Preview Of This Cars
What's New for 2013:
- Standard automatic stop/start system
- Standard keyless entry for Premium Plus trim level
- Optional Innovation package adds Active Lane Assist and Corner View Camera safety features
- Optional 5-passenger seating
Exterior Features
The 2013 Audi A7 is a luxury 5-door hatchback, or Sportback in Audi parlance, slotted into the automaker's lineup between the A6 Sedan and the A8 Sedan. The 2013 A7 is available in three trim levels: 3.0T Premium, 3.0T Premium Plus, and 3.0T Prestige. The performance-oriented Audi S7 is discussed in a separate article.
Standard equipment for the 3.0T Premium includes Xenon Plus headlights, LED running lights, LED taillights, heated exterior mirrors, heated washer jets, adaptive rear spoiler, and 18-inch aluminum wheels.
Interior Features
The 2013 Audi A7 3.0T Premium is equipped with leather seats, genuine wood or aluminum interior trim, triple-zone automatic climate control, power sunroof, and heated 8-way power front seats. Additional standard features include push-button ignition, Bluetooth connectivity, universal garage door opener, and a stereo with iPod/iPhone integration and satellite radio.
Under the A7 Sportback's power-operated hatch, the car offers 24.5 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seat.
Optional Features
The 2013 Audi A7 3.0T Premium Plus model adds a voice-activated Audi Multi-Media Interface (MMI) navigation system with an MMI Touch handwriting recognition pad and Audi Connect service. Audi Connect provides Google Earth navigation maps, Google Local search capability, and a mobile Wi-Fi connection that turns the A7 into a mobile hotspot for up to eight paired devices. Additionally, the Premium Plus is equipped with a color driver information display, front and rear park-assist sensors, reversing camera, auto-dimming side mirrors, Audi Advanced Key keyless entry system, HD Radio, and 19-inch aluminum wheels.
The 2013 Audi A7 3.0T Prestige offers a unique S-line exterior styling treatment. Additionally, the 3.0T Prestige is equipped with 4-zone climate control, heated and ventilated 12-way power front sport seats, power tilt/telescoping steering wheel, LED ambient cabin lighting, adaptive headlights that swivel to help illuminate around corners, headlight washers, and a premium 630-watt Bose audio system.
Options are primarily grouped into packages. The Cold Weather package is available on all three trim levels, and adds heated rear seats and a heated steering wheel. Any A7 can also be equipped with a Sport package including a unique wheel design, summer performance tires, sport suspension, and a three-spoke sport steering wheel with shift paddles. The optional Audi Side Assist package features Audi Side Assist blind-spot monitoring, power-folding side mirrors, and an Audi PreSense Rear system that detects if a rear-end collision is about to happen and automatically readies safety systems for impact. Additional options for all versions of the A7 include metallic paint, rear-seat side-impact air bags, and a 5-passenger seating option with a rear bench seat in place of the standard bucket seats.
If you choose the Premium Plus or the Prestige trim level, you can opt for a Driver Assistance package including power-folding side mirrors, adaptive cruise control with Stop & Go, Audi Side Assist, and Audi PreSense Plus, the latter feature employing the radar units for the adaptive cruise control system to determine if an impact is about to occur and readying the vehicle for a collision while automatically braking to decelerate, if necessary.
Exclusive to the A7 3.0T Prestige, optional Bang & Olufsen audio components boast 1,300 watts of power and 15 speakers. The Innovation package is also exclusive to this model, and includes the Driver Assistance package plus a head-up display, full LED headlights, Active Lane Assist and Corner View Camera, and Night Vision Assistant with Pedestrian Detection technology. With the night vision technology, when the A7 is approaching a person or animal after dark, the night vision display helps the driver to "see" them from 1,000 feet away. At 300 feet, the system provides a yellow-colored alert, and if the person or animal steps into the car's path, the alert switches to red.
Under the Hood
The 2013 Audi A7 is equipped with a supercharged, 3.0-liter V-6 engine that generates 310 horsepower between 5,500 rpm and 6,500 rpm and 325 lb.-ft. of torque between 2,900 rpm and 4,500 rpm. An 8-speed automatic transmission and Quattro all-wheel drive (AWD) come standard, along with new-for-2013 automatic stop/start technology to help improve fuel economy.
The A7's Quattro AWD is equipped with torque vectoring. To help reduce understeer, the system lightly brakes the inside wheels during cornering. Quattro also automatically varies the power split from the standard 40% front and 60% rear distribution, as is necessary.
Audi Drive Select is also standard on the A7, modifying transmission, steering and engine calibration to Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, or Individual settings, as determined by the driver.
Fuel Economy
EPA fuel-economy estimates for the 2013 Audi A7 are 18/28/21 mpg (city/highway/combined).
Safety
The 2013 Audi A7 includes 8 standard air bags, including knee air bags for the driver and front-seat passenger. Rear-seat side-impact air bags are optional. Additional safety features include an Audi Backguard anti-whiplash system, 4-wheel ventilated disc anti-lock brakes with brake assist, traction control, stability control, and rain-sensing wipers. The Premium Plus trim level adds a reversing camera and front and rear park-assist sensors, and the Prestige trim is equipped with active headlights.
Audi Side Assist and Audi PreSense Rear technologies can be added as an option to any A7. Premium Plus and Prestige trims are offered with adaptive cruise control and Audi PreSense Plus, while the Prestige trim is exclusively available with an Active Lane Assist and Corner View feature, and Night Vision Assistant with Pedestrian Detection technology.
As this overview is written, neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has performed crash tests on the 2013 Audi A7.