There's something about the Audi A6 Avant. It's hugely popular and, with the arrival of the latest big Audi, the car's dominance in the premium estate market is set to continue.
Top Gear magazine called it
.”Another crushingly good effort from Audi. The new A6 Avant is a one-stop shop for family life.” High praise indeed. So, let’s see what the fuss is all about.
At the moment there are four engines available… two TFSi petrol and two TDi diesel. The 2.0 litre, 4-cylinder, 201bhp diesel is available with front wheel drive and quattro all-wheel drive. All of the other engines get quattro as standard. A 7-speed automatic gearbox also comes as standard across the range, although the 3.0 litre 6-cylinder 282bhp diesel engine gets an extra cog.
If you prefer petrol power, there’s the choice of either 2.0 litre 4-cylinder 242bhp or 3.0 litre 6-cylinder 335bhp power plants. You can guarantee that in the not too distant future, S and RS models will arrive. Every A6 Avant has a mild hybrid system which harvests power when the car is coasting and then uses it to give the engine a boost, but don’t be surprised if a full hybrid or even a PHEV is in the pipeline.
As you’d expect, the 3.0 litre engines are seriously quick. Both units will reach 60mph in around 5.5 seconds, while the 2.0 TFSi isn’t far behind at 6.2 seconds.
If economy is the name of your game, the 3.0 litre diesel will manage 48.7mpg, but the star of the show is the 2.0 litre quattro TDi which gets close to 65mpg. Bearing in mind that the Audi A6 Avant is a sizeable car, this is an astonishing figure. Emission figures are also low which make the 2.0 TDi particularly attractive to business users.
Oh, and don’t be fooled into thinking that the smaller engines might not be up to the task of hauling along a fully loaded A6 Avant. They have serious grunt from low revs and will be a terrific workhorse and family holdall.
In terms of trim, there are three choices: Sport (from £41,275) S-Line (from £44,635) and Black Edition (from £46,735). Every A6 Avant gets satellite navigation, climate control, acoustic glass to keep out exterior noise, powered boot hatch, heated leather front seats, DAB radio, a pair of touch screen which control just about everything but mean you can leave the sat nav map in view while adjusting something like the heating. To be honest, you don’t need to dip into the extras brochure.
And every A6 Avant
.well every Audi across the entire range actually
comes packed with safety kit, most of which you will be totally unaware of until you need it. The S-Line trim will appeal to anyone who fancies a more sporty ride. You get front sports seats and sports suspension included, plus some really stylish alloys.
At the top of the current range there is the Black Edition model which, as the name suggests, removes external chrome trim, fits even bigger alloy wheels and adds dark tinted privacy glass. It looks really cool.
The only additions we’d recommend are adaptive dampers because then you can adjust the ride and handling characteristics according to your mood and, if you intend using the Avant with a hefty load on a regular occasion, air suspension would also be handy.
The Audi A6 Avant is one of those cars that will do whatever you need it to. If you want to take the family on holiday, it will carry five people in comfort and cope with all of their baggage. If you need it to work for its living, the Avant will rack-up colossal mileages thanks to its enviable reliability record. It’ll even tow up to two tonnes.
Shopping trips, the school run, commuting, holidays, load lugger and, yes, taking your garden rubbish to the tip, the Audi A6 Avant will tick all of those boxes. It will become part of the family or a key part of any business. No wonder Autocar said that the Audi A6 Avant “ might be the best estate car in the world.” We wouldn’t argue with that.