What Is It Like To Drive An Audi A7 TDI?

Kind of like Flying an SR-71 Blackbird!

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Nov. 26, 2014



2015 Audi A7 TDI Quattro – $69,225 to start incl. D&H while sporting a 24/38 mpgUS city/highway rating.



Today's ride is courtesy of Audi of America and it’s a humdinger.



Most of the time on an away from home press car request, the channels approve the loan and once in a while we get to see the Monroney before we pick up the car. Usually however we only know the make and model. Today's ride request was a little blind in that I did not know the trim, equipment or even the year. That did not really matter when the car is a Audi A7 TDI quattro. And in this case, a new 2015 arrived with all the "fixins"!



In May we drove a 14 A7 TDI quattro from the IL/WI border to Cape Cod, Mass. in ‪#‎ChasingLeMans‬. The A7 TDI quattro made it in just under 18-hours, slightly over 1,000 miles at ~ 55 mpg without refueling. This time, we are going to place the 38 mpg highway super car up against my own 49 mpg highway rated Prius PHEV-11 in a noholdsbarred head to head for highway supremacy on a Thanksgiving run to Phoenix, AZ. The A7 TDI took down a third gen 2010 Prius at speeds above 62 to 64 mph in the hills and above 70 mph on the flats. The Prius PHEV however has a few more credentials.



While in Phoenix, I am hopeful to catch up with Joe Sage to compare notes as he is in his own S5.

2015 Audi A7 TDI Quattro





Even parked it looks fast!

The challenge includes climbing from essentially sea level in San Diego, over the Laguna Mountain Range on the 8 at over 4,100' elev. and back down to below idea level near El Centro before climbing back up over ~ 1,200' elev. at our final stop just northwest of Phoenix in Glendale.



So what about the 2015 Audi A7 TDI? Well hold on, we have a story to tell!



Whenever I get into an Audi, an emotional response is generated like no other car I have driven. Maybe the following story about an SR-71 Blackbird driver that some auto guys posted last night will detail it best.



The SR-71 Blackbird was the premiere U.S. spy plane with absolutely no challengers both past and present.. It was shot at with the latest missile systems thousands of times yet had a perfect operational record. Namely because it was so damned fast with a published Mach 3.0 cruise. It was faster if needed.

Lokheed SR-71 Blackbird





Cost? A lot. Speed? Really fricken fast!

An author/pilot and his back seater were on a final qualification practice mission over the desert Southwest in a Blackbird when they overheard LA Control receiving a transmission from a Cessna 172 requesting a ground speed check.



LA Control calmly replied 125 knots ground indicated. Think of this guy like an every day Honda Civic driver...

A Beechcraft driver overheard the request and reply and immediately requested a ground speed check to show off a bit.



Beechcraft xxx, your indicated ground speed is 172 knots. Think of the Beechcraft like you would a Mustang driver.

A hotshot Navy fighter jock in an F-18 Hornet was flying over the LA Basin when he overheard the requests and... Think of this guys ride as a Lotus Elise. Well, he surely had a smile on his face knowing what was going on and in this pond, he's the big fish. Or so he thought. He makes the request for a ground speed check and LA control states calmly 620 knots true.



The SR-71 Blackbird crew are flying at 80,000 ft at operational cruise and well above any civilian controlled airspace. These military flights do not report into the general aviation system unless encroaching on Civilian air space to takeoff, land, or for whatever reason fly into the Civilian fray...



After hearing the F-18 fighter jocks transmission and air speed broadcast over the general aviation channel, the SR-71 team at almost the same instant thought it was time to put the Navy jock in his place.



SR-71 Blackbird: LA Center, this is Angels 80, could you provide a ground speed indication please.

LA Control: Angels 80, I show you at 1,948 mph indicated at 80,000 ft.



SR-71 Blackbird: LA Control, thank you for the speed check. We are showing 1,983 mph.



LA Control: In the ever present totally calm tone, "Your indications are probably better than ours."



The rest of Angels 80s flight was quiet with not another peep out of any fly boy in the area in what they thought was a hot plane.



That is what driving an Audi A6/A7 TDI quattro is like. There are cars that can out turn you and even out burn you but with a tap of the go pedal, you can kick their @$$ and do so without the need for a fuel stop for over 1,000 miles all the while they are sucking fumes to reach a third to half of your range.



I may have some of the details of the encounter above messed up but the story describes the emotional high of driving a super car with little to no compromise between efficiency and performance.



The 2015 Audi A7 TDI Quattro



This 2015 Audi A7 TDI quattro ($68,300) is absolutely loaded. The 240 hp and 428 lb-ft of torque 3.0L V6 TDI mated to an incredibly smooth shifting 8-speed AT with AWD and equipped with start/stop. Xenons are std but this beauty arrived as a Prestige trim ($3,850) with std. S-line ext. aluminum trim, Bose Surround, front seat ventilation, power steering column w/ memory, LED headlamps and LEDs all around plus an honest to goodness HUD. Just like a fighter plane.



It also arrived with the Driver Assistance Package ($2,800) which includes Adaptive CC with Stop and Go, Pre-sense Plus, Active Lane Assist, and corner view cameras along with the std. rear view.

And that's not all folks. This A7 TDI quattro arrived with the Black Optic pkg. ($1,500) including 20" 5-spoke titanium finish alloys shod with Pirelli P-Zero' Summer tires.



The Sport Package ($750) with lowered and stiffer sport suspenders completes today's ride.



Add $935 D&H and it rolls off the dealership showroom floor for $78,675.



With all of the Sports tuning performance, most would suspect it does not stand a chance against our Prius PHEV-11. I suspect it will be closer than most would have imagined despite the 20" P-Zero's, quattro AWD, and a 0 to 60 time of about 5.5 seconds. Just a smidge over twice as quick as our Prius PHEV.



First drive of this no-compromise machine is to take on the Southern Californians daily nightmare called the 405 during Friday night Rush. 40 miles of that and we hit the 5 for a little more open field running until Oceanside where something or someone will surely ball up traffic for the std. 15-mile stop and crawl yet again.



I can see the 405 not 300 yards away and it is moving at a max speed of maybe 2-mph as I typed this monster up. Nightmare is a good day on the 405. This looks worse. I do love the challenge in one hell of a cool car however.

2015 Audi A7 TDI





First drive results – 49.2 mpg indicated over 91.1 miles.

As the first rays of light crest the San Diego hills overlooking the Pacific Coast of California, an Audi A7 TDI was there to catch the morning breaks.

God it is beautiful here this morning.

The 2015 Audi A7 TDI quattro makes a morning appearance at a Shell in Del Mar, California for some diesel "Go Juice" before taking on the drive of its life later today. The first fill before the real top off later this morning anyway.

The 38 mpg highway rated 2015 Audi A7 TDI quattro vs 49 mpg highway rated 2013 Prius PHEV-11 on a 375 + mile drive is in progress.



Marian - yes I received authorization for her to drive it - is behind the windscreen of the Audi and headed out first as one of the backs seaters does not get out of work until 04:00 pm. That means I am stuck driving the Prius to AZ later this afternoon. Talk about SUCK!



In any case, topped off the Audi at a Shell on Del Mar Heights Rd. and the 5 and it's barreling up to the 4,200' elev. Peak before dropping back down to the desert floor on the 8 with 5 souls onboard as I type.



The A7 TDI is a menacing looking beast in the Prius' side view.

Predictions? I am betting the Sports car suspended A7 TDI quattro with 20's and summer track tires beats its EPA by 15%. The Prius by only 7% as a guess?

Prius PHEV-11 ahead and Audi A7 TDI behind.

Current update? Prius PHEV crew is still stuck in San Diego but closing in on a departure. The Audi A7 TDI quattro? Latest report is they are 277 miles out with an indicated lousy 34.8 mpg showing with a 65 mph avg. speed. 3 of the 5 have Verizon and nobody is picking up their phone. :(



All I can say is they suck.

What Is It Like To Drive An Audi A7 TDI?