Let's talk about the highly controversial SAIC Audi A7L. This car has shed the fastback exterior of an imported coupe and put on a three-box long-wheelbase suit, so how much of its handling soul is left?
I'll combine feedback from real owners to discuss this car's real energy consumption, chassis tuning logic, and the market game behind its bare-car price dropping below 310,000.
To be honest, when the Audi A7L first came out, it was criticized to pieces, but now it's making people cry "really worth it" thanks to its price. It is indeed a bit funny.
Back in the day, the imported A7 was hailed as the most beautiful coupe, with a high and mighty price. After localization, in order to cater to our domestic obsession with large space, its fastback was abruptly cut off and replaced with a three-box body.
Car fans flipped tables and cursed plenty over this. But reality is so bare-bones—sentiment ultimately cannot beat real money.
For this car with a guide price starting at 418,700, I checked the latest dealer market conditions. Now the 2.0T Luxury trim is being sold in many places at a bare-car price directly down to around 300,000 to 310,000! With a price cut of more than 100,000 crashing down, don't you suddenly find this three-box styling much easier on the eyes?
Put aside preconceptions and look at the actual car. Without the fastback, is it really ugly? I actually think the A7L's side profile is extremely long and elegant. The sharp waistline paired with the insane 3026 mm wheelbase makes it look visually very low.
This car's unladen ground clearance is only 111 mm, which is the lowest figure among same-class BBA models, much lower than the A6L and 5 Series!
This means its stance has a strong ground-hugging flying feel, and it is steady as a rock at highway speeds.
But you have to be careful—when entering underground garages or driving over rough roads, definitely take it easy. Don't drive it like an SUV; scraping the chassis will break your heart for quite a while.
The frameless doors retain the coupe's last bit of stubbornness, and with the matrix headlights' flowing illumination effect, once turned on at night, the presence of the "light factory" is still firmly in hand.
Open the door and sit inside, and the familiar Audi flavor rushes at you. The three-screen center console design is exactly the same as the A6L's. Look closely at the steering wheel—the A8L-style four-spoke shape directly exposes its ambition. The materials and workmanship clearly aim for a class above.
Many people wonder what the actual difference is between driving this and the A6L. The A6L is a business uncle at heart, while the A7L's chassis tuning is noticeably tighter. During cornering, the suspension's lateral support is very ample.
There is one complaint to air: although its 21-inch large wheels are handsome, they also make tire noise somewhat obvious, and when encountering speed bumps the vibration filtering also seems rather stiff. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
Power and energy consumption are where your wallet is really tested. The 2.0T EA888 plus a 7-speed wet dual-clutch, 245 horsepower sounds good—but don't forget this car's curb weight is close to 2 tons! The official figure says 7.6 liters per 100 kilometers, just take it with a grain of salt.
I've talked with several real owners. In stop-and-go city driving, this car's real fuel consumption basically hovers around 10 to 12 liters, and only on the highway does it drop to about 8 liters. When following cars at low speed, second and third gear occasionally still have some slight juddering.
If you're an impatient person who likes to floor it frequently in the city, the fuel consumption gauge will teach you a lesson.
That 3.0T plus 48V mild-hybrid version's 0-100 km/h in 5.6 seconds is indeed satisfying, and it also comes with four-wheel drive and rear-wheel steering, but the price is directly raised by a big margin, so its cost-effectiveness is slightly lacking.
What exactly are you buying an A7L for? If you need a pure sports toy, it is not the optimal solution. It cannot give you the ultimate tearing sensation, but it can let you enjoy a higher turnaround rate than the A6L in daily commuting, as well as extremely composed high-speed handling.
With a bare-car price of just over 300,000 now, buying a mid-to-large Audi with frameless doors and A8-style interior—do you think Audi has lowered its head, or have we really ushered in a good time to bottom-fish?
