Audi A6
There is a class of car that gets neglected in this country. Besides the venerable station wagon, that is. Yes I am referring to the full size sedan. Not the seven's and s-class and A8's of the autocrats world, but the undersold and seriously under-sought sector that is made up of the Five, E-Class and the topic of this piece, the A6. While unsuitable for shuttling oil-barons and plutocrats, they are not quite as common or pokey as the small sedans that fill the parking bays of the executive parking lots.
In the technological arms race that is today’s executive car pool, the little cars get stuff last. The makers attempt to trickle down technology from big to small. The new A6 loses almost nothing to its technologically over-gunned A8 big brother. It also loses very little in terms of interior space and capability. It is however way easier to get into a parking and doesn't make quite the statement. While a black A8 would shuttle you to the red carpet with a little more of an entrance, the A6 would get you there in smooth understatement. Very good looking with Audi's DNA, this is a family that isn't hard on the eye.
As for that tech, I am afraid the good stuff lives on the options list. The fully loaded test car had a few toys that made this car a driving pleasure. Combine Adaptive Cruise Control, SatNav (R22,200), Lane Change Assistant (R22,850 with cameras and Adaptive Cruise), Night Vision (R4,640) and the Heads Up Display (R14,700), and you have a car happy to do long trips at night leaving you unfatigued and enjoying the drive. The night vision is probably the bargain must-have relatively speaking, and could be a life saver. The heat displaying system even picked up a Bergie sleeping on the side of the road that would have otherwise remained completely invisible. The combined systems brake the car if necessary, allow you to effortlessly maintain following distance, see in the dark, avoid blind spot disasters and in the event of impending tragedy, close window, sunroofs and pre tighten seat belts. This stuff can actually save lives, besides the safety in reducing driver fatigue.
On to things mechanical, and it is a combination of tried and tested bulletproof Audi tech that predictably is a pleasure to harness, and is well sorted, in complete synchronicity with the driver. With no rip-snorting R or RS variant, this is a fast effortless full size executive saloon. Never feeling unwieldy, the 3 litre diesel on test is good in numbers with around 180kW and 500Nm of torque. Impressive numbers. Combined with Adaptive Air Suspension, quattro and the superlative DSG 'box, the A6 is impressive. The 6.1 seconds it takes to get to 100km/h from a standstill is more effortless, more relentless shove than the traditional sprint. It makes good while only consuming 6 litres per 100 if driven vaguely sensibly.
As tested with S-line Sport Pack (R22,380) and some of the gadgets I mentioned, and many I did not have space for, the car can be expensive. However at R645,000 for the base car, it is a relative bargain, and well worth a look over its older 5 and E competitors. As tested, I estimate this would have come out at a whopping R907,660. But damn, I want one!
