Expert opinion
Sitting hunkered down among the digital screens, head-up-display tech and alumiminium/black lacquered plastic of the second-gen RS7’s cabin is a very sci-fi experience. Get the twin-turbos properly spooled up on the 4.0-litre (avec mild hybrid) petrol V8 and the RS7’s 600hp pace is pretty sci-fi too: this is a car that feels capable of warp-speed travel.
There’s a choice of coil-sprung Sport suspension or air suspension, plus all UK cars get an Audi Sport differential, which gives the all-wheel drive RS7 a rear-biased drivetrain.
The original RS7, introduced in 2013, is less exciting to look at, to drive and to listen to, but with between 560hp and 605hp it’s still an impressive high-performance, mile-muncher.
Neither generation of the RS7 is quite as spacious or practical as its A6 Avant sibling (which, in the case of both generations, is essentially the same car in an estate bodystyle), but both are sleek-looking and still more than spacious enough for most occasions. Plus, that fastback boot makes an RS7 more practical than a BMW M5.