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..