Ordered a new A7.. and have WLTP delays..

[Peter Farrimond]

Placed an order three weeks ago for a new A7 55 TFSI S-Line (with a few goodies ☺️)..

At the time,  the dealer told me that the petrol engine was still awaiting WLTP ratification, but the diesels were already through.. I signed the WLTP 'disclaimer' that essentially allows me to claim back my deposit if I'm not happy with the new WLTP emission figures.  (Not that anybody who buys a 3 litre petrol is going to have economy high on his or her list of priorities.)

Anyway.. The order has appeared on the 'Your Audi' website, but has yet to move on from the Welcome stage.

I think I know the answer to this, but has anybody out there got any inside information as to when the 55 TFSI engine will complete the WLTP process? At the time of ordering, the dealer seem to think the delivery date would be January, but could change either to earlier or later. But having the patience of a schoolboy, I need to know more than that! 😀

[Magnet]

Hello Peter,

The pessimistic side of me would tell me the later- than is more likely to apply than the earlier-than. 

The optimistic side would of course say earlier, but if it is earlier (say into December) then you would be registering a car which in just a short number of weeks, will be technically a year older.

Yes, I appreciate they will convince you that that doesn't apply any more, and that a 68 plate car will have the same value whether registered in Sept. 2018 or end of Feb. 2019. Only time will convince otherwise - or not. 

So, the school boy patience may hope for prior to the new year, but the realist may hope for January.

Of course, if this car is being purchased on PCP (as a high % are) then this consideration will not be of any consequence, since this will have been factored in to the residual value at the end of the PCP period.

Enjoy it when you get it.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[Peter Farrimond]

Thanks, Gareth.

I'd had similar thoughts to be honest, and I'll just have to wait. I have indeed bought via PCP.. My frustration centers around the lack of information from Audi in terms of WLTP testing.. Any update would be preferable (even the news that delivery is delayed further!), rather than the radio silence at the moment. It's a curious customer service tactic.. Maybe they just don't know themselves!

Peter

[Magnet]

Hello Peter,

As I said, if it's PCP then the residual value of registered in 2018 vs 2019 will have been taken into account,  and most of what I mentioned will not apply in real terms. However, I think of it were me, I would ask for a recalculation of outgoings once they tell you the car is nearing delivery - whenever that is. 

Unless you are lucky enough to get some insider information on this then you are at the mercy of Audi as to when they can get this engine  within limits. You will also be 'acting as a test bed' for their controls and again -with apologies for being pessimistic - how will you be sure performance/economy  will not be compromised? 

Yoy say the diesel variant is currently available. So apart from the bad press poured on diesels over the last couple of years, what would be your issue with buying one of these on a PCP - where you will know what the residual will be? 

Of course, if you make regular trips into the city then that option may not be practical, but if not, it might be worth a consideration, and I guess one of these can be road tested at the moment and a delivery date estimated. 

Kind regards,

Gareth.

 

[Peter Farrimond]

Thanks, Gareth

I had an update from Audi Customer Services today - my build week has been allocated as week 10 next year (i.e. 4th March). So longer than I had hoped for (but not surprised to be honest). The bonus is the car will be a '19 plate, and the assumption has to be that the engine has completed the WLTP testing. At least I know the timescales now, even if they change nearer the time.

I note your comments about the diesel, but it's the petrol I wanted - I test drove the petrol and it's buttery smooth and refined... Even if it's a lot less economical  than the diesel...

Regards

[Peter Farrimond]

To add to this... I got the below today from Audi Customer Services:-

"Dear Mr Thompson

I hope that you are well.

You recently contacted us regarding the above order and its current status. It has come to light that the information you have been provided may not have been clear.

Production for the Audi A7 Sportback S Line 55 TFSI is expected to commence Week 10 of 2019. This can be changed and is only an indicator of the earliest your vehicle may be built.

Your vehicle does not have a confirmed build date and we are not able to confirm one as of yet.

I apologise for the confusion and any inconvenience that this may have caused."

[Magnet]

Oh blinking heck Peter - I feel for you. 

That's about as open ended as it could be! 

I think that would test my loyalty towards this engined vehicle, and even towards the brand.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Sheroo]

Out of interest, how does WLTP affect the A7 55 TFSI that is in their forecourts? 

[Peter Farrimond]

1 hour ago, Sheroo said:

Out of interest, how does WLTP affect the A7 55 TFSI that is in their forecourts? 

It doesn't - it only affects new cars ordered after the 1st September. So you can still by one off the forecourt (though I'm guessing nearly all will be second hand?)

It did cross my mind to buy a 'nearly new' from a forecourt, but you're then limited to the particular specification they have in stock. Also, the finance interest rates seem to be shockingly high compared to buying new... So I'm prepared to wait (for now).

[Sheroo]

Good to know, I managed to find a nearly new one that fits the bill,  A7 55 TFSI , Air Suspension, Tour Pack, City Pack, Comfort & Sound Pack, HUD, I would've preferred 21" wheels but 20" will probably be better in terms of comfort, costs etc... :)

[Peter Farrimond]

I specifically chose 20" over the 21" for those reasons! That said, the car I test drove had 21" wheels and it was surprisingly comfortable. I chose the air suspension, comfort and sound pack, double glazed side windows, adaptive wipers, full leather seats and extended leatherette pack.. I would have chosen the heated windscreen too - but for some reason, it's been removed from the options list...

Enjoy your car!

[Sheroo]

Hi Peter, 

I'm loving it, it's a huge leap forward from my A6 C7 245 Quattro, I think I'm getting older as I did purchase the A6 brand new for £60K+ but lost an eye watering £49K when I traded it in! I guess that is expected after running it for 6yrs+ and 85Kmiles. This time my head (and her indoors!) just wouldn't allow me to go brand new. You are right, it is pot luck though with nearly new, I think I was really lucky with the car I found, it has a few other toys like full leather pack, heated steering wheel, acoustic glazing - I think the previous owner just ticked almost everything! :)

Good luck and I hope your car comes in much earlier, the wait can be agonisingly long! 

 

[Peter Farrimond]

Bit of an update here. Happened to come across a new (unregistered) 55 tfsi on a dealer website, that had delivered to the UK before the WLTP restrictions came in to effect - to cut a long story short, ended up owning that car. The spec was not quite what I'd ordered, but has air suspension, comfort and sound pack, full leather interior.  Also the 21inch wheels! 😊. The car is fantastic, I'm blown away. I'm a very happy man!

The dealer tells me that they'll leave my order in place, because of the continued demand - but it seems the WLTP stuff continues to affect both the A7 and A8 petrol versions. In fact, they're hearing unofficially that the 55tfsi models will be replaced with 45tfsi engines. In which case, the 55tfsi will become a rare beast indeed....
 

[Sheroo]

Great spec, I hope you're enjoying it and trust you got a decent discount. I've had the Audi UTR fitted, front only as they wouldn't install the rear one due to the manual sunroof.

[Sheroo]

Hi Peter, how's your 55 getting on? 

[Peter Farrimond]

Well I've had the car for about 5 weeks now, and it's been something of a revelation compared to my previous 2016 A6 190 diesel quattro. For starters, the V6 petrol (55tfsi) is supremely quiet and refined - eerily so, compared to a diesel chatter. There are times (waiting at traffic lights for instance) when I genuinely wouldn't know whether the engine was running or not without looking at the rev counter. Refinement in general is excellent - my car is fitted with the optional 21" wheels, and I was worried about ride comfort. In terms of road (tyre) noise, I'd say it was about the same as my old A6 (17" wheels) but in terms of ride comfort it is many times better. This is probably mostly due to the air suspension fitted to my car; ripples and bumps in the road are smoothed out miraculously (particularly at speed). You'd never know you were riding on 21 inchers. It's not perfect though - (very) occasionally it will crash over a pot hole and send a jolt through the car, and that's surprising. I'm thinking it's speed dependent. Talking of speed, I've noticed an increase in wind noise, particularly round the wing mirrors compared to my old car - but that could be because the side windows on the A7 are not acoustic glass compared to my old car, but also I guess I could becoming fixated on that because the engine noise is absent. Overall though, a very comfortable car. Great place to spend time in.
I'm still getting used to the touch screens - if I'm honest, they're not as easy to navigate around when driving. I guess that'll take time. The car has the comfort and sound pack, and I'd recommend that. The 360 camera system that comes as part of that pack is great, particularly the 'birds eye' view when lining up in a parking space. The ambient lighting is all very glitzy (if you like that kind of thing!) and the Bang & Olufsen sound system is a cut above the Bose system in my old car. There's less bass by default but the mid ranges are far more detailed.. I find I'm mostly turning the 'lane assist' off because I find it intrusive, but the stop / start system is great - when you're in a queue and the engine has turned off, it will start automatically when the car in front moves off. Very clever. The sat nav integrates with Google, and that makes searching for destinations easier and the map views are detailed and smooth scrolling.

So I've now done circa 1,500 miles in it and I've started to open the engine up a bit.. On a recent 70 mile trip from Hertfordshire to Suffolk I managed 33 mpg (according to the trip computer) - this included a mixture of town driving, country lanes and dual carriageway, with some occasional 'energetic' driving, so I thought the mpg was pretty good all things considered. Obviously a lot less than a diesel, but much better than the 25mpg I used to get from an Alfa 159 Q4 a few years back.. 

Love the full leather interior on the inside, and the extended leather pack on the upper dash adds a touch of class. The privacy glass looks cool too - not an option I would have chosen initially, but actually it looks great. Coupled with the grey 21" alloys, the car looks the business from the outside. The LED matrix headlights are amazing; not something I've experienced before, but the way they deactivate the light around oncoming cars is something to behold. All in all, I'm very satisfied so far. I'm still finding new things (like the cleaning function for the rear camera), and doubtless post an update when I've spent a few more months in the car..

[Peter Farrimond]

OK, so as promised, a bit of an update. 6000 miles now. The engine has loosened up a little now and lends itself to safe, rapid overtaking when required. Love  the creamy petrol engine, and notice with some disappointed that the recently announced S7 is diesel only(!) for Europe. (Hope they haven't made an error in judgement there.) According to Audi, the A7 55tfsi is 'quattro on demand', i.e. front wheel drive most of the time and the rear wheels are engaged only when required - that engagement works imperceptibly to me, and I never have the sense that I'm driving a front wheel drive only car. All the stability techno-wizardry can impart a false sense of security though - there was an occasion when pulling out of a junction in the wet; I wanted to make use of a gap in the traffic gave it a bit of welly, and somewhat unexpectedly the rear end stepped out as I joined the traffic. It was only a second or two before control was regained, but sobering (and a bit embarrassing) nonetheless..
The interior comfort and refinement continues to impress, and as mentioned before the cabin is a great place to be in. I've got used to the touch screens now and the experience with Android Auto (Spotify) is probably better with the touch screen rather than the rotary dial in my previous A6. Long term fuel average is 25.2mpg, brought down by the predominance of town driving during my daily commute. On longer runs (and careful driving) it's easy to achieve 34mpg. It absolutely drinks screen-wash, however, due to the headlight washers. The recent lighter evenings have lessened usage, but then I miss the matrix  beam headlights, which are a sight to behold! On the subject of washing, the rear camera cleaning function is absolutely useless. Better of with a damp cloth.. Last week I noticed the oil level had dropped a couple of bars, so added 1/3 of a litre to bring  it back up to maximum.. One quirk I've noticed is that when making an outgoing call using blue-tooth, the notification in the virtual cockpit states 'incoming call' instead. I'm sure that one will be cured with a software update. 

All in all, very pleased with the car so far!