Pricing: 2012 Audi A7

Audi has announced that pricing for their all-new A7 Sportback will start at $59,250, plus $875 for destination.

The fastback sedan will be powered by a supercharged, 310-hp, 3.0-liter V6 engine with an eight-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive is standard. Fuel economy is EPA rated at 18 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway, with a combined rating of 22 mpg.

Inside, there is a heads-up display that projects information onto the windshield. Other notable features include four music options including a DVD changer, a digital radio tuner, and a TV module. The optional top-tier sound system from Bang & Olufsen has 1,300 watts and 15 speakers. The Sportback can also stream Internet audio and data from a smart-phone via Bluetooth, delivering news and music. Audi has added some optional functionality to the MMI radio interface with touch-pad controls where the driver can write the letters of an address or phone numbers with their fingers--a feature not all of us were enamored with in our tested A8.

Standard features include a push-button ignition, xenon headlights, LED tail lights, electronic parking brake, power rear hatch, and 18-inch alloy wheels.

The new A7 has similar hatchback cargo flexibility like the Acura ZDX, BMW X6, and Honda Crosstour, but unfortunately, the genre-blending design concept has not worked very well for those models--all are slow sellers.

—Liza Barth