What’s the Audi A6 Avant like inside?
Audi’s on a bit of a roll when it comes to car interiors of late; the new Q8’s cabin is effortlessly stylish, and even the compact A1’s cockpit feels almost surprisingly well-made for a compact hatch. It’ll come as no surprise then that the A6 Avant’s cabin is very well made.
High-quality materials have been used throughout the interior, and everything feels very well put together. It’s centred around a widescreen infotainment system which dominates the cabin, but when combined with the high-definition Virtual Cockpit makes for a very high-tech feeling place to be.
What’s under the bonnet?
You’ve actually got just two engine options available with the A6 Avant. There’s a range-topping ‘50’ 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel with 285hp, or the entry-grade ‘40’ 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel, which is the one we have here. It produces 205hp and 400Nm of torque, and it’s driven to the front wheels in our test car via a seven-speed automatic gearbox.
Of course, Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system is available as an extra, and there’s good reason to specify this – though we’ll come to that later.
It’s certainly the engine choice for those who want reasonable economy figures. Audi claims 57.6mpg combined (with cars running 20-inch alloy wheels, like ours), alongside emissions of 129g/km of CO2. Though these figures are good, it doesn’t mean the A6 Avant is underpowered – 0-60mph take a respectable 8.1 seconds, with acceleration topping out at 149mph.
What’s the Audi A6 Avant like to drive?
The A6 Avant has always famously been an accomplished long-distance cruiser and this latest version is no different. At motorway speeds it’s remarkably hushed, with the engine making next to no audible intrusion on the cabin.
The steering has a good weight to it (albeit with little feel), and there’s more than enough power on tap to make overtaking or merging an easy task indeed.
It’s at lower speeds where the effect falters somewhat. The issue lies predominately with the gearbox, which can be sluggish to send power to the wheels when pulling away from a dead stop. It means that if you want to make a quick dash into a roundabout, or briskly leave a junction, then you can be left waiting for the power to arrive. It quickly gets tiresome.
And when that power does eventually arrive, it can often be too much for the front tyres to cope with. Driven gently the powertrain doesn’t trouble the forward rubber all that often, but push the throttle with a little more fervour and you’ll likely feel the front wheels scrabbling for traction. We’d opt for all-wheel drive to avoid this.
Verdict
Audi’s latest A6 Avant is a dependable, comfortable and refined long-distance load-lugger – just as it always has been, historically.
The newly-updated cabin feels special too, and elevates the feel of the car far above that of just a usual ‘estate’.
We’d argue that the optional quattro all-wheel drive system really needs to be added to the package to make it fully rounded – particularly in the UK, where the weather often requires better traction than in most countries – but save for that, this is one accomplished wagon.
Similar cars
BMW 5 Series Touring, Jaguar XF Sportbrake, Mercedes-Benz E-Class estate
