The all-new Audi A6 is a bit of a smoothy and pretty much as good a production car as you’re likely to see on an Irish road. And if money is no object…
I don’t understand. I like what Audi have done, but that doesn’t mean I understand.
I’ve read the brochure, so I know that the latest version of the Audi A6 is slightly shorter than the model it replaced. So how come this, the seventh generation of A6, is bigger inside than the interior of the six generation version?
It’s magic, that’s what it is (either that or something to do with having a longer wheelbase). And there’s something magical about sitting inside the 2011 version of a car that can trace its heritage back to the 1968 Audi 100.
Magical, quiet and effortless to drive. Doing a lot of driving can be stressful, but not when you’re in the Audi A6.
Few, if any, other cars can claim to be as good-looking, as smooth and as comfortable as the A6. It’s very well-appointed cabin is full of leather and full of gadgets. Some of the gadgets are there for your enjoyment (such as the multimedia centre), some are for your safety (ABS, ESP, ASR…) and some are for your comfort (soft leather seats with lumbar support).
And all of these elements will make you feel quite smug and cosseted from the big bad world outside. Which is why the speed limiter is very important – you’ll go quickly, very quickly without realising on the open road if you’re not careful.
It’s the sort of car for which you’ll be looking for excuses to take it out for a spin. Forget self-help tapes, a drive in the A6 is a great way to make you feel good about yourself.
But it’s not all about you. Manufacturers today go to great lengths to show that if you’re in the 2.0 TDi SE, a car that will set you back €42,500 you can feel smug about the fact that the sizeable car is remarkably eco-friendly. It’s the lightest car in its class thanks to its aluminium and steel bodyshell, weighing in at 1,575kg (by comparison, BMW’s 520d tips the scales at 1,695kg).
Add this to some eco-gadgetry, such as automatic start-stop and an electromechanical power steering system and the result is an average combined fuel consumption figure of 4.9litres/100km and 129g/km of CO2, a 14 per cent improvement on the outgoing A6.
Super smart
I, however, am not in the smart 2.0 TDi SE. I’m in the super-smart 3.0 TDi, a car with seven speed s-tronic transmission that can get from 0 to 100km/h in 6.1 seconds, has 245 brake horsepower and has a top speed of 250km/h.
And the car that I’m in has been kitted out to be a showcase for just what options Audi can supply you with.
Do you want adaptive air suspension? That’ll be €2,955. How about a head-up display that projects all the dashboard information I need onto the windscreen in front of me? Yours for €2,091. Night vision assistance with pedestrian detection? A bargain at €3,030. 20” 10-spoke V design alloy wheels will set you back €3,636.
You can add a ‘Bang and Olufsen advanced sound system’ for €9,089. Yes, that’s right: €9,089. It’d want to be pretty advanced for that sum. And to be fair to it, what you get is a sound system that would put the best cinemas to shame. The bass is incredible, the treble is pin sharp and even at low levels you get a sound that’s so pure and perfect that the only problem you’ll face is that you’re ears might not be good enough.
Would we pay €9,089 for this aural pleasure? Of course we wouldn’t. But the man who has everything and really wants to treat himself just might.
In all, the car I’m driving costs a whopping €103,400. That’s a lot of money and the chance of someone in Ireland buying a 3 litre A6 with all of these bells and whistles is slim, but you never know.
Just imagine you’re looking at this photo in the mirror, ok?
And if they did, only a discerning onlooker would ever know as even with all of these additions the car is cool, it’s sleek, it’s powerful and it’s precise but it’s never flash. There’s plenty of torque, for instance, but it’s quite the smooth torquer. (Yes, I just made that word up).
It’s just as smooth on winding roads as it is on motorway jaunts. If you’ve got a model with Audi’s Quattro permanent all-wheel drive, a system that distributes the driving forces to each individual wheel for precision handling depending on the driving forces, you’ll feel like your tyres have tiny claws sticking out of them, grabbing the tarmac as you throw the car around.
Which brings us to the only possible negative, and it’s one that will only come up on the rarest of occasions. The ‘stickiness’ of the relationship between the car and the road means that while it’s a great car to drive, it’s not necessarily fun or challenging to drive.
But if we’re really honest with ourselves, do we really want our day to day car to occasionally scare the bejaysus out of us? If we’re looking for edge-of-seat stuff, then we should really be heading out onto the Mondello racetrack.
For any other occasions, the all-new Audi A6 is just about as perfect a car as you can get.
Car driven
Model: Audi A6 3.0TDI 245 quattro SE
Transmission: 7-speed S-tronic
Acceleration: 0-100km/h in 6.1 seconds
Consumption (combined): 6.0 litres per 100km
Emissions (per km): 158g
Tax band: Band D (€447 per year)
Retail price: €56,900 + €46,500 options price = €103,400
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