The new A6 means business and wants to be the best in its class.
The A6 now looks more like an enlarged Audi A4 thanks to the redesigned rear-end. The chunky exterior has a good road presence. When viewed side-on you can see the most interesting exterior change concerning the traditional front-wheel drive overhang. The distance from the front wheel to the front bumper has been dramactically shortened thanks to some clever engineering, making the A6 proportionally better looking. The A6 is lighter (up to 85kgs) thanks to its body being made up of 20% alluminium. Inside the A6 feels like the larger A8. The front seats are well spaced and all the trim and switchgear is first class.
The star engine is the entry level band ‘B’ 2 litre TDi - as it is the most affordable A6 at €42,500. The front-wheel drive only 2 litre is a direct rival to the stunningly good rear-wheel drive BMW 520d. The Beemer is the current Continental Executive Car of the Year 2011 as voted for by the Irish Motoring Writers' Association (IMWA). The 520d presently makes up about 95% of 5 series sales and is the car the A6 has to beat.
Audi Ireland is offering seven aggressively priced engine variants: four diesels (2.0TDi/177bhp, 3.0TDi/band ‘B’/204bhp and two, 245bhp, 3.0TDi quattros that fall into band ‘C’ and ‘D’ depending on gearbox). The petrol engines are all band ‘E’ 2.8Fsi/204bhp, 2.8FSi quattro and a 3.0TFSi quattro with 300bhp. 75% of A6 sales will be diesels.
There are two trim levels: SE and S-Line. The level of standard equipment in the A6 is excellent and this is all the more impressive as Audi is traditionally a firm notorious for its extensive options lists! To make your A6 look its best the LED lighting package and S-Line body package is a must. A6 also offers very clever adaptive headlights. These not only auto-dim but adjust in viewing angle depending on the terrain ahead. When driving at night you can actually see the beams adjusting in height, width and distance to maximise forward illumination. There is a host of new driver’s aids and other toys available to play with. You can specify a HUD (Head Up Display) that is very handy when travelling at speed as you can keep your eyes on the road more of the time.
Traffic sign recognition displays the immmediate speed limit on the dash or HUD. You can even slot in a data sim card into the dash and make a wireless hotspot in the car that allows up to eight devices go on-line. Just how well the wi-fi works depends on the speed of data provided by the mobile phone provider. During my test drive in Sciliy the phone service was fair to poor at best. Google also provides sattelite mapping for the car’s Sat Nav – so you can see real terrain and roads displayed rather than the traditional map. Lane departure assist is new too. Should you stray outside your clearly marked lane the car’s steering will turn itself slightly to keep the car in its lane (you can get a similar system in the new Ford Focus). You can override this with just a small amount of your own steering input or turn the fuction off with a press of the indicator stalk button
A6 has conventional suspension but for a few quid more you can have adaptive air suspension that is very comfortable.
For me the 3 litre TDi Quattro at €56,900 is the pick of the bunch and a superb executive cruiser. It ticks all the boxes for power and comfort but it also has the reassurance of permanant four-wheel drive.
Michael Sheridan
