The strange format of a large hatchback with frameless doors, which marketers began calling a "four-door coupe," became very fashionable at some point. And in the Audi lineup, the A7 model appeared, which is essentially a slightly more expensive version of the A6 sedan, but positioned half a step higher, closer to the A8. The car turned out not to be the most complex (by Audi's standards, of course), but it was attractive, so first-generation cars in the C7 body still generate interest today. However, is it worth getting involved with them on the secondary market? Today, we will tell you what to expect from the body, interior, and electrical system of this car, and in the second part, we will talk about its suspension, engines, and transmission.
The first-generation Audi A7 is another car on the MLB platform, and the major differences from the A6 and A5 here are only the frameless doors and the liftback body. The car's body is steel, including the front longitudinal members and the passenger cell, but the front suspension strut mounts are aluminum. Almost all external body panels are made of this same metal, including the hood and trunk lid, but the roof and rear fenders here are steel.
The technology is also far from unique. The model's main engines are the V6 gasoline engines of the EA837 line and the diesel EA896Gen2, EA897, and EA897Evo with power outputs of 204-333 hp. However, in a number of markets, the car was also offered with traditional inline "fours" of the EA888Gen3 family with displacements of 1.8 and 2.0 liters and power outputs of 190 and 252 hp. And the S7 and RS7 versions were equipped with supercharged V8s of the EA824 family with power outputs of 420-605 hp. Front-wheel drive versions with 2.0 TSI, 2.8 FSI, and 3.0 TDI engines could be equipped with CVTs or 7-speed preselective gearboxes, while all-wheel drive versions could be equipped with either 7-speed preselective gearboxes or 8-speed classic ZF automatic transmissions in the most powerful versions.
Formally, it all sounds quite boring: the Audi A7 is a five-door liftback with a steel body, in which aluminum is used mainly for the external panels. The engine is longitudinally mounted, in front of the axle. The base drive is front-wheel drive, but most cars on the market are all-wheel drive. The suspensions are multi-link on both the front and rear axles.
Positioning in the flagship segment was most clearly reflected in the A7's equipment: there are no poor trim levels for the car, and the options list includes everything that was available for the Audi A8. There is air suspension, night vision, and matrix headlights. However, the interior quality is still lower than that of the flagship, and the practicality of the liftback body type doesn't quite reach that of a station wagon. Moreover, frameless doors in our conditions prove to be not a very successful solution.
January 2009. The Audi Sportback Concept, the precursor to the A7 model, was presented at the Detroit Auto Show.
July 27, 2010. The model was officially presented in Munich at the Gallery of Contemporary Art.
October 2010. The model was officially presented at the Paris Motor Show. One body style, only automatic transmissions. Engines – six-cylinder: gasoline 2.8 FSI (204 hp) and 3.0 TFSI (300 hp) of the EA837 family. Diesel – 3.0 TDI with 204 and 245 hp of the EA896Gen2 family.
The lower engine versions could be combined with front-wheel drive and a CVT, while all-wheel drive cars were equipped with the 7-speed preselective robot DL501.
December 2011. Introduction of a new version of the 3.0 TDI engine with twin turbocharging from the same EA896Gen2 family, but with 313 hp. Available only with all-wheel drive and an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission.
March 2012. The S7 version was released with a 4.0 TFSI engine of the EA824 family producing 420 hp. It is equipped only with all-wheel drive and a 7-speed robot. New model of the 3.0 TFSI engine with 310 hp.
August 2013. The top version of the RS7 model is released. The 4.0 TFSI engine on it develops 560 hp and is equipped with an 8-speed automatic transmission.
May 2014. Model facelift. The car received bumpers from the S7 version, a new MMI multimedia system user interface, and many minor changes. Four-cylinder engines were announced for Europe. Update of the S7 version: it became more powerful – 450 hp, three-liter diesel engines for versions with 218 and 272 hp were updated to the EA897Evo generation.
August 2014. The most powerful diesel version of the A7 was released with a 326 hp engine and an 8-speed automatic transmission.
Autumn 2014. For the European and Chinese markets, a version with 2.0 TSI and 1.8 TSI engines of the EA888Gen3 generation was offered. Drive – only front-wheel drive, transmission – new 7-speed DSG robot DL382.
October 2015. Appearance of the 605-horsepower limited series RS7.
Summer 2017. Production of the model was discontinued.
When inspecting an Audi A7 on the secondary market, you should especially carefully look for traces of damage to aluminum panels due to accidents: perfectly straightening even small dents on them is too expensive and troublesome. Another problem is the hood, the front part of which gets very sandblasted. Unfortunately, even now many painters do not know how to properly prime and paint winged metal. And there is always a chance to see its coating peeling off the surface after repair.
On the rear arches, fenders, and the front edge of the roof, you can also look for banal corrosion. And there is a chance to find it, because Audi cars produced in 2010-2016 were painted "like everyone else" – with a thin layer, without an excessive amount of sealant on the seams, and the galvanization of the steel turned out to be thin and delicate. Of course, with a minimum price of over a million, the chances of the car being frankly rotten are small. It is more profitable to repaint the car than to lower the price when selling. But owners are different, as are the fates of the cars.
The rear arches are usually already repainted, because the peeling paintwork at their junction with the bumper is a generic "sore spot." Alas, sometimes the quality of painting leaves much to be desired: you can find peeling varnish and hidden corrosion under the plastic sill trim, because they were too lazy to remove it during the work. Also, carefully inspect the joint with the rear bumper: despite the fact that it is glued with double-sided tape from the factory, the paintwork at the joint with the plastic still suffers. Moreover, the seam of the fender and the inner panel is located very close here, which is dangerous and expensive to repair. Carefully inspect the windshield frame as well, where drips are often visible in the corners of the roof, and rust cannot be removed there without cutting out the glass. Working with glass is also expensive, and there is a risk of damaging it.
Light corrosion on the underbody is not so scary. Every Audi A7 owner should know this, because the brand, traditionally pleasing with the quality of its anti-corrosion treatment, this time did something stranger and even scarier. For example, the seam of the front longitudinal member rots under the sealant, and the aluminum suspension strut mount suffers from corrosion. The fact is that they were fastened not with glue, but with rivets, and something was clearly miscalculated, because the lower thin part of the aluminum structure simply dissolves to the point of forming cracks. You won't be able to weld it – it's aluminum, and the weld will be no stronger than glue. Try not to buy a car with this kind of problem. This is not a consequence of an accident, and such a very unpleasant thing is also found on cars that have been in single ownership since purchase. The internet is full of stories about corrosion of the strut mounts on the Audi A7 C7 and A6 C7, and it is the A7, which has a slightly smaller ground clearance, that suffers noticeably more. In general, inspection of the front arches under the fender liner and from inside the engine compartment is mandatory for this car.
Corrosion of the underbody under the plastic is usually present on cars from Moscow or St. Petersburg. It does not pose a strong threat, but sometimes specimens with quite deep damage are encountered. Apparently, from owners with damp garages or those who like to drive through puddles. In the rear arches, everything is also complicated: under the fender liners, small pockets of corrosion are almost always present, and if you are unlucky, the arch from the inside can be almost completely rusty.
Surprisingly, the sills under the plastic feel quite good. They mainly suffer at the joint of the plastic trim and the rear arch, sometimes the very edge of the upper part in the door opening.
Despite the frameless door design, the interior is usually dry. But if the car has been in the shop for a long time, various scenarios are possible. When the battery is discharged, the glass bends the seal, and the opening is not completely sealed. And since the car is quite complex technically and expensive to repair, it can sit in the service center for six months.
From a mechanical point of view, the body equipment is usually in order: hinges don't sag, wipers work, power windows are also behaving well so far. Except that the fuel filler flap motor fails, but this is a problem for all cars built on the MQB and MLB platforms. Headlight problems are usually limited to either banal abrasion or electronic malfunctions. I would say that in many ways the car behaves like an exemplary "Japanese car," but again – the electronics. It is everywhere here, and errors with mirrors, power windows, surround-view cameras, headlights, parking sensors, light sensors, and so on happen, maybe not often, but constantly. And fixing them is sometimes not cheap at all.
In general, the abundance of mechatronic systems forces most of the car's problems to be moved to the "electrical" section. It is only worth noting that the elements themselves are very expensive: even "used" sets of sensors, headlights, and other elements can cost as much as a quarter of the car, and there is no excess supply. If the car is disassembled or damaged in an accident, restoration can be very expensive.
The interior of the Audi A7 is beautiful, as befits a car of this level. The ergonomics are still very good, and the interior quality is perhaps even better than that of the latest generation A7. And it's understandable: the interior materials of pre-facelift cars were at a magnificent level, and even in inexpensive trim levels, drivers were delighted by genuine leather and very high-quality interior fittings, perfectly calibrated and excellently positioned buttons.
What's pleasant is that with good care, the interior retains its appearance up to a mileage of over 300,000 kilometers. At least, steering wheels are reupholstered due to complete loss of texture around this mark. The driver's seat also holds up well, but here it depends more on the driver's build, their habits, and the car's equipment. The slightly wide front seats keep the side bolsters intact even with considerable mileage, but burnt-out heating mats, burned seat covers, and other troubles occur, and light-colored leather turns quite yellow.
There are usually no problems with the climate control, but one might wish for a more durable heater motor, which sometimes starts to howl at mileages over 200,000 kilometers. The air conditioner doesn't bother owners much so far, except that its radiator gradually loses its honeycomb structure: in these generations of Audi, they switched to lighter designs.
If you are a perfectionist, this car can easily blow your mind and empty your wallet. Because some glitches and errors appear frequently and multiply if they are not fixed immediately. Owner forums resemble gatherings of mourners, and this is not without reason. Someone's MMI screen doesn't work after an update or even just like that. Often there is no connection to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Someone has headlight failure: the level may stop adjusting, the "eyelash" DRL either lights up, doesn't light up, then lights up again, but not completely, or one of the lenses turns on inappropriately. Usually, these problems are caused by a flooded headlight control unit, which is poorly located. But sometimes the firmware "crashes" or the headlight itself fails. Some of them, like the top-end matrix ones, cost more than 200,000 rubles per set, and there is plenty to break in them.
Memory and seat control units fail: they don't remember settings, don't turn on massage, don't adjust. Parking sensor sensors, trunk opening sensors (there is one here too), vehicle presence sensors, door handles, and ride height sensors die. Worse is when the starter-generators on the RS7 fail due to weak control boards. And sometimes the ABS sensors, start-stop system, radars, or surround-view system stop working, requiring dealer equipment and access to control units for full calibration. And when replacing, problems arise with component protection, which is not fully removed, so for the most part, any replacement of a unit also involves paying for the labor of those who will bind this unit to the car. And this doesn't always work out either.
In general, the car's electronics can throw up a lot of surprises, and it does. Depending on the owner's luck and the car's operating style, the surprises can be inexpensive and occur rarely, or they can lead to tears and bankruptcy.
But there is also good news: the main systems responsible for the car's movement are quite reliable. Diagnostics with VCDS or a clone of such software is quite accessible, adapters are available, and the software is distributed and updated. If you have been familiar with VAG products for a long time, there will be no unsolvable difficulties with diagnostics and even minimal repairs. If you just want to drive, the first-generation A7 is now at the age when problems, still expensive to fix, are not appearing en masse, but more and more often. And there are few simple "stripped" configurations of these cars. The lottery may well not be in your favor.
At first glance, the first Audi A7 ages quite gracefully. And in many ways it is truly beautiful, but there are still pitfalls. These include the not-so-successful aluminum suspension strut mounts and the ubiquitous but inevitably aging mechatronic filling in all elements – from the engine to the body. However, we will talk about the engines, as well as the transmission and chassis, in the second part of this car review.
Comments (0)