Audi is a very familiar luxury brand to Chinese consumers. However, when the word "SAIC" is added to the prefix of its name, it may become a "familiar stranger" in the eyes of many people.

Audi is a very familiar luxury brand to Chinese consumers. However, when the word "SAIC" is added to the prefix of its name, it may become a "familiar stranger" in the eyes of many people.

Therefore, SAIC Audi must use a "blockbuster" product to show its different charm and style to friends who don't understand it.

And one of the models of this "new force" happens to be a "familiar stranger". It has a graceful figure and is known as Audi's beautiful hatchback sedan. Yes, it is an imported Audi A7. However, SAIC Audi elongated it and transformed it into "A7L".

So, does the A7L with the extended wheelbase still drive like the original Audi? We won't know until its engines are awakened.

The flexible "big guy", whose rear-wheel steering is indispensable

A medium and large car with a length of more than 5 meters and a width of 1.9 meters, which is even wider in its class. However, when the venue for our test drive of the A7L was arranged at a racing track, I realized that this guy might not be that simple.

In the state of winding around piles and S-turns, the A7L's body performance is extremely flexible. Its actual performance is completely inconsistent with its 5-meter body. Just kidding, if you drive with your eyes covered, you may feel like you are driving a compact Civic .

Regardless of the obvious change in the steering force of the A7L at about 40km/h, its overall steering feel is still the delicate and controllable feeling of the Volkswagen family. The front direction of the car is extremely accurate. At the same time, after every emergency lane change, the consistency of the front and rear axles is very high, without any sloppiness. I believe that a large part of the credit for this comes from the rear wheel grabbing function of the A7L.

Although the official does not give the specific angle of the rear wheel swing, as a car with a wheelbase of more than 3 meters, whether it is a tight turning radius when turning around, or a nimble posture when changing lanes at high speed, we do not need to worry about the swing angle anymore. "Looking at the efficacy" is a good verification.

Of course, excellent handling is only one of the features that A7L is good at. The 3.0T V6+7-speed wet dual-clutch powertrain is another highlight.

has a saying. Although this six-cylinder engine can burst out 340 horsepower with the support of the 48V light hybrid system, in terms of actual acceleration, the A7L does not perform like a car that can accelerate to 500 kilometers. The car takes 6 seconds, but with the help of the silky-smooth 7-speed dual-clutch, its entire acceleration process is more elegant and peaceful, accompanied by the unique sound of the V6 engine and exhaust roaring, as if playing a pleasant mechanical symphony to the passengers in the car.

After some intense driving, we still have to change to a more gentle way to drive this A7L gently. In fact, after switching to the comfort mode, the A7L's gearbox can achieve seamless and quick response performance whether it is repeated starts at low speeds or continuous downshifts at medium to high speeds. If you use two words to describe this 7-speed wet dual-clutch gearbox, it must be comfortable and smooth.

Having said that, some picky friends may start to find trouble with A7L. "This is a frameless door, and the sound insulation effect is definitely not as good as other cars."

If you think so, you are totally wrong. After all, I was also the owner of other brands of frameless doors before. When I opened the door after parking, I could definitely satisfy my vanity by not having to turn around due to the constraints of the door frame, but what I got back was the ever-increasing music volume when driving on the highway.

So when it comes to A7L, I pay more attention to its sound insulation performance. Its four windows all use double-layer laminated glass, and the thickness surprised me even more. When driving at a speed of about 60 per hour, I deliberately opened the main driver's window and then closed it. After comparing the noise outside and inside the car, it can be said that the A7L is as quiet as "two worlds".

"A7L = 1.94 meters + 1.95 meters"

The above formula is not a reflection of failure in mathematics, but the teacher who was talking about the Volkswagen car this time happened to be 190+ tall, so with my height of 1.94 meters, the two of us resolutely sat on the same side, with the purpose of making things difficult for the A7L with an extended wheelbase.

However, the result shocked us. When the 1.95-meter driver adjusted his sitting posture, I actually still had about a fistful of legroom in the back row. Although the A7L's slip-back body shape eroded a small part of the headroom, who would sit upright and upright when sitting in such a comfortable rear seat. So when I was lying in the back row in the "Beijing paralysis" position, the space of the A7L really allowed us to appreciate the charm of the extended wheelbase.

Facts have proved that a wheelbase of more than 3 meters can indeed bring a very objective performance to the rear space, but this is only limited to medium and large cars like the A7L. After all, its positioning is not only to shuttle violently on the road, but more often it will wander elegantly in the streets and alleys of the city.

When A7L was parked on the beach under the setting sun, we were able to calm down and appreciate its figure again. Although the domestically produced A7L is no longer a pure fastback model, its inherent performance is completely worth the "price".

's LED light set composed of 32 modules can automatically adjust the brightness and angle of the light through a computer according to actual road conditions to avoid pedestrians or vehicles appearing in the same or opposite directions, with an illumination distance of up to 600 meters. Let the title of "Lamp Factory" be well-deserved.

Dressed in the S-Line sports package that is standard on all series, the A7L looks extremely fierce from any angle, but combined with its slender and wide body, it adds a bit of elegance. There is no contradiction after the combination of the two. This is the essence of the exterior design of the SAIC Audi A7L.

I have to admit that SAIC Audi’s pioneering work is so smart. First of all, in this level, the common 5 series, E-class, and A6L no longer have more surprises and individuality, and are replaced by the usual popular style. However, SAIC Audi has carefully selected a malleable model. By lengthening the wheelbase and adapting to a variety of configurations that are popular among Chinese people, it has formed a situation where of the same level or the same price competes with . This is the wisdom of SAIC Audi.