The car industry is in an odd place. It’s all about the niche and ensuring every single hole in a product line up is covered off. Mind you, when the niche product that pops out is the Audi A7, that’s no bad thing. For the rest of the brands out there, thought is all is needed.

Nailing that genuine niche in the market is the automotive equivalent of striking black liquid gold. Audi is one company in particular that has been hunting for that niche year on year for as long as I can remember. Their model line up is more than double what it was and the collection of sportbacks, crossovers, coupes keeps increasing, each hoping to land the gold star and become the must have toy. This is not solely restricted to Audi by any stretch – have a look at BMW, Mercedes etc. However what Audi continue to do (in between some oddities) is keep nailing some mega cars. The A7 being one of them.

So the A7 Sportback. Not really a niche finder but a car built to tackle one that Mercedes have already been gifted as creating – The slinky saloon sector. Sometimes not offering something entirely unique is the way forward.  It very clear from all the marketing gumph that this car is out for the CLS and the market it has so successfully opened up. So what’s it like then?

Which is strange as it isn’t really a direct rival. The CLS is a big coupe four-door saloon and the A7 is more a coupe-style hatch and in turn a five-door. If you are sharp with your Audi line-up, the A7 is to the A6 what the A5 Sportback is to the A4. The sexier version.. and yes I know that simplifies everything a little bit.

Stepping inside, A7 drivers are treated to one of the finest cabins in the business and it’s fair to say that it’s easily heading towards A8 levels of perfection. Ignore the Ikea veneer for a second and the cabin is beyond reproach. If you get trigger happy with the options catalogue, you will have class leading levels of technology and toys to keep you happy. We had fun with what was the first full head-up display system fitted in an Audi, however what initially seems to be a super cool idea, slowly starts to drive you mad and I found myself switching it off. Great for keeping an eye on the speed to keep those speeding fines in check though.

As mentioned above, there is tech everywhere in this car, however option tickers beware… get too excited and you will be looking a bill well over the level that usually scares the bank manager.

Now let’s get into the nitty gritty. How does it drive? I’ve always found Audi’s to be an interesting proposition in this arena. You almost have to make the call as to what you want from a car before either praising it or slating it. Do you want a street racer that drives around town looking and feeling angry all the time (S7 is on the way just in case), trying to be something that you don’t really need. Or do you want something that looks incredible, has an interior package that exceeds anything out there, and drives perfectly.

Actually I better go a bit deeper here. This car is frighteningly quick and superbly effective. It just doesn’t make the world come alive in your hands. But, do you really need that in a car like this?

Touching on the motor quickly. It provides plenty of scoot, but sadly it’s a touch muted on the voice front. Not something that was expected from a Supercharged 3.0 V6. The possibilities could have been superb. Imagine if you will, the sonorous wail of a V6 over laid with an old school Supercharger whine?! Nope, not here and although it was disappointing at first, that vibe described above very soon took over and the typically wonderful package Audi continues to deliver took over the story.

So I got to the bottom of it during our time with the car. It’s not a full blown sportscar, it’s not going to bust a hot lap around a race track… does it really need to and does it actually matter? No, not really! For the car’s prime reason for being – wrapping around the driver, it’s passengers or a family of four in technologically saturated, distance munching comfort – the Audi A7 is brilliant. Of that, there is no doubt. It is also a car that is capable of making you turn back and look at it every time you park it.. that is rarity these days and for that it must also be praised.

Slinky Sally, we enjoyed our time with you >>>