Audi S7

There's a lot to like about the Audi A7. It's based on Audi's A6 midsize sedan but it has a sleeker profile and a rear hatchback for greater cargo-carrying versatility. It's a great all-arounder, but its 335-horsepower engine might seem a little lacking to buyers looking for an engaging sport sedan. Thankfully, the 444-horsepower 2021 Audi S7 is also available and ready to satisfy your requirement for velocity.

The Audi S7 is more than just an A7 with a thrilling motor, of course. It also includes several performance-oriented upgrades not available on the A7. These include larger wheels with summer tires to improve grip and an optional package with a sport rear differential and a more boisterous exhaust note.

Worthy rivals to the S7 include the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class, BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe and Porsche Panamera. All have coupe-like styling and plenty of potential for performance. Among this group, the S7 easily holds its own.

Which S7 does MatoCar recommend?

The 2021 Audi S7 is a five-passenger luxury sport sedan with a hatchback-style trunk. It comes in Premium Plus and Prestige trim levels. All S7s have a turbocharged 2.9-liter V6 engine (444 horsepower, 443 lb-ft of torque), all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission. The engine also makes use of a 48-volt mild hybrid system designed to maximize fuel efficiency. The S7 is sportier and more powerful than the Audi A7 but slots under the high-performance RS 7 — both of which are reviewed separately. Standout features for the S7 include:

Premium Plus Comes well equipped with:

• 21-inch wheels and summer performance tires
• Adaptive air suspension (can raise or lower the ride height of the vehicle and adjust to enhance ride comfort and handling)
• Sunroof
• Hands-free liftgate
• Heated steering wheel
• Digital instrument panel
• Four-zone automatic climate control
• Wireless charging pad
• Power-adjustable steering wheel
• Driver's seat memory settings
• Heated front sport seats
• Dual touchscreen infotainment system with 10.1-inch upper screen and 8.6-inch lower screen
• 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system
• Apple CarPlay (with wireless connectivity) and Android Auto smartphone integration

The S7 also has a suite of useful driving aids, such as:

• Forward collision mitigation (warns you of an impending collision and applies the brakes in certain scenarios)
• Lane departure warning (alerts you if the vehicle begins to drift out of its lane)
• Parking sensors (alert you to obstacles that may not be visible in front of or behind the vehicle when parking)
• 360-degree camera system (gives you a top-down view of the S7 and its surroundings for tight parking situations)

Options for the S7 Premium Plus include:

• Executive package
• Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert (warns you if a vehicle is in your blind spot during a lane change or while in reverse)
• Configurable ambient lighting
• Heated rear seats
• Extra leather on the dashboard, armrests and center console
• Adaptive cruise control (maintains a driver-set distance between the Audi and the car in front)
• Lane keeping assist (steers the S7 back into its lane if it begins to drift over the lane marker)
• Luxury package
• Executive package
• Passenger-seat memory settings
• Ventilated and massaging front seats
• Upgraded leather upholstery
• Black Optic package
• Black-painted exterior accents
• S Sport package
• All-wheel steering
• Sport exhaust
• Sport rear differential
• Adaptive steel suspension (sport-tuned; deletes the air suspension)
• Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert

Prestige On top of Premium Plus content, the Prestige model adds:

• Executive package
• Laser headlights
• Sound-reducing glass
• Soft-close doors
• Head-up display (displays important information in your sight line onto the windshield)

Unless otherwise included, options for the Premium Plus are also available for the Prestige. You can also opt for:

• 19-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system
• Night vision camera (displays an infrared image of the area in front of the vehicle to assist while driving at night)