One new car, plenty of information in random bits.
What you need to know: The Audi A6 is a medium luxury sedan which, while hugely popular overseas, joins its brethren from Mercedes and BMW in the friend zone. Everyone respects them but buys their smaller brothers (A4, C-Class and 3-Series) while lusting after the big A8, S-Class or Seven Series.
Audi South Africa has just given the range a refresher course and added this new model, a more affordable (N$601,000) 1.8 TFSi which hopefully entices A4 customers to upgrade. At this point in time (October 2015), they’ve even given it a leg-up by removing everything except the S6 from their price lists.
Some more facts: This fourth generation A6 was launched in 2011 and whereas most models feature the company’s venerable Quattro all-wheel-drive system, this entry-level specimen features only front-wheel-drive. Armed with intelligent stability control and electronic trickery, I had trouble telling the difference.
Visually, the recent update didn’t mess with the A6’s chiselled shoulder line and oh-so understated lines. New Bi-Xenon headlights and LED tail lamps spruce things up a bit while the interior is a solid and classy affair. Choose from 11 sober colours, nine wheel options, five interior colour and four trim options.
What we did: Driving – quite a bit of it. I can’t quite recall where exactly the A6 took us but I can certainly vouch for the fact that every occupant arrived at their destination relaxed and happy. Our test car’s optional Matrix LED headlights were praised almost as often as the (also optional) MMI Touch infotainment system.
You should watch out for: As is customary with sleek and fast machines these days, you can choose between low profile, ultra-low profile and painted-on profile tyres. Unless the roads around you have mirror-smooth finishes, you may want to avoid the last two options in favour of better ride quality.
Thanks to this modern trend, and possibly because of space issues, the 1.8 TFSi only has a Marie Biscuit spare wheel. The car has decent base specifications including safety and comfort features but Audi will ask extra for any sporty bits, climate control, ambient lighting and audiophile speakers; amongst others.
Why you’ll want one: For starters, exclusivity! When last did you see an Audi A6? Secondly, like most entry-level VWAG products, this A6 makes the most financial sense (in its range) and is good to drive. Not great, not exciting, just good. That also means quiet, nimble and efficient.
0-100km/h took us 7.76 seconds and 400m fell in 15.95 seconds but I much preferred the 1.8-litre’s beefy low- and mid-range torque coupled to seven smooth gears. Be gentle with it and it’ll even get close to its maker’s claim of 5.7L/100km. For a car this size, that deserves two thumbs up from me.
Gallery
Performance
0-10km/h: 0.63 seconds
0-20km/h: 1.23 seconds
0-30km/h: 1.85 seconds
0-40km/h: 2.43 seconds
0-50km/h: 3.03 seconds
0-60km/h: 3.74 seconds
0-70km/h: 4.52 seconds
0-80km/h: 5.51 seconds
0-90km/h: 6.59 seconds
0-100km/h: 7.76 seconds
0-110km/h: 9.15 seconds
0-120km/h: 10.72 seconds
0-130km/h: 12.36 seconds
0-140km/h: 14.26 seconds
0-100m: 6.89 seconds @ 92.62 km/h
0-200m: 10.45 seconds @ 115.89 km/h
0-300m: 13.35 seconds @ 132.19 km/h
0-400m: 15.95 seconds @ 144.04 km/h
Maximum acceleration G-force: 0.55G
Altitude: 51m
All data captured by Racelogic® Performance Box
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