Test drive Audi A7 and Q8

All the wonders of comfort and a whole retinue of electronic "assistants" have to be forgotten. All that is needed now is to deactivate the stabilization system and put the electronic gear selector in sport mode.

A five-meter car with a powerful 340-horsepower engine confidently rides "sideways" in a wide arc. This is followed by a shift of the body, the front wheels bite into the ice, and the car goes through a sharp turn beautifully. I sharply add speed on a straight line, but I am late with the throttle release, I do not have time to hit the brake in time and I twist the steering wheel too much.

Then - like a children's carousel in the park. However, instead of tents with cotton candy, distant Christmas trees on the high banks, small winter houses and the white surface of the lake alternately flash in front of our eyes. The blue sky disappeared behind a curtain of raised snow - the car flew off the track and hopelessly sat on its belly. I have just completed a complex element almost perfectly, but now, after the simplest turn, I have to wait for a technician with a winch, standing knee-deep in a snowdrift.

This trip often consists of paradoxes. A bright sun is shining over the northern part of Lake Ladoga - heat came to Karelia much earlier than to many southern regions of Russia. The air warmed up to plus six degrees, although before I doubted that the actual spring comes to these regions before the end of April or the beginning of May.

The next-generation Audi A7 Sportback and the Q8 cross-coupe are perhaps the most daring cars in the Ingolstadt-based lineup, if we forget the sporty TT and R8. They would now wag on mountain serpentines somewhere in the vicinity of Cape Town or cut through the salty ocean air on the Portuguese coast.

But now they stand on the surface of a huge northern lake, where intricate figures of race tracks are drawn by a tractor. In the mirror of the ice already beginning to melt, protective aluminum shields are reflected, which shine like knightly armor on the "a-sevenths". Almost two dozen brand new cars will be used as training equipment in the Audi winter driving school under the guidance of the famous rally driver Yevgeny Vasin.

A short briefing on correct seating and safety. This is followed by an earnest request to keep a cool head and not to arrange impromptu competitions with each other. Otherwise, they promise to remove them from control of the machine and send them “to breathe fresh air”. A few more general instructions - and you can get into the cars.

Inside, the Audi A7 Sportback and Q8 have a space cockpit with three huge screens. A myriad of options can be controlled via two central touchscreen displays, from seat lateral bolster fill levels to travel modes that optimize settings for a range of systems.

However, all the wonders of comfort and the retinue of electronic "assistants" have to be forgotten. All that is needed is to deactivate the stabilization system, put the electronic gear selector in sport mode, and then concentrate exclusively on the steering wheel and pedals.

Vasin and his team traditionally begin to chase students along a simple snake, but then the exercises gradually become more interesting and more difficult. Simple zigzags, circles and ovals gradually turn into more intricate shapes like "eights", "daisies" and "dumbbells".

On icy bends, you are taught never to leave the car without traction, not to turn the steering wheel too much, trying to slide on straight or slightly turned wheels, and also not to forget about the brake, which can be applied with intermittent movements, imitating the ABS operation.

Well, in no case should you dwell on the space in front of the hood. It is necessary to look much further and not take your eyes off the place where you want to come. In other words, if you look at a snowdrift at the edge of the track all the time, then with a high degree of probability a duty off-road vehicle will pull you out of it in a few minutes.

The main thing is to find the golden mean when working with the accelerator pedal. If you overdo it with turns, you will roll out into a snowdrift, if you do not screw it up a little, you will bury your nose in the inner parapet.

The Audi A7 Sportback and the Q8 crossover are powered by a three-liter six-cylinder petrol engine that develops 340 hp. with. and 500 Nm of torque. At the same time, the Audi A7 uses the new quattro ultra scheme - permanent drive goes to the front wheels, and the rear axle is connected via a clutch. The Audi Q8 counterbalances the traditional quattro system with a Torsen center differential and a 40:60 power distribution in favor of the rear axle.

Personally, I have not had time to feel the fundamental difference between the quattro ultra and the traditional mechanical "Thorsen". For me, the four-door A7 Sportback coupe is much more interesting for ice dancing, but this is more likely due to the low seating position, less mass and a lower center of gravity.

“Number eleven, only I wanted to praise you, and you again for the old,” - the intrusive crackling of the radio makes you turn down the power on the numerous speakers of the Bang & OIufsen system and listen to the instructor's criticism.

The most tricky thing happens when you, as it seems, begin to work out. This false confidence is akin to the feeling that aspiring motorists feel after their first year of driving. You start trying to accelerate faster, slow down less intensely, and as a result, you find yourself outside the track - the ice forgives no one extra self-confidence.

Is it possible in a couple of days to learn how to fly a helicopter, hit the top nine from 30 meters, or make successful predictions on the cryptocurrency market? It's the same with sports riding. But still here you learn to look beyond your own nose, make decisions quickly, control emotions, and also try to "be friends" with the car, and not fight with it. This seems to be a very good base.

A type	Hatchback	Crossover
dimensions (length / width / height), mm	4969/1908/1422	4986/1995/1705
Wheelbase, mm	2926	2995
Curb weight, kg	1890	2155
engine's type	Gasoline supercharged	Gasoline supercharged
Working volume, cubic meters cm	2995	2995
Power, hp with. at rpm	340 / 5000-6400	340 / 5200-6400
Max. cool. moment, Nm at rpm	500 / 1370-4500	500 / 1370-4500
Transmission, drive	7RKP, full	8АКП, full
Max. speed km / h	250	250
Acceleration to 100 km / h, from	5,3	5,9
Fuel consumption (sms. cycle), l	7,2	8,4
Cargo space, l	535 – 1390 Feet	605
Price from, $.	59 320	64 843