Audi A6 Review
They are busy people at Ingolstadt. Recent years have seen an avalanche of new models appearing from the headquarters of Audi in southern Germany, and the surge continues. Among the recent arrivals is the new generation A6 Avant, rejuvenating Audi’s flagship estate car.
The A6 saloon is well-established as the core executive model in the Audi range, and the long-roofed Avant adds greater practicality to a capable and elegant large family car. Compared with its predecessor, the latest A6 Avant is lighter in weight and more comprehensively laden with technology. This includes a neat optional feature that remotely opens the tailgate in response to you waving a foot past a sensor located under the rear bumper - handy for accessing the boot when your arms are laden with shopping.
Audi’s big estate is smooth-lined and stylish, with a long roofline that contrives not to look boxy, and a high-class and well-equipped cabin. In practical terms, though, it must be considered more of a lifestyle estate car than a truly commodious load-lugger. The anticipated best-seller in the A6 Avant line-up is this SE base model with a two-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine and front-wheel-drive. At the other end of the scale is a sporty three-litre V6 diesel with Quattro four-wheel-drive.
Performance
Audi has shaved weight and added a raft of extra technology to the new generation Audi A6 Avant. It weighs 70kg less than its predecessor, and has an upgraded engine in this prime popularity version. With 177 bhp, it has seven bhp more than the same size engine in the previous model, but at the same time its CO2 exhaust emissions show a 13 per cent improvement, which enhances its appeal as a company car. With lively acceleration and a top speed of almost twice the UK legal limit, the car is generously endowed with performance. It is also pleasingly refined, with subdued noise levels. The six-speed manual gearbox has well-spaced ratios and a fluid, positive action.
The Audi Drive Select settings on the car’s MMI (Man Machine Interface) let you change the steering feel and throttle response to suit your personal choice for a more dynamic or more relaxed mode, or it can be left in the Auto setting to let the car choose the optimum set-up for you.
