Auto Express – August 07, 2019

36 7August2019

SamNaylor

[email protected]

@SamNaylor_AE

NEWCARS AudiS6Avant

THEnewAudiS6Avanthasarrivedin
theUK,andthebignewsisthatitnow
featuresa3.0-litredieselengine,rather
thanapowerfulpetrolunitlikebefore.That
mightsoundodd,giventhatdieselisrapidly
fallingoutoffavour,butthelogicissound.
ThenewV6dieselisassistedbya48-volt
mild-hybridsystem,whichisaninteresting
aside,butnotthemainevent.Thatwould
bethe700Nmoftorque,whichisthesecret
behindthiscar’sincrediblepace.
There’sjustalittleturbolagbefore
theenginecomestolife,butinthemiddle
oftherevrange,performanceisstunning.
Itfeelsbeyondmuscularandsomehow
fallsintopropersportscarterritory. It
doesn’thavethehigh-revsthrillsapetrol
enginecanprovide,butformanybuyers
thissortofpowerdeliveryisspot-on.
It’sbrilliantforthekindofdrivingS6
Avantownersarelikelytodo,aswell.Fora
start,theS6isasuperbmotorwaycruiser;
refinementisverygoodatanyspeed,and
thehugetorquemeansovertakingisnevera
problem.Makingswiftprogressiseffortless.
It’sreallycomfortable,too.Ourcarwas
fittedwithairsuspension,whichisvery
suppleinComfortmode.Itkeepspotholes
andparticularlyroughroadsfromupsetting
thechassis,withoutcompromisingbody
controltoomuch.Itsstiffermodesarefine,

Audi S6 Avant

FIRSTUKDRIVEDoes diesel fit the fast estate brief?

butwefoundthatthesofterset-upworks

bestonnotoriouslybrokenUKroads.

It’sashamethattheairspringsareonly

availableonthemoreexpensiveVorsprung

modelintheUK,though.We haven’ttested

thestandardset-up,butgiventhehuge

pricehike(theVorsprungstartsfroma

staggering£79,745)we’dprobablystick

withthelessexpensivecarregardless.

TheS6isn’tjustabouttouring,because

it’sasportingmodel,soitalsohastobefun

todrivewhenyouleavethemotorway. It

deliversonthis–it’sagileandhasloadsof

grip,plusprecisesteeringthat’ssatisfying

touse.It’snotasengagingasaBMW

5SeriesTouring,buttheS6isstillvery

enjoyableonaflowing,twistyroad.

Thepowertrainisexcellent,withthe

punchyenginematedtoasmootheight-

speedautogearbox.It’satitsbestwhen

cruising,becauseitsometimesgetstheratios

wrongwhendrivingquickly, butchanging

gearmanuallyisagoodsolution.Quattro

four-wheeldrivemeansthere’snoshortage

ofgripasyoupoweroutofbends,too.

Wherethedieselenginereallymakes

animpactiswhenitcomestorange.On

alongtripintheS6Avant,wesawover

40mpgonthetripcomputer,which

translatesintoarangecloseto600miles.

Thenthere’sthepracticalityoftheAvant

body.A565-litrebootandhugeamountsof

spaceinthecabinforpassengersmeansit’s

incrediblyversatile.Fastestatecarslikethe

S6Avanthavealwaysappealedduetotheir

widerangeoftalents,andthebigAudinails

this.Italsohasasublimecabin,withhigh-

qualitymaterialsandsuperbinfotainment.

Thereareproblems,though,themainone

beingtheAudiA6Avant50TDI.It’snotfar

offintermsofperformance,yetcostsaround

£10,000lessthanthestandardS6Avant.

It’snotquiteasgoodonacountryroad,but

foreverydaydriving,it’sthesensibleoption.

“The V6 dieselisbeyond muscular in the middle

of the revrange, falling into sports car territory”

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