The Audi A7 recently made its debut, and it should come as no surprise that it took a lot of DNA from it’s bigger brother, the Audi A8. A lot of this DNA includes an insane amount of technology that shows just how far we’ve come in this department over the last 20 years. Digital Displays in cars were once practically non-existent, and those that did have them didn’t have anything anywhere near as cool as we have today. With that in mind, the Audi A7 (and the A8 for that matter) really push things to the limit with technology, and that’s what we’re here to talk about today.

First off, let me point out that you’re going to have to pay up if you want the goods, but in the end, it’s really worth it if you’re into this kind of stuff. You want to hit up the checkbox for the MMI Navigation Plus system that gives you the Audi Digital Cockpit, and the MMI navigation. I mean, the graphics are beautiful, the infotainment screen is almost too gorgeous to allow in a car (talk about distracted driving,) and the way that ten-inch display in the center stack blends in so nicely with the glass panel around it, the whole package just comes together nice and clean. The best part is that the system works like a smartphone in that you can use the upper screen to control most infotainment system functions, meaning there is no more control knob. And, the lower screen is used to control various creature comforts – that means there are far fewer buttons inside the vehicle.

There’s a lot what you find in the infotainment system, though. We’re talking about as many as 39 driver assistance features (these are available via three different packages, so they don’t come cheap,) and there’s the option for voice control as well. And, when you use this voice control, the system accesses data stored locally with the vehicle and in the Audi cloud. A head-up display can be had for some extra moolah and, sometime in 2018, Audi will activate the garage and parking pilot systems which should park your car for you. And, to bring the whole technology package together, the A7 is a mild hybrid as well, which means it can freewheel at certain speeds with the engine off, only starting when needed. A front-facing camera is also used to help improve start\stop functionality.

Now, obviously, a lot of this technology is just really over the top. The mild hybrid technology doesn’t even save you a whole liter per 100km driven, and until the A7 can locate a parking spot and park itself, the parking and garage assistant just seem to be in place for people who like the showoff or are simply too lazy to park themselves. Be that as it may, the A7 is very technological and, if you’re into technology, it's certainly something you want to look into. This is what the future of all cars looks like – few buttons, more touch displays, more hybrid technology – but it still comes at a cost. What do you guys think of the new A7’s technology? Let us know in the comments section below

Audi Virtual Cockpit and MMI explained

Audi AI parking pilot and garage pilot

References

Audi A7

Read our full review on the new, 2019 Audi A7.

Read more Audi news.

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