Active Lifestyle of the Year picks two Audi models as best for the sporting life

The Audi A7 and the Audi Q7 won the corresponding categories during the 2012 Active Lifestyle of the Year Awards, which is the only ceremony of its kind in the U.S. combining the evaluations of automotive journalists with elite athletes.

There were 32 final entries in the competition, including both Audis, up for recognition during the eighth-annual Active Lifestyle of the Year program, this year held in Chandler, Ariz. The Audi A7 won best Luxury On-Road vehicle, while the Audi Q7 won in the best Family vehicle category.

(We drove an Audi Q7 this summer during the Rocky Mountain Driving Experience and it did quite well running an off-road rally course as well.)

The Active Lifestyle of the Year competition involved seven categories total with each final grouping judged by a jury panel made of 10 or more elite and local athletes as well as automotive journalists. The juries evaluated each category on overall design, engine power, fuel efficiency and cargo capacity. The ultimate goal of the event is to honor and praise the cars best suited for a sporting lifestyle, such as stowing bicycles, kayaks or golf clubs.

“While ALV is technically a car-of-the-year competition, it’s also an impromptu focus group,” explained program co-founder, Nina Russin. “Our objective is to widen the pipeline between the people who plan, design and engineer new cars and the consumers who ultimately buy and drive them. At previous programs athletes including professional football players, elite runners, swimmers and triathletes have interacted with vehicle designers and product specialists.”

THE AUDI A7
The Audi A7 (click to read TorqueNews 2012 Audi A7 review) is the brand’s groundbreaking newest vehicle, seamlessly combining the heart-racing performance of a coupe with the sophistication of a sedan and the versatility of a wagon. The innovative, five-door design sits on a lightweight chassis partnered with a high-efficiency supercharged V6, featuring the latest generation of quattro all-wheel drive as well as the latest telematics and multimedia systems, setting a new benchmark in the premium segment. The Audi A7 is powered by the virile Audi 3.0 TFSI V6, which sports a belt-driven supercharger and direct fuel injection. The supercharged 90-degree V6 delivers a heart-in-your-throat 310 horsepower and 325 lb-ft. of torque defying its fuel economy of 18 mpg city and 28 mpg hwy.

THE AUDI Q7 TDI
The seven-passenger 2012 Audi Q7 delivers a host of features exceeding driver and passenger expectations for functionality and comfort. The premier luxury SUV in the Audi lineup provides genuinely impressive carlike handling and utility for daily comutting and weekend activities. It literally feels like a much smaller vehicle than it really is. The 3.0-liter common-rail injection V6 clean diesel engine in the Audi Q7 TDI generates 225 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque with an eight-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission, achieving an EPA estimated fuel economy of 17 mpg city and 25 mpg hwy.