Audi A7 Sportback vs BMW 6 Series GT vs Mercedes CLS

Behind the wheel

Driving position, visibility, build quality

While the CLS’s driver’s seat is part-electric, the A7 and 6 GT have full electric adjustment as standard. Both the CLS and A7 have all-important adjustable lumbar support included, something we’d definitely suggest adding (for £275) to the 6 GT.

If you do, the 6 GT has the best driving position. That’s because the CLS and to a lesser extent the A7 have a slight bulge in the footwell by your left leg and offset pedals, skewing your legs slightly to the right.

All three incorporate many functions into their infotainment screens to keep the switch counts down, but only the A7 does without physical climate control buttons. This forces you to look away from the road just to change the temperature, but otherwise, with a bit of familiarity, the controls of all three are fairly fathomable.

These days, plenty of premium cars come with digital instruments as standard, and of these three, the A7’s are the most configurable and easiest to use; the CLS’s are good but more of a faff to alter. Meanwhile, it’s very difficult to see what the 6 GT’s digital dials do differently from regular analogue instruments, making them feel like a case of style over substance.

With its taller glass areas, the 6 GT is the easiest to see out of, mind, although all three come with front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera to help take the stress out of parking.

In some respects, the CLS’s interior is the most flamboyant, with swathes of chrome and dark-stained wood veneers. Look a bit closer, though, and you’ll discover some iffy-looking plastics, which you simply won’t find in the supremely well-finished A7 and 6 GT.

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