Edmunds Inside Line: 2014 Audi RS7 Serious Contender For Ruling the U.S. Super Sport Sedan Segment

Now, THIS is going to be one bad-arse car.

Australian car mag Motoring: First Drive, Audi RS7

What we liked:
>> Just looks gorgeous
>> Unrelenting, raw speed
>> Astonishingly beautiful interior
Not so much:
>> Over-the-top good bits are options...
>> ...Which cost plenty
>> That’s about it, though
It’s a car that drips in luxury from any surface. If you can see it or touch it, Audi has spent effort and money making it look and feel good. If you can sit in it, it’s clad in diamond-quilted, perforated leather that is both heated and ventilated. If you can hear it, it’s been tuned, even if it’s the exhaust or the Bang & Olufsen audio setup or even the clicks of the indicators. It’s so good in so many areas that you sometimes lose track of whether it’s a luxury car playing at being a sports sedan, a sports sedan playing at being a practical family machine or a piece of pure design that doubles as a limousine. It’s that impressive.
COMPETITORS. If it’s fast and comfortable, it’s on the list... Let’s start with Porsche, just for giggles. Its Panamera Turbo offers a pair of turbos and a larger V8 engine. And it’s fast. But the Panamera Turbo lists for an enormous sum (around $380,000), is no faster to 100km/h than the RS7 and is definitely uglier. What do you get for your extra $140,000-odd grand? Enough? For some, a Porsche badge makes a big difference. For others… Well... Commonsense will send people over BMW way, where the M5 lurks around the $230,000 mark and the sexier sister car, the M6 GranCoupe, sits $70K higher. The latter has been a clear development target for the RS7, which matches the engine output of both BMWs to the kW, despite giving away 0.4 litres of capacity. And it adds insult to injury by being half a second quicker to 100km/h. Benz’s E63 AMG falls a measly 2kW short of the RS7’s power figure. And if that’s a bit stodgy, there’s always the CLS version. Jaguar is doing some hotter stuff but it’s not quite at this level, though you could cast a realistic eye over to Bentley on performance, if not cost. The ‘Brit’ brand does share the core of the RS7’s engine, gearbox and driveline, after all, but the Audi gives it to you for a lot less money than the Continental Flying Spur.
We drove the RS7 on the roads around Le Mans, France, for two hours, which gave us freeway, town and twists, plus dry running and heavy rain to experiment with. And the car simply can’t be fazed, even when numpties in Porsche 964s spin off exiting roundabouts and fall off into ditches in front of it. The first unit we drove had the standard air suspension with 20-inch tires all riding 20mm lower than the S7, while the second had the harder core 21-inch rubber, steel springs and three-way adjustable dampers. And we preferred the second one. It’s just superb.
http://tinyurl.com/mnd38vc

Road and Track car mag: First drive, RS7
"Four liters of engine never sounded this good or punched this hard. Like the rest of the RS7, it has the ability to blend in to traffic and act all genteel or, at the push of a button, rage against the horizon until it runs away, scared. It’s not that it’s fast in a straight line. It’s fast everywhere . Hit the Sport button, turn off all the skid stoppers, and blast away. The rear-biased Quattro all-wheel-drive system (with the optional Sport rear diff) just grips and goes. It feels incredibly brutal in a straight line, with the eight-speed auto ripping through the gears as the V8 howls and warbles. Hit the rev limiter, and you’re rewarded with pops and crackles like a pit-lane limiter. And it’s not just quick to 60 mph. It’s astonishing from 60 to about 160 mph. Punch it out of corners, and it feels like you’re inside the ball in one of those spiral-on-a-spike backyard tennis games. Only louder...
It’s one thing to attack with the sheer fury and thunder the RS7 brings, but it’s another to do it all with such a constant feeling of sophistication from the engine, gearbox, and, yes, even the optional steel springs (air springs are standard). There aren’t many four-seat, four- or five-door machines that will run with this in a straight line, yet it loses almost nothing by way of luxury, composure, or class to any car you could mention. And then, when you want it all to calm down and behave, it does. It’s like having a brutal military-spec dog that turns into an affectionate happy-go-lucky Labrador at the push of a button. On top of all that, it has cylinder deactivation and can muster up around 24 mpg in stretches—a touch better than the BMW M5 and M6 Gran Coupe."
http://tinyurl.com/kt6nmgs

"Audi is now serious about leveraging its RS brand. A couple of years ago, it parachuted a new boss into its quattro GmbH operation with the singular ambition to deliver a full family of high-horsepower models. Franciscus van Meel took over an organization that usually drew praise for its hotter Audis, but didn’t deliver very many of them. Usually (with some notable exceptions like the RS5 and the R8), they just arrived in the last year or two of the production run of each model. Meanwhile AMG was turning out faster, more expensive versions of just about everything, M not only sat stuff atop the 1, 3, 5 and 6 Series ranges, but had X models as well. Mr van Meel’s job was to turn quattro into an Audi version of both of its German rivals. If people were paying a lot more money for deep fried models, Audi wanted more of it. quattro under Meel has worked on it and its famous big-power wagons are no longer at the top of the Audi-based quattro tree.
http://tinyurl.com/mnd38vc

German car mag Autozeitung comparison test
1st place: Audi RS5 Coupe 2,833 points
2nd place: Mercedes C 63 AMG Coupé Edition 507 2,701 points
http://tinyurl.com/m45yvmr

and the RS5 is still 1 for 6 vs the old M3 ...

Who cares? M3s are a dime a dozen and you can always guarentee to see a d-bag behind the wheel of one.

BMW4me4ever: I see you read through all the posts. You do realized the old M3's production has ended, do you not? Second, the Audi RS5 broke the 8 minute barrier at Nurbugring, while the M3 failed to do despite being driven by the same Nurbugring expert and supercar tester Horst von Saurma (in his assessment the two cars had a difference of only 2 marks out of 70 -- so they are very close).

I do realize that the M3 production has ended and it is still a better drivers car than the RS5. Thus justifying my point as the M3 even though completely outdated is still a better performance car than the RS5 as it has won 6 out of 7 comparison tests .... The M3 was last tested in 2007 at 8:05 where the RS5 was tested in 2012 at 7:59. Me with the Competition package would make a big difference and I bet the lap times would be similar as has been the case in all the other comparison tests in which the M3 was quicker than the RS5.

at Hockenheim lap times exact same , Sachsenring M3 competition package was quicker, Top Gear track M3 Competition was quicker, Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours M3 competition was quicker ... goto www.fastestlaps.com ...

The largest German car magazine Autobild tested the BMW 650i against the Audi RS5, lol. The RS5 won!
"The RS had more horsepower, but consumed only a sip more fuel, was considerably sportier and had almost the same utility, evn though it was about 10 000 euros cheaper: This Audi victory is clear. With its hot-blooded high revving V8 it is not only the clearly dynamic car, but it ignites the great coupe feeling better than the cool BMW.
http://www.autobild.de/artikel/bmw-650i-xdrive-audi-rs-5-v8-coupes-im-test-3415729.html

The BMW M3 (8:05 min in 2007), pre-facelift RS5 (7:59 min in 2010) and facelifted RS5 (7:59 min in 2012) were all driven at Nurburgring by the same Nurburgring expert and supercar tester Horst von Saurma -- so that removes some driver variable. Von Saurma's laptimes are the standard -- no need to waste time on Sachsenring, Top Gear, Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours using inferior and different drivers (in any case these laptimes were from the slightly slower pre-facelifted 2010 RS5).

Von Saurma has been driving a little sloer in recent years, after his accident and due to age. So the M3 benefitted from von Saurma's best driving in 2007. Given the popularity of the M3, surely many M3 with Competition Package attempts have tried to break von Saurma's 8:05 min mark -- but failed otherwise they would have registered their lap time. Had von Saurma driven the RS5 in 2007, he'd probably have cut 1 to 2 seconds off the 2010 RS5 and 2 to 3 seconds off the facelift RS5. No one else has beaten von Saurma's lap times at Nurburgring, the toughest track. The RS5 does not need a 'Competition Package' as it is alrady quite capable on the track, lol.
http://fastestlaps.com/tracks/nordschleife.html

Horst von Saurma tested both cars on the two tracks that co-host the German F1 Grand Prix: Nurburgring and Hockenheim. The RS5 was fatser than the M3 at the longer Nurburgring track but were tied in laptime at Hockenheim.

This is Horst von Saurma's supertest of the 2012 Audi RS5 (faceliftedl RS5) in winter 2012 -- score 56 out of 70
http://tinyurl.com/bp6mbaq

This is Horst von Saurma's supertest of the BMW M3 in fall 2007 -- score 58 out of 70
http://tinyurl.com/cstq4qz

The Audi TT RS Plus easily beat the M3 with Competition Package at Hockenheim and EuroSpeedway Lausitz.

Btw,no wonder the BMW-biased Motor Trend refused to do a comparison test of the Audi S4 and BMW 335i... the S4 is better in nearly every way.
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1307_2013_audi_s4_first_test/
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1202_2012_bmw_335i_first_test/

German Auto Press: Driving report, Audi RS7
http://auto-presse.de/autonews.php?newsid=182874

Never have been a fan of the rear on this car, and at nearly 4500lbs with an 8 speed auto it's main use will be a boulevard cruiser.

Yes Boulevard Cruiser or M5 killer..you choose ...I want to see a compare. 550 + from 4.0 ,,,thats good technology...

I for one find this car very visually unattractive, as do a lot of folks I know. Downvote all you like but I hated its look when I saw it in-person in January and I still dislike it now. Very aggressive front but the rest is a station wagon and I actually think the latest porsche looks better overall (though still not very good).

entitled to your odd opinion. you, for one, represent a nearly non-existent group amongst the automotive cognescenti.

this is simply one of the most gorgeous cars made today!

Agreed. Not impressed by the rear, and just barely more tolerable than the Panamera, which is not saying much.

For $115,000 (http://bit.ly/12ptXHE) I want a car that's visually enticing, front and rear. Although I do know of many who are just smitten by the back, so I have no doubt it will sell well, just like the Panamera continues to sell well.

great performance figures, yet I still cant get past the design on this car. The back end of the car is pretty hideous. It is almost like they forgot to continue the lines of the car and just chopped off the back.

Those who find the car unattractive are in a tiny minority. Most reviews gave the Audi A7 car excellent marks for exterior styling and design. E.g., Car and Driver gave the A7 a 10 out of 10 for exterior styling and the Merc CLS an 8 out of 10.
http://tinyurl.com/kjdud4d

Anyone who owns an Audi A7/S7 will tell you that their car gets a lot of looks and compliments from bystanders.

I do agree that the A7/S7/RS7 is a good-looking car, though the rear is a bit bulbous. That being said, it's atractive in a feminine sort of way. I do wish that they would have bulged out the fenders a bit for the RS7 similar to how they did it for the RS5, just to give it a bit of butch.

That being said, RS7 or E63/CLS63 or M5/M6 Gran Coupe or Panamera Turbo S. It's going to come down to personal preference as each car has its merits and demerits, but they're all disgustingly quick and agile and solid pieces of machinery.

absolutely STUNNING car in every way...looks, engine, interior and, apparently, handling. this is what the M5 should have been.

"this is what the M5 should have been."

For the M5 to be more like the RS7 it would need to be heavier, more expensive, have AWD, electric steering, and an automatic transmission...I think the M5 is just fine as is (RWD,DCT,Hydraulic steering). Also the RS7 goes against the M6 GC which has received VERY positive reviews.

LOL, my last post was voted down by the usual BMW sales reps working for BMW4me4ever or another ISellOnlyBimmers poster.

This link contains the winner and finalists for the World Car of the Year awards. Scroll down to the grid table (titled "Finalists and Top 3 Finalists") and look at the column on the far right (titled "World Car Design of the Year").
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_car_of_the_year

Look at the finalists for 2011 -- the Audi A7 is a finalist, but was beaten out only by the Aston Martin Rapide (winner), Ferrari 458 Italia and Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

After 2006, no BMW car was a finalist in the World Car Design of the Year awards (I think both Bimmers are no longer sold). No Mercedes was a finalist since the awards started in 2006.

No doubt, those who vote down my posts must think that the Audi R8 and Audi TT are also unattractive cars, lol

Audi video on the RS7's dynamic ride control (see link, at bottom)
"For those who want to get the most out of their RS 7, Audi offers the Dynamic Plus package that features a taut sport suspension plus with dynamic ride control (DRC) as an alternative to the air suspension. It gets upgrades like steel springs and three-stage adjustable dampers that are connected to one another via diagonal oil lines and a central valve. The diagonally linked DRC dampers central valves regulate oil flow.
This upgrade is for driving enthusiasts who want to experience the 560 hp to the fullest. The dynamic ride control suspension system allows the RS 7 to take the corners at higher speeds with very little body roll and leaning. Audi also offers optional 420 millimeter (16.54 in) carbon fiber ceramic discs with anthracite gray calipers. The powerful vented disc brakes reduce pitching during high-speed braking. These are a must when braking from 190 mph.
Another option Audi offers for driving enthusiasts is the dynamic steering with its steplessly variable steering boost and ratio. Its characteristics are specially tailored for the RS 7 Sportback to be matched with the dynamic ride control package. The body of the Audi RS 7 Sportback includes up to 20 percent aluminum and includes high-strength and ultra high-strength steels. Its high rigidity is the foundation for the precise handling that performance enthusiasts are looking for.
The all-new 2014 Audi RS 7 Sportback is the fastest and most powerful RS ever built by the German automaker. With the dynamic ride control package, it gives performance enthusiasts the ultimate in driving dynamics and is one sweet ride."
http://tinyurl.com/ny3l98f

Contrary to what M5twinturbo claims, the BMW M5 should be heavier than the Audi RS7 (the M5 is already heavier than the Audi S6 sedan). The M5 with 7-speed M Double Clutch Transmission is 4387 lbs (BMW website) versus the Audi RS7 estimated at 4,321 lbs. The RS7 Sportback is 110 lbs lighter than the RS6 Avant.

In Car and Driver's comparison test (Audi S6 sedan, BMW M5, Mercedes E63 AMG), the Audi S6 was first place with 213 points (out of the maximum 240 points). The M5 was third place (last) with 193 points. The Audi S6 beat the M5 in almost every performance and driving measure, even "fun to drive"! The S6 beat the M5 in 12 of the 22 measures: price, fun to drive, transmission, steering feel, brake feel, fuel economy, ergonomics, rear seat comfort, exterior styling, interior styling, features/amenities, fit and finish. The S6 tied the M5 in 6 of the 22 measures: handling, ride, driver comfort, rear seat space, engine nvh, cargo space. The M5 beat the S6 in only 4 of the 22 measures: rebates/extras, flexibility, performance, 1/4 mile acceleration (only by 1 mark in each case). In the 1/4 mile acceleration, the BMW took 11.9 seconds... while the S6 took only 0.2 seconds more (12.1 seconds). The 420 HP S6 was faster to 30 mph (1.2 seconds vs 1.6 seconds) and tied the 560 HP M5 to 60 mph (3.7 seconds).
http://tinyurl.com/cqntdwx
http://tinyurl.com/6olv8mu

If the cheaper Audi S6 is already so much better than the expensive M5, imagine how much better the Audi RS7 will be over the M5! Audi intended the RS7 to compete with both the M5 as well as M6. Most car buyers looking at the M5 and M6 will also look at the RS7, S6 and S7.

You forgot to mention that at the race track the BMW was ALOT quicker. 3mph in slalom and .87 vs .91 for the M5, 3 seconds faster to 130, 1 second faster to 100,

BMW4me4ever: "You forgot to mention that at the race track the BMW was ALOT quicker. 3mph in slalom and .87 vs .91 for the M5, 3 seconds faster to 130, 1 second faster to 100"

"a lot quicker" at race track? The S6 was raced only once by some unknown, unnamed driver (not an established driver such as Horst von Sauma) at only one track (Virginia International Raceway). It's unusual for Audis to be raced only once (and only in USA, not Europe), indicating that this was probably an independent driver.

"3mph in slalom"? You're exagerrating again. The M3 was only 1.5 mph quicker than the S6

You forgot to mention that...

The $71,000 Audi S6 is much cheaper than the $92,000 BMW M5 -- yet the cheaper S6 thumped the expensive M5 in the test results. There is BMW drivers remorse every time and S6 is parked next to their M5

The S6 is lighter than the M5

The S6 is 0.4 seconds quicker to 30 mph.

The S6 is only 0.2 seconds behind the M5 to the quarter mile.

The S6 tied 3.7 secs to 60 mph with the M5

The S6 is 3 feet shorter in braking than M5

The S6 has better fuel economy than M5

The S6 is quieter than M5 than M5

The S6 has more rear seat volume than M5

http://media.caranddriver.com/files/2013-audi-s6-vs-2013-bmw-m5-2012-mercedes-benz-e63-amg-1.pdf

Dude...... Give it a rest.

What are you, an Audi Salesman ??

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS:
Why don't YOU give it a rest.
What are you, a BMW salesman?
After all, you even post articles about BMW, such as...
"NEW BMW 3-Series Diesel.. 286Bhp & 427lb ft.. Who Needs Petrol Engines ??"
http://autospies.com/news/NEW-BMW-3-Series-Diesel-286Bhp-427lb-ft-Who-Needs-Petrol-Engines-9365/

So... why don't you give it a rest.

Really, what kind of person is irrational enough to vote down the hard evidence in my posts on the Audi's A7 design: the A7 was given 10 out of 10 marks for exterior design/styling by Car and Driver magazine as well as the A7 was a finalist for the 2011 World Car Design of the Year award (beaten out by the Aston Martin Rapide, Ferrari 458 Italia). It's understandable when a person votes down an opinion he doesn't like but it's irrational to vote down hard facts and reality.

Even in this Road and Track comparo, for "exterior styling" the Audi S7 was given a perfect 15 marks our of 15. The BMW 650i GC was given 12.4 marks and the Mercedes CLS550 got only 8.8 marks. Of course buying any car's design is going to come down to personal preference, but the vast majority of reviews have given the A7/S7 the best marks for exterior design and styling -- i.e., the majority prefer the A7/S7's styling, and probably would the RS7's styling. It's only a minority who don't like the car's styling (in life, there's always a tiny minority who will never appreciate what looks good).

Road and Track comparison Test: 2013 Audi S7 vs. 2013 BMW 650i xDrive Gran Coupe vs. 2013 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 4MATIC
1st place: Audi S7
2nd Place: BMW 650i Grand Coupe
3rd place: Mercedes CLS550
http://www.roadandtrack.com/the-results-8
http://tinyurl.com/crj2zy8
http://www.roadandtrack.com/2013-audi-s7

Road & Track mag on their long-term test of the Audi A7: "what most of you readers don't know is that there is an internal testing criterion for long-term vehicles at Road & Track that I consider much more significant. Something in which our Audi A7 scored an 8 out of a possible 8. There's a dry-erase board on the wall outside the offices of our road test team. Measuring 4 x 6 feet, it's about average size, but what it holds is worth every nanogram of wipeable marker ink: It's a list of all the short- and long-term vehicles in our test fleet. On a normal workday, the protocol for key distribution is seniority based. For weekends, there's a special request slot where anyone can sign up for a car. And that's where our long-term 2012 Audi A7 earned a perfect 8. For its first two months, or eight straight weekends, the Audi A7 was consistently booked... And the packs it in with style. The envious glares from fathers loading Ikea boxes into their minivans alone are worth the price of admission. As handsome as the A7 is on the outside, it also excels on the inside... Having lived with the A7 for several months now, the power, utility and design comprise a package that is superbly livable and entertaining to drive. There is never a moment I haven't enjoyed driving the A7. And apparently, neither has the rest of the staff. To date, the A7 is still the go-to car on weekends, often booked for long stretches of time." Since then R&T has published another long term update on the A7 that's even better than this but it's only in their hard copy magazine, it's not yet availabl

You forgot to post the Motor trend comparison where the 650xi GC beat the S7.

"As much as I like the looks of the Audi S7, there's simply something more seductive about the Gran Coupe. Even Ron agreed. "Highest curb appeal here, and the valets are more likely to put this one up front." More surprising is the Gran Coupe's interior, the best BMW's ever done by several kilometers. From the two-tone leather to the funky speaker grilles to the ballsy asymmetric center-stack treatment (how can you not love three separate rows of French stitching spreading up and out toward the windshield like some sort of vine?), almost every inch of the car's innards has been crafted to a standard higher than that of any Audi or Mercedes. More important, the Gran Coupe is the first car of its type (four-door coupes) with an interior as radical as its exterior."

Only parked next to a Gran Coupe will most A7 owners feel anything resembling buyer’s remorse. It is a graceful thing, hunkered down at the rear and devoid of excess ornamentation. Like the BMW, it has presence on the road and at valet stands, but its visuals are more subdued.

The high-quality interior is a little dreary in black with the standard natural-ash inlays, and it’s not as cockpit-like as the Gran Coupe’s.

In the same Car & Driver article you forgot to mention how they felt it doesn't stand up to the striking presence of the Gran Coupe.... I love how you skip around, copy and paste to make things look how you want. If you are going to quote, then tell the whole truth .... lol

94geo: see my reply to your post below.

BMW4me4ever: You can fantasize all you want about Audi A7 drivers having buyers remorse for not wasting their money on the much more expensive BMW 6 Series that gives less performance and capability.

Bottom-line, the Audi A7 was a finalist at the "World Car Design of the Year" against strong competition in 2011 (Aston Martin Rapide and Ferrari 458 Italia). The BMW 6 Series F12/F13/F06 (2011–present) has failed to make it as a finalist in 2011, 2012 or 2013 (even though 2012 was relatively weak).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_car_of_the_year

BMW4me4ever: "In the same Car & Driver article you forgot to mention how they felt it doesn't stand up to the striking presence of the Gran Coupe.... I love how you skip around, copy and paste to make things look how you want. If you are going to quote, then tell the whole truth .... lol"

What are you disingenuously blabbering about? The only Car & Driver article I quoted and linked (see link) was the A7 vs the Mercedes CLS -- Car and Driver gave the A7 a perfect 10 out of 10 for exterior styling and the Merc CLS an 8 out of 10.
http://tinyurl.com/kjdud4d

You are cherry picking from a different Car & Driver comparo between the $67,000 Audi A7 and the fully optioned $106,000 BMW 640i. This is the reason why you did not provide the link: in this comparison test, the first-placed A7 (215 points out of 240) knocked out the last-placed 640i (only 189 points) -- it was a comprehensive thumping in almost every area (out of 22 measures, the BMW managed to beat the Audi in only 4 measures, lol)
http://tinyurl.com/ofros3n

You claim that Car and Driver said the A7 "doesn't stand up to the striking presence of the Gran Coupe" but C&D never said it in this way. What C& D did say was:
- only 1 point (out of 10 maximum) separated the A7 and 640i in exterior styling. Both cars were tied 9 out of 10 for interior styling.
- "up close, our (BMW) test car’s shoddy orange-peel paint seemed like a stain on a Kiton tie, an indicator that all is not perfect here."
- conclusion: "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."
- "the A7 is the better car"

I love how it's really you who fails to tell the whole truth, lol.

Ill take an E63AMG. The RWD Mercedes E63 wagon just topped the RS6 in an auto express review. If they used the AWD E63amg S that will be available in the US and Europe it would have been a complete KO.

The German car testers know best. BMW4me4ever and 94geo love to cherry pick the few little things they can find while leaving out the overwhelming evidence. That's why it's better to rely on the expert reviewers in Germany who drive German cars more than anyone else.

The largest German car magazine Autobild tested the more expensive BMW 650i against the cheaper Audi RS5. The RS5 won, lol!
"The RS had more horsepower, but consumed only a sip more fuel, was considerably sportier and had almost the same utility, evn though it was about 10 000 euros cheaper: This Audi victory is clear. With its hot-blooded high revving V8 it is not only the clearly dynamic car, but it ignites the great coupe feeling better than the cool BMW.
http://www.autobild.de/artikel/bmw-650i-xdrive-audi-rs-5-v8-coupes-im-test-3415729.html


The largest German car magazine Autobild preferred to test the Audi S7 against the Porsche Panamera GTS.
http://www.autobild.de/artikel/audi-s7-sportback-gegen-porsche-panamera-gts-3430056.html

94geo: Actually it's you who forgot to post ALL of the biased Motor Trend comparison.

After Motor Trend published its article on the comparison test (Audi S7, BMW 650i Gran Coupe, Mercedes-Benz CLS550), it held an on-line poll: "we’d like to know which you would most like to drive". Not only did the Audi S7 win 55% of the votes, it got 140% more votes than both the BMW 650i and MB CLS
- Audi S7 55.15% (391 votes)
- BMW 650i Gran Coupe 22.85% (162 votes)
- Mercedes-Benz CLS550 22% (156 votes)
Total Votes: 709
http://tinyurl.com/n8qbxgs

Intelligent MT's readers used their common sense because they smelled something fishy with Motor Trend's contradictory analysis. MT has long been biased to BMW cars.

The MT reviewer irrationally chose the $115,000 BMW 650i Grand Coupe (fully loaded with $25,000 of options) over the $85,000 Audi S7 (loaded with only $6,000 options, leaving out at least $12,000 of options) by (a) totally disregarding the objective numbers (where Audi was consistently superior in performance and overall) and (b) relying on subjective personal opinions such as their imaginary "X-factor" and "desirability", and (c) citing several expensive options on the fully-loaded BMW that impressed them (the Audi was under-loaded with only one-third of available options).

The Road and Track testers had a similarly optioned 650i and S7 as the Motor Trend testers had -- yet they applied logical thinking to chose the S7.

You were careful to leave out the link to your MT test. You should read it carefully. Because this is what it reveals...
http://tinyurl.com/m7n9o5m

First, the MT reviewer failed to reveal upfront that the tested BMW 650i is $30,000 more expensive than the tested S7 -- and that the 650i was loaded with $25,000 of options versus the S7's only $6,000 options:
- the BMW 650i as tested is about $115,000, which is about 35% ($30,000) more expensive than the $85,000 Audi S7 as tested!
- The tested BMW 650i had about $25,000 of options! That means the tested BMW had 416% worth more of options than the tested Audi S7's $6,000 of options.
- the base price of the BMW 650i is over $90,000, which is about 14% ($11,000) more expensive than the $75,000 Audi S7's base price.

The dubious Motor Trend tester was going gaga over the BMW's "radical interior": two-tone leather, elaborate stitching, craftsmanship, speaker grilles. What the he did not reveal was that the BMW's interior had at least $8,280 of options (leather $3,500, wood trim $1,080, Bang & Olufsen sound system $3,700), probably even more than I could detect -- which is more than the total $6,000 cost of options on the Audi! And these were just the options I could detect on the BMW's interior, which still leaves $16,720 of unknown options on the BMW.

The MT tester had to be either incompetent or biased to BMW to omit telling us that these features were options on the fully loaded BMW. I'm no car salesman and have no links to the car industry -- yet it w

The MT tester had to be either incompetent or biased to BMW to omit telling us that these features were options on the fully loaded BMW. I'm no car salesman and have no links to the car industry -- yet it was obvious to me that these are options.

Even the Road and Track's tested BMW had about $25,000 of options, which tells us that BMW sent out fully-loaded cars for testing to impress gullible reviewers and readers... because BMW realized that the $90,000 base 650i would have no hope against the base $79,000 S7.

The Audi was not upgraded with leather, wood trim or sound system or other options -- so obviously the fully-optioned BMW had an unfair advantage. Had the Audi been optioned with upgraded leather seating, layered Oak Wood inlay, Bang & Olufsen sound system, etc -- it might have changed how they two cars were perceived by testers.

Second, the MT reviewer provides hard data that proved the S7 is superior in performance and capability against the 650, e.g.,
- MT Figure 8 Course: the S7 (24.8 sec @ 0.81 g avg) outruns the 650i (25.1 sec @ 0.79 g avg) on the curvy, winding figure eight course.
- acceleration: from 0 to 30 mph, 0 to 60, 0 to 100, 0 to the quarter mile... the S7 beats the 650i throughout the band - turning circle: the S7 is better than the 650i
- weight: the Audi S7 (4435 lbs) is 168 lbs lighter than the BMW 650i (4603 lbs)
- braking: the S7 is better than the 650i
- rear legroom: the S7 has almost 2 inches more legroom for rear passengers than the 650i
- cargo volume: the S7 has almost twice the space as the 650i

Yet the MT reviewer chooses the BMW using the same irrational logic a fanboy would: According to Motor Trend, the Audi S7 was the best on winding roads and was the fastest, reaching 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and the quarter in 12.3 seconds at 112.1 mph. “Pretty astonishing for a 4435-pounder with the smallest displacement engine of the test, a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 that’s probably underrated at only 420 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque.”.. "Kiino ranked it first. "C'mon, this is a 420-hp hatchback with AWD and a seven-speed dual-clutch with launch control. I give it the first-place nod, as it's the best combo of speed, luxury, style, and -- what differentiates it from the others -- utility." In fact, Scott and I (almost) agree. "This car is obscenely fast in a straight line. Luxury sedans with liftgates shouldn't be able to do this," said Evans. "It doubles down by being ridiculously quick in corners as well. The grip is fantastic and the weapons-grade torque absolutely flings you out of every turn."... the Audi feels fun -- as if Audi included a little devil sitting on your shoulder, whispering, "Do it, do it, do it faster! Now do it again!"... Is the Gran Coupe as awesome on our favorite

MT"Is the Gran Coupe as awesome on our favorite back roads as the S7? No. "The car has nice moves, but it's just not as sharp as the Audi,"... If this test were just about pure, back-road capability, the S7 would get the nod. But as the BMW is about 95 percent as capable as the Audi (identical 0.94 max g, too), but offers so much more in desirability, craftsmanship, and that all-important X-factor, we're calling it the winner.... But it's very seldom that I find myself so quick to forgive vehicular flaws. With the BMW Gran Coupe, that's absolutely the case."

In other words, the MT testers relied on their biased, subjective opinions to hand the victory to the inferior 650i instead of the superior Audi S7

Right on BobM. Well Said!