A7 vs. S7 - Looking for one used

[jungy4]

Maybe there are some owners out there that has owned both, but is S7 really worth the price premium over the A7?

I am looking to find one used. Coming from an A6 with 2.0T, either will be a performance upgrade for me. As for the exterior looks, if I find an A7 with the S line package, it will look similar to the S7 except the rear end, since the S7 has true exhaust tips.
For the interior, both can be available with the ventilating and messaging seats and I see that the S7 has the perforated steering wheel and gear shifter.

I assume brake parts and larger diameter tires on the S7 will cost more, and S7 gets lower MPG.

What about the reliability when you compare the 2.9 vs. 3.0 motor?

We all know the previous generation S7 gave you the monster V8 so the choice was easier but I wonder if the 6-cylinder S7 with just a little more power is worth the cost.

My annual mileage is above average, if that is an important factor. Any comment is appreciated.

[Mister Mike]

Go test drive each of them! The S7 has 109 more HP and 73 lb-ft tq over A7 which I wouldn’t call just a little more power.

[1BadTundra]

I test drove both... Night/Day difference. The S7 all day if performance is of any concern!!

[SirSwag]

I had the same dilemma and went with the A7 Prestige with S-Line and did APR Stage 1 tune. 401hp/517tq. Solves the performance problem, and a Stage 1 APR tune is really just waking it up, will not hurt the car.

So the A7 for $1,000 will be faster than a stock S7 in all aspects beyond felony-level highway pulls.

A7 gets better mileage, rides a bit better, cheaper to buy/maintain/insure. IMO better transmission with the DSG on the A7 vs. torque converter on the S7 (still fantastic tranny I just prefer the DSG).

S7 has a better looking rear-end, higher performance potential if you want even more power out of it, higher performance stock if you don't want to ever touch your vehicle, and different seats which will be opinionated. I'm sure there are other things too.

[1BadTundra]

I had the same dilemma and went with the A7 Prestige with S-Line and did APR Stage 1 tune. 401hp/517tq. Solves the performance problem, and a Stage 1 APR tune is really just waking it up, will not hurt the car.

So the A7 for $1,000 will be faster than a stock S7 in all aspects beyond felony-level highway pulls.

A7 gets better mileage, rides a bit better, cheaper to buy/maintain/insure. IMO better transmission with the DSG on the A7 vs. torque converter on the S7 (still fantastic tranny I just prefer the DSG).

S7 has a better looking rear-end, higher performance potential if you want even more power out of it, higher performance stock if you don't want to ever touch your vehicle, and different seats which will be opinionated. I'm sure there are other things too.

Please elaborate on how a stage 1 APR A7 is faster than a stock S7? Not disputing, just looking for numbers on this.

[jungy4]

Well Car and Driver tested 2019 A7 and 2020 S7 and here is their acceleration data.

2019 A7:
C/D TEST RESULTS
Zero to 60 mph: 4.7 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 12.1 sec
Zero to 120 mph: 18.3 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 5.5 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 2.9 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 3.7 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 13.3 sec @ 105 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 130 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 163 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad*: 0.90 g

2020 S7:
C/D TEST RESULTS
Rollout, 1 ft: 0.2 sec
60 mph: 4.1 sec
100 mph: 9.9 sec
130 mph: 17.6 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 4.8 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 2.8 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 3.5 sec
¼-mile: 12.5 sec @ 112 mph
Top speed (mfr's claim): 155 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 151 ft

Looks like prior to hitting 100 MPH, you are looking at less than a second difference. Surprisingly 30-50 and 50-70 pull numbers are almost identical. I am not sure if this is due to turbo lag or gear ratio. But based on this it won't take much for the A7 to keep up with the S7 with some power gain.

[1BadTundra]

Well Car and Driver tested 2019 A7 and 2020 S7 and here is their acceleration data.

2019 A7:
C/D TEST RESULTS
Zero to 60 mph: 4.7 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 12.1 sec
Zero to 120 mph: 18.3 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 5.5 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 2.9 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 3.7 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 13.3 sec @ 105 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 130 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 163 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad*: 0.90 g

2020 S7:
C/D TEST RESULTS
Rollout, 1 ft: 0.2 sec
60 mph: 4.1 sec
100 mph: 9.9 sec
130 mph: 17.6 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 4.8 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 2.8 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 3.5 sec
¼-mile: 12.5 sec @ 112 mph
Top speed (mfr's claim): 155 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 151 ft

Looks like prior to hitting 100 MPH, you are looking at less than a second difference. Surprisingly 30-50 and 50-70 pull numbers are almost identical. I am not sure if this is due to turbo lag or gear ratio. But based on this it won't take much for the A7 to keep up with the S7 with some power gain.

To each his own, I went with the S7... The butt dyno told a different story to me. It could've been in my head too. Also, the Glacier White interior w/blue stitching in the S was calling to me, so I had to go that route. I like the exhaust in the S, the stage 1 woke it up a bit more. The S I drove also had the black optics pkg, so the car overall looked more aggressive right out of the gate, even before any mods.

[Mister Mike]

0-100 mph in 12.1 seconds (2019 A7) vs 0-100 mph in 9.9 seconds (2020 S7) tells the same story 1BadTundra experienced. The S7 gets there 20% faster. And the S7 gets from 0-60 15% faster than the A7.

[Havok]

I would say go with the S7. I test drove an A7 and its just not very impressive performance wise to be frank. The S7 with the little v6 with "a little more power" has the same power numbers as the "monster v8" from the pervious generation. My MPG is 22mpg with the 2.9L with an APR tune. The 2.9 has been around in Porsche cars for years with no real serious issues. I have 55k miles on mine and the only issue I had as the alternator recall and a water pump at 40k miles.

DSG transmissions are not as strong as the ZF 8sp that's in the S7 and been in the performance cars for a long time.

Not sure if you can get the sport differential in an A7 but the 4 wheel steering is a huge plus for me in tight city driving.

When I was buying mine I was looking at the c8 S7 compared to the c7 S7 having come from a heavily modded A6 with the 3.0T and was concerned about the potential of the 2.9L and Ive seen some crazy Porsche builds with the 2.9L so I went that route and the new interior.

[jungy4]

All great feedback.

I think I am leaning towards the S7. If I wanted the A7, it would have to be the Prestige trim with the optional massaging seats. I am not a fan of the standard seats that my A6 has, with no thigh extension feature. Looks like the price difference between the loaded A7 and decently optioned S7 is not as much as I thought. I forgot to mention prior to my current A6 I came from an S4 and the S model was definitely more exciting.

I am also curious to see what the C9 generation A7/S7 looks like, if Audi has any plans for it.

[1BadTundra]

I would say go with the S7. I test drove an A7 and its just not very impressive performance wise to be frank. The S7 with the little v6 with "a little more power" has the same power numbers as the "monster v8" from the pervious generation. My MPG is 22mpg with the 2.9L with an APR tune. The 2.9 has been around in Porsche cars for years with no real serious issues. I have 55k miles on mine and the only issue I had as the alternator recall and a water pump at 40k miles.

DSG transmissions are not as strong as the ZF 8sp that's in the S7 and been in the performance cars for a long time.

Not sure if you can get the sport differential in an A7 but the 4 wheel steering is a huge plus for me in tight city driving.

When I was buying mine I was looking at the c8 S7 compared to the c7 S7 having come from a heavily modded A6 with the 3.0T and was concerned about the potential of the 2.9L and Ive seen some crazy Porsche builds with the 2.9L so I went that route and the new interior.

Man, I was thinking the same thing with the 2.9 Porsche builds... Every aftermarket performance company tells me the same thing when I ask about the lack of support, "the mild hybrid motor is making it tough to tune"

[Havok]

Man, I was thinking the same thing with the 2.9 Porsche builds... Every aftermarket performance company tells me the same thing when I ask about the lack of support, "the mild hybrid motor is making it tough to tune"

I think that's a cop.out. it's mild hybrid only in name. The hybrid is for the start stop which is disabled on tuned cars and for the electric supercharger.

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