsche on the PDK). The car is certainly more fast than fun. You really have to push the car fun to get it into the fun zone. My sense of the S7 is that it really was just designed to go fast on the Autobhan - comfortably. The car could crusie all day at 140 mph, happily. The Torsen sport differential with torque vectoring, certianly makes it handle the curves nicely, but note that the typical power distribution of the car is 40 to the front and 60 to the rear - until quattro kicks in and shifts the power around. Compare that to the tail happy E63S AMG 4 Matic which has 500+ hp and an 20/80 rear power bias. So ultimately whate you have is a car that is a better A7 for the people who want to move faster, corner a little harder, and push the car a little more. Which as an "S" designation makes sense. Now, my sense is that sometimes there is confusion about what "S" means for an Audi. "S" is not "M" or "AMG". It really means sportier, in this case the S7 certainly is sportier, but it doens't push it into "fun" territory, because I don't think it's supposed to. It seems to mean, the S7 is the executive crusier, for the person who can afford more and feels like the A7 just doesn't quite get there (probably because its a step down performance wise from what the person drove before). It's a consumate sleeper car, it can keep up, but unfortunately, when you push it into the fun zone, you're also pushing it into the felony zone. It just doesn't seem like a car that was really desinged for the US enthusiast market, more for the Authobhan. I think the S7 is an amazing car that checks a lot of boxes, but it think it would be hurt by pushing it into the fun zone, ad hoc. Now, that doesn't mean that audi couldn't provide more options like a sports exhaust or the upgraded suspention option like the RS7, but if they did, alot of people migh feel the power of the S7 is adequate and skip the RS7. To appreciate the S7 i think it's necessary to apprecate the broad spectrum the car covers, it can go from a 3 on the intensity scale to a 7 on the intensity scale. You won't really hoon an S7, until it snows, and then you will have a ton of fun, because the car has been awesome up here in Boston for this whole Feb 2015 snowpocalypse.

 

2016 models have a sports exhaust and re-worked tranny. Not saying it will be that much more fun - my last 2 car changes (A7 & Macan) were because the cars didn't feel sporty enough. Hopefully the 2016 S6 fits the bill