S7 actually worth the premium ? I compared .. (UK)

I actually went through the hassle of creating a spreadsheet and added every single option and compared.

I used for both the Vorsprung trim and apart from the shocking inconsistencies between the models, for example one has 'Front centre armrest', whilst the other 'Center armrest in front' - some of the same options have entirely different names, yet are the same. For example the A7 got electric lumbar support, where the S7 got power adjusted lumbar support. Or even worse 'Electric steering wheel adjustment' vs. 'Safety steering column with electric axial and inclination adjustment.

Not sure if there is a difference, but it seems identical.

I'd get a beating at work if my documents had such inconsistencies.

Anyway, I am not posting the whole spreadsheet here, but I tried to find out which one is the more suitable ride. Here in the UK cities trying to start to ban Diesel cars - so the fact that Audi introduced the Diesel for the S Models makes no sense. The only reason is clearly the whole emission nonsense, but if we just ignore the whole Diesel / Petrol and go my mere numbers, then I found the following.

Engine
A7 55TFSI: 340PS / 500Nm
S7: 349PS / 700 Nm

Now according to the configurator the S7 is a Quattro - which the A7 doesn't have but it IS a quattro but it seems without sport differential.

OH and the S7 got brakes apparently - isn't that exciting .. I feel that's an important option to have.

So what's my ****** point and question.

It seems the main notable differences are an aluminium gear knob and a sports differential and higher torque.

My question really is - is this worth an extra £7k ? Of course some could argue it is all about the badge - but then again - there is more to it, right.

The S7 got fake exhausts people hate and may be banned in some cities soon.

I am really struggling .. is the A7 a better option (plus it can be tuned by ABT and is already available for £3k for 408bhp and 550Nm) - with potential better 'rear' optic (aka exhaust) or the Diesel because it has a sport differential and better torque.

It is probably up to the individual - but how much of a difference does the differential make and again, is it worth that premium ?

If you read the original post you will find I compared the Vorsprung for both. Ans your list of options are included in both A and S. Even wheels are identical.

So as I say, if you compare both line by line, all you are left is the sport differential and an aluminium gear knob ... For a difference of £7k.

And yes engine is different but from the power you just see a 2Nm difference.

I am in midlife-crisis mode now I think but I do actually consider buying new. Whilst you can get warranty on used cars - it isn't really the same ... Another thing I found in the small prints of most of my policies - I did actually read them because I was bored. One part was interesting. Most insurance companies give you a new car if the car has been stolen or written off within the first year. The exclusion however is if you are registered as second or more owner. What is interesting now as well - if you purchase a car from the lot at a dealership and it is a pre-registered car, despite it being new, you lose out of that part. And whilst a lot of companies (if you lease) do insist on a gap insurance anyway - those gap insurances aren't often the way that they cover the new price - mainly only market value vs. current value. So if you do want that piece of protection - you likely need to take out additional insurances.

Now granted, a gap insurance that covers this is probably cheaper than the difference new <> used car - but I still want to buy a new car - call it - the last one before I can't afford it any more.

Now back to the S7 ... I do have some time before I need to think about it but I started looking seriously and I have been to different dealers looking at different S7 specs.... I just can not go over the fake exhaust and Diesel part. I just can't ... don't care if it has a lot of torque - just can't ... The exhaust is almost worse than the Diesel fact.

I even asked a couple of mod shops and it seems it is near impossible to fit a proper exhaust due to the lack of room. Not without modifying a heck of a lot - which isn't really worth it.

Whilst driving to another Audi dealer actually - I drove past a Merc dealership and looked what they got ... And you know what - I looked at an E63S - Biturbo V8 with 4Matic+ ... Now the thing that was astonishing - it is nearly 20k cheaper than the RS7 - that is fully loaded including ceramics. Not saying I want ceramics (I don't) but I sometimes use the fully loaded comparison to see how they differ. Then I go down into details to see what options I need - like 360 camera, hud etc. - some options I don't want without.

So at this stage I THINK I may actually stop driving Audi - a bit strange as I drove quite a lot of Audis since I got my license. A3/4/6/8 .. S3 ... 40% new, rest used - So I really love Audi - but they started to drop the ball with the S-series tbh.

So right now I am researching the AMG and see what happens in the near future.

cupra_ahhh said:

Taking into consideration an E63S isn't going to help you decide, that's a different ball-game. I love the interior of the E-class and when spec'd up, it's a beautiful place to be, and it has physical buttons, not all touch screen so you don't always needs to see where you're trying to reach. That's almost £100k though new? Why not look at the CLS53 AMG? Unique design, about 450BHP i think? Probably similar price to the S7, and it's petrol with similar interior to the E-class.

Click to expand...

CLS53AMG is nice - but when I saw the E63S is available as estate I kinda fell in love .. even if you compare it to the RS6 estate - AMG just seems to win - hurts a bit tbh

It isn't just 100k ... fully specced it is about 105k ... you can get it for 88k pre-registered ... but with half the options missing .. I was surprised to see that dealers left out options that are a grand .. which is odd given it is a mere 1% of the total value. I will likely put down half as a deposit and decide at the end whether to keep it or not.