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].
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