A7 stability at high speed
 

I am looking to purchase a 2012 A6 or A7. I have read two owner reviews
that indicated loss of control of the rear end of the A7 at higher speeds
especially in rain. Has anyone else experienced this?

No , i have not heard anything about that. What is considered "hi speed"?

Where were these owner reviews posted?

Just curious.

The reviews were under "user reviews" for the A7 at autos.msn.com. I would
not have asked except two people said it. Thanks.

Avoid the A7. It is a terrible car with many design flaws.

I just saw your post in the other thread and was curious if you were able to test drive one prior to taking delivery. It seems several of the issues you noted would have been identified during that time. We don't get the auto stop/start in the US but it is a system more and more companies are using to increase fuel economy including BMW on the new 3 series. Sorry to hear the car didn't work out for you.

I own a new A7 3tdi quattro 7speed S tronic 245ps and have no stability problems at all. In fact at speeds in excess of 120mph the stability is outstanding - quite the best of a any car I've owned - unsure if the spoiler contributes though I think it does as it gives some added down force to the rear at those speeds, counteracting the tendancy of increased air pressure under the car the faster you travel. My previous car was Mercedes 3ltr E class and I thought that was good - this is much better handling with no body roll at all and goes exactly where you point it.- My model is quattro but without sport diff.
I have not managed very high speeds in the rain - just legal road speeds and I have no issues at all at any of those. The tyres and wheel rims however as with all these modern cars very, very important as to handling and it is essential to get the correct combination.

Borodin, thanks for the reply on driving your A7. I plan to order in the US a Prestige model without the sport option and thus would have 19 inch all weather tires. Does that compare with your wheel system?

oilart

Hi Oilart,

I have 19" x 8.5J with 255/40 Pirrelli tyres (though the tyres came with the car). However I will be changing the set up soon to the smaller 18" standard rims on Winter tyres which I've found preferable to any summer or so called all weather tyres in the past.

Note in comfort terms the 18" standard rims are the best with this car, ( more inches of tyre between rim and road) though 19" are still OK - any larger there is a trade off comfort wise.

power and stability
 

Thanks, Borodin.
I will start with the 19 inch rims and all season tires and see how it goes.

Related to this issue are several comments in the forum about concerns
on not enough power for the A7 with the v6. My impression is that it is
highly dependent on your expectations, but that for driving in the US this is
plenty of power...depends also on your acceleration desires. I noted your comments on reaching 120mph...seems like this is plenty of power. Comments?

Oilart

Can't say much about v6 petrol as mine is Diesel Turbo and it's rated at 155mph (governed) with a quoted 0-62mph time of 6.3 secs.
So far I've had it to 130mph on a track and a timed 0-60mph at 5.8secs, which is pretty quick for a 1785kg (3950lbs) weight standard road car in any language.
And just how fast do people want to go for goodness sake. It has lots of power to get out of trouble and to overtake with style! AND one thing I would highlight - it is VERY, VERY smooth power (Auto setting). There are 4 alternative settings for engine, transmission and Steering set up -(Comfort, Auto, Dynamic and Efficiency).

The petrol model over here in the UK is quoted as 3.0 TFSI 2995cc with max power of 300PS - 0-60mph as 5.6secs and top speed also as 155mph. Torque is not as potent as the diesel at 440Nm as against 500Nm with wider rpm range , but seems to me to be no crawler!

My previous Mercedes 3.2TDI was in a similar power range 155mph. 0-62mph around 6secs, but not as smooth as this car (but was 7 years old). Things move on and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with this Audi so far.