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First Drive Review: 2009 Audi A6
Audi’s mid-sizer gets spiced up with a supercharger and some styling tweaks.
Over the past decade, Audi has made huge inroads into the full-size sedan (and station wagon) market in Europe. A lot of buyers have been disappointed with the Bangled styling of the BMW 5-series and left cold by the conservative Mercedes E-class. As a result, the fast lane on the autobahn is all but dominated by corporate Germany's armada of black, xenon-headlamp-armed Audi A6 sedans and wagons.
One year after a slight face lift of the BMW 5-series and six months before Mercedes launches an all-new E-class at the Geneva auto show, the time is right for Audi to give its A6 a makeover. The most interesting feature is an available supercharged V-6, but before we get there, let's check out the cosmetics.
The front end gets Audi's now-trademark LED daytime running lights in the form of slim strips. The huge grille—Audi calls it "single frame" —has a slightly different shape. The most obvious novelties are the gigantic (if only partially functional) air intakes, which dominate the front bumper. Aggressive but somewhat inelegant, these A6 bumpers make the more powerful and sporty S6, which uses a front bumper with LED strips mounted lower, suddenly appear modest and subtle.
While the changes in the front are debatable, the rear styling of the sedan clearly profits from a new trunk lid and wider taillights. A fake diffuser mirrors the front air intakes. The tailgate and taillights on the Avant wagon remain almost unchanged, which is fine with us; the A6 Avant may be the most beautiful station wagon on the market. Four years after its launch in Germany, the A6 still looks crisp, and the changes should give it enough newness to stand its own against the competition.
2009 Audi A6 - Car And Driver
M
Audi’s mid-sizer gets spiced up with a supercharger and some styling tweaks.
Over the past decade, Audi has made huge inroads into the full-size sedan (and station wagon) market in Europe. A lot of buyers have been disappointed with the Bangled styling of the BMW 5-series and left cold by the conservative Mercedes E-class. As a result, the fast lane on the autobahn is all but dominated by corporate Germany's armada of black, xenon-headlamp-armed Audi A6 sedans and wagons.
One year after a slight face lift of the BMW 5-series and six months before Mercedes launches an all-new E-class at the Geneva auto show, the time is right for Audi to give its A6 a makeover. The most interesting feature is an available supercharged V-6, but before we get there, let's check out the cosmetics.
The front end gets Audi's now-trademark LED daytime running lights in the form of slim strips. The huge grille—Audi calls it "single frame" —has a slightly different shape. The most obvious novelties are the gigantic (if only partially functional) air intakes, which dominate the front bumper. Aggressive but somewhat inelegant, these A6 bumpers make the more powerful and sporty S6, which uses a front bumper with LED strips mounted lower, suddenly appear modest and subtle.
While the changes in the front are debatable, the rear styling of the sedan clearly profits from a new trunk lid and wider taillights. A fake diffuser mirrors the front air intakes. The tailgate and taillights on the Avant wagon remain almost unchanged, which is fine with us; the A6 Avant may be the most beautiful station wagon on the market. Four years after its launch in Germany, the A6 still looks crisp, and the changes should give it enough newness to stand its own against the competition.
2009 Audi A6 - Car And Driver
M
