The Mercedes-Benz CLS, a fitted tux to the off-the-rack E-class sedan on which it’s based, is iconic, having pried open the niche for executive-class four-seaters with cut-down greenhouses and arresting good looks. Despite the CLS’s decade on the market, though, Audi and BMW have only recently let their designers loose on their own mid-size sedans.

Ingolstadt stepped up first with the Audi A7 3.0T, a slinky, hatchback take on the A6 offering athletic reflexes, an inviting aura, and a spacious cargo area. A 2012 C/D 10Best winner out of the gate, the A7 dethroned the more-powerful second-gen CLS550 in a comparison test last year [September 2011].

BMW took a little longer to turn onto Savile Row, first revealing the Concept Gran Coupe show car in 2010, which only needed light tailoring to become this stunning 2013 6-series Gran Coupe. Stitched from 5- and 6-series swatches, including the two-door 6’s snout and the 5er’s 116.9-inch wheelbase, the GC evolved from an actual coupe; it’s not just a conventional sedan that has melted in the sun. Slathered in Imola Red paint and riding on optional 20-inch wheels ($1300) with run-flat Dunlop rubber, our GC tester turned heads like few big cars can. It also has the nicest BMW interior in recent memory, as well as enough onboard technology to busy an MIT engineer.

BMW will charge you for the experience, though, as the price starts at $76,895 for this 640i with the N55 single-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six. Output is 315 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque, channeled to the rear wheels via the same ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic found in the A7.

From there, a Mini Cooper S’s worth of extras—including M Sport trim ($4200), Ivory Nappa leather ($3000), a Driver Assistance package with head-up display and blind-spot and lane-departure warnings ($3700), Adaptive Drive suspension ($2500), full LED headlights ($1900), and much more—pushed our 640i’s price to a staggering $105,695.

The A7, on the other hand, starts some $16,000 less, at $60,995, including Quattro all-wheel drive and a supercharged 310-hp, 3.0-liter V-6. Our Audi had less stuff on it than our BMW, eschewing such frills as proximity-key access, digital-readout climate control, and an adjustable suspension. Major options were limited to the mid-level $3620 Premium Plus group—navigation, seven-inch monitor with Multi Media Interface (MMI) control, 19-inch wheels, parking assist with rear camera, and heated mirrors—and the $1500 Sport package (20-inch-wheel upgrade, sport suspension, and steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles). As tested: $67,170, or about one new BMW 328i sedan less than the GC.

Does the BMW’s function succeed as well as its shapely form, and is it worth more than half again as much as the Audi? We drove through treacherous thunderstorms, endless highway miles, and twisty back roads to find out that the answer is no.

As impressive as it is in photos, the Gran Coupe is even more striking in person, with intricate contours, glitzy LED lights, and a squashed, purposeful stance magnified by its considerable length and huge wheels. It always looks as if it’s in motion. But, up close, our test car’s shoddy orange-peel paint seemed like a stain on a Kiton tie, an indicator that all is not perfect here.

At first, the BMW comes across as more aggressive than the Audi, from its thick M Sport wheel and quicker steering to the Adaptive Drive’s suspension, throttle, and gearbox settings (eco pro, comfort plus, comfort, sport, and sport plus), which dramatically alter the character of the car. Overall balance is good, and dynamic anti-roll bars keep the body flat in bends; the brakes are reassuringly firm, requiring 170 feet to stop from 70 mph.

Regardless of the speed traveled, the Gran Coupe’s cabin is futuristic and luxurious.  A color head-up display with navigation added to our GC’s tech-heavy feel, as did the 1200-watt Bang & Olufsen sound system ($3700), even if one editor noted that the pop-up center-front speaker looks like a pool filter rising out of the dash. BMW’s new parking assistant, included in the Driver Assistance pack, will find a parallel-parking space and steer in, atoning for the GC’s small rear window and tiny mirrors.

Not once did we tire of the support from the 6er’s heated Multi-contour seats ($1800 in total) or of having a fine stitched-leather dash ($3000), ceramic-covered controls ($650), and BMW’s apps for our iPhones ($250).

But get it on a twisty two-lane, and the GC feels bigger and heavier than the A7, even more so than its extra 1.6 inches in length and 115 pounds would suggest. Expansion joints and rough pavement send shivers through the chassis and up your
vertebrae. The electrically assisted power steering, as in most new BMWs, is short on feedback despite being precise and weighted to cornering loads.

With our test gear attached, the 640i achieved 60 mph in 5.4 seconds and ran the quarter-mile in 14.1 at 98 mph, about the same as BMW’s lighter 535i. Aggressive shifts in the sportier modes heighten the sense of acceleration, as does having 330 pound-feet of torque available at 1400 rpm. The A7, however, was slightly quicker in every acceleration test, and it stopped from 70 mph in eight fewer feet. Slalom speed and skidpad grip were about even between the two, as was observed fuel economy: The BMW, aided by a stop-start system, averaged 25 mpg over 600 miles to the A7’s 24.

And the BMW’s “four-plus-one” seating may mean that the GC has a standard center rear seat where the A7 doesn’t, but it also redefines what it means to ride “*****”—the absence of legroom in the center-rear position means the person sitting back there has to awkwardly straddle the full-length console.

The Gran Coupe proved fantastic to look at and to be seen in, one of the zootiest large cars on the road. For some, that’s enough, and those with the means may pull out their checkbooks upon seeing the GC for the first time. But read on if you want to know why the A7 is the better car.

Only parked next to a Gran Coupe will most A7 owners feel anything resembling buyer’s remorse. It is a graceful thing, hunkered down at the rear and devoid of excess ornamentation. Like the BMW, it has presence on the road and at valet stands, but its visuals are more subdued.

The high-quality interior is a little dreary in black with the standard natural-ash inlays, and it’s not as cockpit-like as the Gran Coupe’s. But it’s a handsome design, and every minor control feels precise; the multifunction screen in the cluster is especially well done, and the clever console layout and MMI don’t sacrifice ease of use on the altar of technical depth.

The A7’s rear seats offer more legroom than the GC’s do. And there is 25 cubic feet of space under the Audi’s hatch versus 13 in the BMW’s trunk. Negatives include some panels that looked swiped from the VW parts bin and not enough lateral or thigh support from the front seats.

The A7’s attitude on the road is as understated as its interior. The sport suspension is an admirable compromise of body control and comfort; the 20-inch wheels slap loudly over expansion joints, but there’s none of the BMW’s impact harshness; and there are fewer chassis and powertrain settings to disorient. With the throttle and steering in dynamic mode, the Audi feels eager and smaller than it is, its helm light, precise, and long on feedback. In the tight confines of wooded two-lanes, the A7 is the better place to be.

The 4178-pound Audi ran to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds and through the quarter in 13.7 at 103 mph with little drama. Although both cars share the same transmission, the A7’s feels better programmed, and its shifts are smoother. Throttle response is even more aggressive than in the BMW, and the supercharged V-6 is always willing. Neither engine has the rumble of a V-8, but the Audi’s makes better noises when prodded.


In the end, it wasn’t even close. An A7 with many of the BMW’s gizmos can still approach 85 large, but the 640i would’ve needed a standard flux capacitor to stage a comeback. The A7 isn’t perfect, but it does more with less, winning most of our subjective categories despite its lower price. It may not weaken the knees like the Gran Coupe, but it’s still exceedingly pretty. And it doesn’t exact as dear a toll for its beauty.