2012 Audi A7 3.0T Quattro vs. 2013 BMW 640i Gran Coupe - Car and Driver Comparison Test!

Another comparison test and another loss for BMW.

BMW continues to charge a premium over Audi, but does not deliver a better overall experience for that extra money. The same thing happened with the 2013 BMW M5 vs. 2013 Audi S6. In the end, the Audi won.

The BMW is some $35K more expensive than the Audi, but is slower, offers less feedback, and has a much harsher ride.

BMW needs to stop charging a premium for its cars when the overall experience does not live up to the premium paid over the competition.

Car and Driver said it perfectly:

"In the end, it wasn’t even close. An A7 with many of the BMW’s gizmos can still approach 85 large, but the 640i would’ve needed a standard flux capacitor to stage a comeback. The A7 isn’t perfect, but it does more with less, winning most of our subjective categories despite its lower price. It may not weaken the knees like the Gran Coupe, but it’s still exceedingly pretty. And it doesn’t exact as dear a toll for its beauty."

Audi has figured out how to make cars that offer almost the same, if not better acceleration performance than their respective BMW counterparts (Audi S6 will hang with a BMW M5 to 60 mph, the Audi A6 is quicker to 60 mph and through the 1/4 mile than the BMW 535i, the Audi A7 is quicker to 60 mph and through the 1/4 mile than the BMW 640i Gran Coupe).

Most surprisingly is the fact that Audi offers more feedback than BMW. BMW's claim to fame has been its company motto 'The Ultimate Driving Machine.' Unfortunately, modern day BMWs don't offer the acceleration and feedback worthy of the company's motto (BMW's 535i doesn't offer much more feedback than the Audi A6, the Audi A8L offers more feedback than the BMW 750Li, Audi A7 offers more feedback than the BMW 640i Gran Coupe)

Audi has long been praised for its highly luxurious and high quality interiors that often times receive more praise than the interior of their BMW counterparts.

Lastly, Audi charges less (Audi A6 is less expensive than BMW 535i, Audi A7 is less expensive than BMW 640i Gran Coupe, Audi A8 is less expensive than 750i).

So, with Audi you save money but get the same or better acceleration, more feedback, as luxurious and many would say a more luxurious interior. Oh yeah, Audi's don't look too shabby either.

Wow, someone doesn’t like BMW...you need to lighten up dude. They both make great cars. I don’t think continuously posting negative reviews about BMW or Positive ones about Audi will change anyone’s views toward a certain brand...especially on Autospies, serious buyers will drive them and come to their own conclusion.

About the BMW:
"Highs:
Damn good-looking, feels special, best modern BMW interior.

Verdict:
BMW builds a flashy cruiser priced for upper management."

About the Audi:
Lows: Pulling up next to the Gran Coupe"

Those are the only points in this article people who can afford either of these cars (especially the BMW) will care about. We're not talking about $25k economy cars here, or even regular sedans. The verdict on the Audi called it "sensible", and sensible doesn't describe either car. If you want sensible you'll get an A6 or 5/7-Series.

I'm not knocking the Audi here, either. They're both quick, both handle well, and both can be loaded chock full of over the top tech. But they're aimed at different income levels, and even if they were true competitors, at the end of the day these are exercises in styling, and the 6GC wins that one inside and out. The article made that abundantly clear. And for what it's worth, I agree $105k for a 640i Gran Coupe is too much, but that $105k 640i was optioned ridiculously. You could literally get a loaded 650i Gran Coupe xDrive for the same price they built this 640i to (feel free to play with the configurator at bmwusa.com and see for yourself). With 445hp, 480ft-lbs, and all-wheel drive it will match up pretty well to the 414hp/406ft-lb S7, and the prices will be much closer.

What happened to BMW? i continue to get confused. Did they truly feel it was necessary to get closer to a Lexus and Mercedes- like experiences in order to increase its sales? They dominated the market with their choices and now they're just homogenized into it. It just seems like Mercedes and Audi seem to be staying true to their vision of luxury/sport. Lexus is trying to be BMW and Audi. BMW is trying to be Mercedes and Lexus.

I know a guy who bought a used 2009 535i vs. getting a 2012 5 Series because the 2009 just drove so much better. What's that saying?

I got a 2009 BMW cuz from what I felt, the new ones just don't have that "IT" feel!

I feel so sorry for anyone related to or associated with "GermanNut"... can't imagine having to listen to this guy just go on and on and on and on about Audi's so called dominance over BMW. It reeks of insecurity and borderline mental illness (3 lengthy posts in one breath?)

It's ok. He works for Audi.

I would take the gran coupe in a heartbeat. If you care about performance, and thenths of a second, comparing the base engineed versions in this class is not where you should be looking.

I don't think this comparison will make much sense to actual buyers. People who are interested in the 6 GC would not even look at the A7, because 6 GC is in a completely higher market. If picture doesn't do justice to you, please go for a test drive, you will know what I mean. A7 feels like an sportier A6, 6 GC feels more premium than a 7 series. At the end of day, actual buyers won't care much about which car actually goes faster, they will always go for the one that makes them feel richer.

It's funny. It seems when BMW wins by 1/10th of seconds, they're proclaimed faster and thus better.
But now that Audi wins the speed race, ppl change the "winning criteria" to something that BMW wins. Interesting.
IMO, both cars are great (to look at, be seen in and be the fortunate driver of).
Ppl would be amazed at the # of stinking rich ppl who are still price conscious.

I'm astounded to finally hear all these admissions that the marginal performance differences aren't that important. I agree, but it's never seemed to carry much weight here before.

Even if you don't think the A7 should be compared to the BMW 6 Gran Coupe because of the price difference, you must realize in that case that Audi's S7 would be the appropriate competitor due to the pricing similarities (less than $3k price difference between the S7 and 640i Gran Coupe).

In that case Audi's S7 would truly make a mockery of the 640i Gran Coupe's performance. You could argue the 650i xDrive Gran Coupe would be the better competitor to Audi's S7 considering it too has a 400 horsepower V8, but once again the BMW's base price would be tens of thousands of dollars more (650i xDrive Gran Coupe base is $89K vs. $72K fo the Audi S7).

look, the two cars don't cost exactly the same, you're just going to have to get over that. I'm not sure why that is even an issue, it's not like it was a surprise. The 6-Series has cost $80-95k since 2004, it's not as if the new one was going to come out and magically cost $60k. As the flagship of the line, the Gran Coupe is the most expensive.

BMW is marketing the 6GC to the same people who might buy a 7-Series but want something more stylish and sporty. They're going after Panamera buyers. Audi is not. They're marketing the A7 to people with A6/5-Series/E-class/CLS money. The two cars don't cost the same, they're simply aimed at different crowds. Either you dig the car and will pay it because you want it, or you won't and will get something cheaper. That's the way a free market works. You have choices. If the most I could spend on a car was $70k, I'd look at an A7. If the most I could spend was $85k, I'd look at an S7. If I could spend $100k, I'd get the 650xi Gran Coupe. There's no wrong answer here. All are great cars, separated by personal preference and money.

Like you said people will pay for what they want to pay for but it looks like they won't be getting a vehicle that's a class up even if they pretend they are. The 6 series GC is to a 5 series what the A7 is to an A6.

Forget it, GermanNut. You're going to have to wait for Audi to make the A9 (with a higher price, but lesser performance than the A7) before you can claim Audi has an equivalent to the 6GC. What an exhausting game this is.

Wow, deboosted to -4. Truth hurts sometimes.

The Gran Coupe is the nicer car IMO, but I would stick with a 535i if it was my money.

Look at these delusional BMW fanboys like AlleVier and JRob. They claim the analogy of the Audi A7 is to the Audi A6 what the BMW 6 Gran Coupe is to the BMW 5-series is not valid.

BMW obviously screwed up the pricing on the 6-series Gran Coupe, plain and simple. The 6 Gran Coupe is not based on the 7-series therefore it obviously is not in a "higher class" than Audi's A7. BMW just thought the 6 Gran Coupe could be marketed as being in a "higher class" and they thought wrong.

If the 6 Gran Coupe were in a higher class it would compete with the Mercedes CL. Car and Driver obviously doesn't think the 6 Gran Coupe is in a "higher class" than Audi's A7 and that is why they compared the 6 Gran Coupe to the A7.

The A7 wins and BMW's attempt to market the 6 Gran Coupe as a "higher class" than Audi's A7 is an epic fail.

I look forward to more comparison tests where Audi's A7 reigns supreme over its "higher class" BMW 6-Series Gran Coupe competitor.

The 5 and 7 utilize the same chassis, so you could argue either way. But the 6GC has a much higher class interior than the 5 and is more in line with the 7. Where the A7 interior is identical to the A6. Also the GC has is has a longer wheelbase and length than the 5 series, or A7 making a larger luxury car. Either way BMW will sell everyone it makes.

well, the CL doesn't have four doors. But I would imagine BMW considers the 6-Series Coupe a CL/SL competitor, since the 6-Series costs a lot more than an E-class coupe or convertible (sidenote: have you ever noticed that people seem to have accepted that an E-class coupe and convertible and a 6-Series are not in the same class? Weird, isn't it? Why do you think that is? Well guess what, it's the same thing here.) As for why magazines are comparing the A7 and 6GC, that probably has more to do with the fact that Audi doesn't make a more expensive "four door coupe" yet and BMW doesn't make a cheaper one yet. The key word is "yet". I am sure they're coming. But until then, since they're the only ones available by their respective manufacturers, they are going to get compared. The 6GC is an A7 competitor in the same way a Panamera is an A7 competitor, period. You may not like it, and if you want to consider them competitors, go for it. One is simply nicer, better looking, and more expensive. If you don't want to buy the nicer, better looking, more expensive car, good for you, you don't have to. The A7 is a perfectly nice car. My guess is BMW will sell every 6GC they can build, and their intentions of marketing it as a higher class vehicle will work just fine, just as Porsche hasn't had any trouble selling Panameras. And if you can table the Audi Employee-speak for a minute (I know it'llbe hard for you, but give it a try), I think deep down you're smart enough to actually know what I am saying is true.

Hey BMW salesman perhaps if you take off your rose colored BMW shades you might want to consider the possibility that the 6GC won't sell as well as BMW wants it to because the consumer is picking cars that are just as good if not better and cheaper.

I don't doubt that at all. People settle for similar but cheaper cars everyday. That's how Hyundai and Kia got to where thy are today. The same is true in luxury cars too, there are people who want a 7 but get a 5, or want an A8 but settle on an A6. There will absolutely be people who will want a 6GC but will get an A7. But I am equally sure there are enough well heeled people who will spend the extra money for the 6GC over the A7, or will get the 6GC instead of a Panamera or 7-Series or A8 or XJ, etc. You seem intent on believing only one car can exist, and it's the Audi because it's cheaper. That's fine. Good luck with that. I believe there's room for both. Who has the rose colored glasses on?

It will sell alright I bet but still don't buy your argument that it is a class above the A7 or CLS. It lost every category even when you take out the price from the equation.

GNut, you missed my sarcasm and apparently have never read any of my posts. You may be the only one who thinks I'm a BMW fan.

chewy, then you obviously haven't sat in one. The review did make one thing clear -- the 6GC is nicer, it's "more special". And there are people who buy the nicer, more upscale, more expensive car simply because it's nicer, more upscale, and more expensive. Because it's "more special", and because "they can".

Here, since you keep making this all about the performance and you're an Audi guy, let me put this into more relevant terms. An Audi R8 V8 literally performs IDENTICALLY to an M3. Every quantitative performance measure they essentially overlap. Even the Nurburgring times are the same. The R8 costs $100k+, the M3 costs $70k (and to throw further fuel on the fire, a GT-R whups both of them for $100k, and used to whup both of them for $80k). Does that make anyone who buys an R8 instead of an M3 (or a GT-R) stupid? A moron who doesn't know what to do with their money? No. Of course not. An R8 is "more special". How about an Aston Martin Rapide? A Rapide would get rings run around it by an S7, 650GC xDrive, Mercedes CLS63, and a whole lot of less expensive cars (let alone cars that actually are in the same pricerange). Yet people buy Aston's, instead of other cars. Why? Because they're more special, and because they can. I can't, personally. If you don't get this phenomenon then I am guessing you can't either. But the people who can? They get it. And that's who the 6GC is being marketed to. Not to the same degree as the Aston, but certainly to the same degree as the Panamera.

That's a pair of very powerful sixes. Of note is the observed fuel economy:

BMW: 25 mpg
Audi:24

Hey, that's my line.

In my experience BMWs are overrated and overpriced. They tend to emphasize sportiness over luxury but they do make nice cars. In this day and age it makes little difference if one drives a BMW, and Audi or a MB, Each to their own - they are all decent. If you want a really special car you'll have to look elsewhere and pay more.