[footie]

Originally Posted by M3_WC

The front of the old CLS is starting to look real tired. The new one looks so good. One of the best looking cars out there.


Well it comes down to SC6 vs TTV8. I think with the size of these cars in this class, they need the bigger V8.

This might be an American thing where size seems to matter. Personally I'm of the opinion that it isn't as much as the size of the engine under the hood but the overall performance it gives. Not saying that the v8TT wouldn't be quicker but by no stretch of the imagination is the v6SC make the A7 slow, because it's still a bloody quick car.

If engine size was everything then the likes of the M3 wouldn't be on most people's radar.

[bmw]

New CLS is uber sexy, A7 rear end looks like Ray Charles designed it. Interior is stunning though.

CLS all the way. PS I'm still not sure what BMW was thinking with the 5GT.

[Frank J]

If you haven't seen the A7 or new CLS in person please STFU

I have seen both ORL and the back of the A7 looks good I might say even better than the CLS. Think about Lamborghini Estoque Concept. Oh and the rear taillights on the A7 look gorgeous at night. It is the best looking Audi after the R8.

[M3_WC]

Originally Posted by footie

This might be an American thing where size seems to matter. Personally I'm of the opinion that it isn't as much as the size of the engine under the hood but the overall performance it gives. Not saying that the v8TT wouldn't be quicker but by no stretch of the imagination is the v6SC make the A7 slow, because it's still a bloody quick car.

If engine size was everything then the likes of the M3 wouldn't be on most people's radar.

These are big heavy cars. In my opinion a car this size needs more power and especially torque. Just makes driving around town effortless.

A7 - 310hp/325tq
CLS550 - 402hp/443tq

The TTV8 also get good gas mileage, for its power output.

A7 - 18city/28highway
CLS550 - 16city/24highway

Seems like a no brainer to me. The Audi SCV6 is fantastic, I just think it is much better in a smaller car like the S4. These cars in this class are over 4200lbs.

Not talking about engine size, but rather output. Especially in big cars like these. The 414hp M3 has no relevance here.

[footie]

Originally Posted by M3_WC

These are big heavy cars. In my opinion a car this size needs more power and especially torque. Just makes driving around town effortless.

A7 - 310hp/325tq
CLS550 - 402hp/443tq

The TTV8 also get good gas mileage, for its power output.

A7 - 18city/28highway
CLS550 - 16city/24highway

Seems like a no brainer to me. The Audi SCV6 is fantastic, I just think it is much better in a smaller car like the S4. These cars in this class are over 4200lbs.

Not talking about engine size, but rather output. Especially in big cars like these. The 414hp M3 has no relevance here.

In your original post it was all to with having a bigger v8. I wasn't disagreeing that the Merc would be quicker because of this engine, only that the capacity wasn't the underlinning factor but how it performs which is more important.

That said I don't agree that either of these cars need anything more than what the Audi 3.0TFSI is providing because 13.5 seconds to 100mph is still bloody fast by anyone's standards. One could almost say that more than this on a car weighing 4200lbs is overkill because by design they are meant to be luxury first and foremost with a hint of sportiness and not the other way round. After all neither of these two being discussed are the S/RS or AMG versions.

If I were to be completely honest I wouldn't pick either of these engines in these cars, much preferring to go for the 3.0 diesels in either of them because in my mind it delivery suits these cars better. Or better still if you crave a bit more go then the new 3.0TDI twinturbo in the A7 is the perfect choice, that engine is all about effortless power.

[AngelinIsRich08]

I've seen and driven the A7. It's not that good looking when seen in person IMO. The 2012 Benz CLS is amazing though. And the price differences between those two cars isn't that much. In fact the CLS looks like the better buy. The A7 I drove was a 3.0l V6 (don't know its exact hp but I doubt they're much) was over $80,000. And the Benz looks so much nicer too and its base model is 368 hp. Around the same price as the A7 too.

[footie]

Originally Posted by AngelinIsRich08

I've seen and driven the A7. It's not that good looking when seen in person IMO. The 2012 Benz CLS is amazing though. And the price differences between those two cars isn't that much. In fact the CLS looks like the better buy. The A7 I drove was a 3.0l V6 (don't know its exact hp but I doubt they're much) was over $80,000. And the Benz looks so much nicer too and its base model is 368 hp. Around the same price as the A7 too.

You are the first I have heard say that they think it's not good looking, sure certain element of the design mightn't appeal but generally overall everyone that's seen it like what they see. Coming from an X5M I can understand why you might feel the 3.0L with only 310hp was weedy but taken into context the car is still capable of reaching 100mph in a little over 13 seconds, this isn't exactly slow. As for it costing over $80K, fully loaded with equipment you would neither need nor know what to do with yeah it will cost this much but similarly specced with a CLS the difference won't be that vast.

I haven't seen the CLS in person so can only base my opinion on picture, from what I see I like it, certain elements are less appealing like the rear quarter on a side profile which in my opinion look excessively long and doesn't have the flow of the previous model. Apart from this minor misgiving I think it's wonderful looking car with a beautiful interior, something I can seldom say about a Merc interior.

p.s.

Just decided to check out and build each of these cars (A7 and CLS), to my surprise the A7 even in Prestige with a similar spec to the CLS550 worked out more than $11K less ($67,555 vs $78,795). A modest chip tune on the 3.0TFSI will give you over 400hp and similar performance whilst retaining the linear delivery of it's supercharger engine and will probably still give you a better mpg than the Merc as well. There appears to be a lot of misinformation here about the price of Audi cars.

[NFS13]

Originally Posted by footie

You are the first I have heard say that they think it's not good looking, sure certain element of the design mightn't appeal but generally overall everyone that's seen it like what they see. Coming from an X5M I can understand why you might feel the 3.0L with only 310hp was weedy but taken into context the car is still capable of reaching 100mph in a little over 13 seconds, this isn't exactly slow. As for it costing over $80K, fully loaded with equipment you would neither need nor know what to do with yeah it will cost this much but similarly specced with a CLS the difference won't be that vast.

I haven't seen the CLS in person so can only base my opinion on picture, from what I see I like it, certain elements are less appealing like the rear quarter on a side profile which in my opinion look excessively long and doesn't have the flow of the previous model. Apart from this minor misgiving I think it's wonderful looking car with a beautiful interior, something I can seldom say about a Merc interior.

The CLS looks like its had a big rear end shoved on it, the rear quarter is a horror show! And the A7 missed the mark with that sharp drop off of the rear, its a terrible profile.

[Year's_End]

Just saw my second A7 yesterday, this time in white. It's too boring looking. From the rear it looks like a turtle as well. The lines are precise and the detailing in the brightwork looks neat, but the proportions are just 'meh', and the front end is one of my least favorite in the past couple of modern audis. For a car that's more of a fashion statement there needs to be more drama.