* The Audi A6.
* Audi A6 cabin.
Audi
A6 road test by Steve Rogers
WHO'D
be a car salesman trying to shift a big saloon?
Everyone is buying SUVs, aren't
they?
Well
yes, but there must be a decent market for premium wheels because Audi has
spent a bucket full of money developing the new A6.
Trendy
SUVs have been flying out of the showrooms all year but top end saloons are
still filling executive spaces in company car parks. That is where A6 comes in
although the competition is hellishly tough with BMW 5 Series, Jaguar XF,
Mercedes E Class and the new Volvo S90 all wanting a slice of the cake.
A6
has always struggled against the highly rated 5 Series and more recently the
much improved E Class which is why Audi has gone for broke with the new
model.... and it shows.
There
has been a big leap forward in technology, refinement, and comfort while the
styling mirrors the new design theme seen in A4 and A8 and for me it is now the
best looking of the trio.
The
car is longer and wider and looks great in S Line trim sitting that little bit
lower on the road. Of course the big winner is cabin space where a six foot
back seat passenger can sit behind a six foot driver and not feel short changed
on leg room. The extra legroom has not compromised boot space which is
substantial and can be extended with the seat backs dropped.
No
one in the premium sector can trim a cabin like Audi yet they have managed to
make A6 look even plusher. The materials are top notch, the finish superb and
it looks all the more special with the new twin screen layout first seen in new
A8.
In
S Line models you get a 10 inch top screen for navigation, radio, mobile phone
connections etc with an 8.6 inch screen below for heating controls and the
brilliant 12.3 inch virtual cockpit which fills the driver's binnacle with a Google
map and dials which are interchangeable for size. Clever stuff.
Everything
is digital and selected by touch and I particularly liked the soft click
letting you know the selection has been successful. Another neat touch is the
increase in backlighting when a hand hovers over switches to the side of the
steering wheel.
The
amount of information stored in Audi's MMI interface is incredible, pretty much
what you get on a home computer. Trouble is it takes a lot of homework to find
it and then remembering how you got there.
Both
my wife and I remarked that the rear camera could do with a washer but it was
five days before we found it had the very function, and in this case easy to
find. It's just there is so much going on and some functions will never be used
because they will never be found.
Driving
new A6 really is something to look forward to. I used to steer friends away
from S Line models because the ride wasn't up to scratch but the new
suspension, which transformed A4, has done the same here. Even in sport mode
the car is settled over poor surfaces while silky smooth is the order of the
day on motorways which is where A6 will ply most of its trade.
Audi
has developed a new four cylinder two-litre diesel which is so refined it could
pass for a V6. With 400Nm of torque pick up is brisk and can catch you out. I
put my foot down on a motorway slip road and was surprised to see I was doing
80mph in a flash. Sorry officer but I wanted to get safely ahead of the
traffic.
But
performance is not the big story here. It is economy. I had to do a double take
when I noticed I got 53mpg on a 170 mile mainly motorway journey. We must have
had a tail wind on the way home because it went up to 55mpg! That is
astonishing considering I was nearly always hovering around 70mph and probably
helped by the mild hybrid system which kills the engine when coasting between
34 and 99mph.
The
engine is so quiet the driver is unlikely to notice anything has changed. I
certainly didn't.
Perhaps
for the first time in a long time A6 can offer itself as the best executive
car. It no longer lives in the shadow of the BMW 5 Series, that's for sure. All
four rivals mentioned earlier have their own special qualities and the final
decision may come down to brand loyalty.
Fast
facts
Audi
A6 40 TDI S Line
£41,110
2-litre
turbo diesel; 200bhp
0-62mph
8.1secs; 152mph
62.8mpg
combined
117g/km.
1st year road tax £205
Insurance
group 36
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