I have now done 1,000+ kms behind the wheel of the new A6, impressive thing. I'll be back in another 500 kms for a few notes.
So I was out and about with my father today, and we walked by the city's civic center. In front, local dealers like to show off their wares to entice the hoity-toidy crowd who tend to frequent the center. There they had a 4 cars to show off, 2 of which were brand new... one was pristine white Jag XJ which immediately grabbed my attention. It was the first time I saw one in person, and by George, did they get that right. Seriously, pictures do not do that car justice one bit. It very much encompasses regal with contemporary very well, IMO. The second new car was a white A6 3.0T w/ an S-line package 5-spoke alloy wheels. The sad thing is that, in person, I didn't realize it was all-new until I was about 15-20 fee away from. Granted, I do frequent this forum as well as other car news outlets, so maybe I've been desensitized, but there was nothing that'd grabbed me. My father, who used to be M-B fan, esp. during the Sacco era and is now a BMW fan, actually quite likes the A6's look versus the XJ. Even though he has his eyes/heart set on the 5er, he said he'd consider the A6 next time he is thinking of getting a car. That was surprising to me. Go figure, right?
The new A6 in my opinion exhibits a powerful, self-assured image in the metal. I really like it much more than I did in the initial pictures. Superb proportions, distinctive styling without being overwrought. As for the Avant - well, that's Audi's trump card once more. Best looking wagons in their segment.
Yeah but in order to be the best looking estate they have sacrificed practicality and space. Audi Avants aren't the first car that springs to mind when you are looking load hauling capacity.
For me the A6 is clearly the most attractive sedan in Audi's lineup. The A4 looks a lot better in the Avant form than as saloon, while the A8 has a bit too generic and bland an appearance.
You kidding? The C6 A6 Avant had one of the biggest trunk space in the class. And I defo think that the C7 is right up there!
Compared to the E-class estate the C7 A6 is well short on boot space (695 vs 565) which was what I meant choosing looks over load hauling capacity.
AutoBild has a comparison between both cars. Kombi-Vergleich: Der neue Audi A6 Avant gegen Mercedes E-Klasse T-Modell. - autobild.de
Not bad by a long margin but nowhere as good as an Audi Avant IMO the best looking wagons/estates for a number of generations now. B8 RS4 Avant, C5 RS6, Audi RS2 and even the plain old non-RS models, there's a long, handsome lineage of convenient canine conveyance right there...
Martin, did you mean the B7 RS4 instead? Surprised you didn't include the C6 RS6 because in my opinion it was their finest of all. Though you are right they consistently make great looking estate cars, though BMW are catching up because the F11 is an equally handsome looking design but like the Audi on each occasion to get that great look they have to slope the tail end of the design thus sacrificing some of the hauling abilitiy.
I most certainly did mean B7 RS4. Thanks. C6 RS6 - also good. Was simply citing examples of the genre.
I promised to give my view on the new A6, and now that I have driven the thing quite a distance (1,570 kms) I think I can. The car was this one: A brand new (well, it had 2,000 kms on the clock) Ibis white A6 2.0 TDi manual FWD. The only extra option on this car was 18" wheels, but, as I used the car for a few days, I came to think that the only things that I really missed was the navigation and maybe the power seats. The rest was there. The bluetooth, keyless go, multi-function wheel, handsfree and xenons. The screen had quite a broad bezel - I guess that is because this was the basic MMI. The basic cloth seats were comfortable but not really in the same leauge as the more expensive options. They did, however do their job, really only lacking in adjustability. My route took me from Umeå in the north-ish part of Sweden, via Stockholm on the east coast, and Strömstad on the west coast, to Malmö in the southern part of Sweden. The roads on the first leg were mostly 2+1 highways with around 60 mph limits and very ligth traffic. These roads are in rather poor condition and often the speed limit is as low as 30 mph for short stretches. These speeds are not optimal for the A6, as are not the bad condition roads: The gearing seemed wrong and the standard suspension couldn't really handle the cracks. Another thing I noticed during this leg is that the car is quite stable when it comes to wind. I had 17 m/s winds when passing the Högakustenbron and the car felt rock solid. However, when on the subject, I can't help but commenting on the noice comming from the side mirrors at speeds above 50 mph, that should really not be there... especially when everything else is really quiet. One of the things that didn't work for me is the placement of the MMI knob. When in sixth gear, the gear knob is in the way for my hand when I'm trying to get to the MMI knob. I'd like the MMI to be placed to the side of the stick. Interesting thing; the "Navi" button on the MMI was present but when pressed, all I got was a message on the screen telling me that "the navigation is not available". Nice Ibis white is a great, pure, white colour. Just look how it stands out compared to other white things in your surrounding. The leg from Stockholm to Strömstad was mostly highway but those were in better condition. The A6 devoured the kilometers. The noice in the cabin, apart from the side mirrors, was very limited and as we all know, there's noice and there's noice. This noice was nice. Speeds were around 75 mph and at these speeds the engine seemed just right at about 1,800-2,000 rpm. Anything below that and it had no power at all. The last 200 kms between Karlstad and Strömstad treated the A6 to a few really nice stretches of inspired and, lets face it, too fast, driving. This is where I discovered what the good people over at Audi had been up to. The car felt much smaller than it should. I don't know how to say this but it felt more like a E90 3-series than a C6 A6 - that is the scale of the difference I found. It turns in when and where you like it, it communicates what is important, in terms of grip and placement, and it never ever came up with the typical FWD Audi treats like hanging over the front wheels, pushing itself further and further out the tangent or the nervousness of the rear when braking. None of that here. Just a really nice flow when pacing through the next set of hilly and bent b-road. This was the first time I noticed that the power of the 2.0 TDi didn't quite suffice. There was no eagerness and low end power was, well, not really there until 2,500 rpm. But given this car's pimary use, yes, these are rep-mobiles en masse. However, I can now say that I personally think the talk about the revolutionary behaviour of this car have been justified. This is a good driver's car. For what it is. 10 kms from Strömstad, I met up with my father at the family's forestry and we switched cars. I took the wheel of his 2007 Volvo S60 D5 and he took the A6. He didn't want to return it when we arrived. No mystery there. The Volvo seemed a lot older than it is, compared to the Audi. The only thing i liked more in the Volvo is the power delivery of the engine. Enough said. The leg from Strömstad to Malmö was the last one of the trip and is mostly highway in really good condition. Speeds at about 75 mph and closer to 90 mph for the last 100 kms This is what the Audi likes the most. The chassis, the gearing, the noice, all seems to be built for Autobahn speeds. Really comfortable and even at speeds way above the legal limit, the car behaved without the slightest remark. A truly, thoroughly, good car, probably the one I would get in class and with about no options it still makes sense and returns loads of premium feeling. The interior materials were good where they need to be and where they don't, well, I don't mind. One thing, Audi advertises the car as managing 4.0 l/100 km on highway and 6.0 l/ 100 km combined. These figures are simply not possible to reach when driving in real life. I tried my best to keep the consumption at a minimum for about 70 kms but could not, in any way, get below 5,5 l/100 kms on highway. When driving normally, at a bit elevated speeds, I got 6,2 l/100 kms which I think it good, given the size of the car and my pace, it's just that no one should expect the advertised numbers. Other than that, the 2.0 TDi is a really nice, albeit anti-sporty, engine with excellent touring capacity/character. I just wrote this from the top of my head, please throw questions at me if there is something I might have missed.
These photo's I took from the Audi A7 @ JHB Intl Motor Show (2011/10/08) the parts my hands touches down to the 'knee brace' is Hard + Nasty = Plastics. Forget the name "Audi" and think "German Premium Product".....just not the way forward:eusa_doh: Why not just paint it in rubber (painted plastic) as was the case with previous VAG products??? It feels cheap, period! :t-banghea
I forgot to take a picture and only fond a picture of a RHD manual Oh, you noticed that? Well, it was the whitest thing I found around to compare with the Audi
