Audi A6 AvantHaving just trailed BMW’s UK sales in 2010, and easily beaten those of Mercedes, Audi is so far in 2011 selling more cars here than either of them, and confidently heading for new record sales.As for their model range, that goes on increasing and renewing, with the latest update being the A6 Avant, following the launch of the saloon earlier this year. Avant is Audi’s name for the estate style body, and since the only reason for buying one is presumably a regular need to hump around loads of chattels, we’ll start by looking at the boot.Official size before folding seats is 565 litres, which is near enough twenty cubic feet in old money, and that’s a lot. Fold the rear seats and the figure rises to 1680 litres. It’s an impressive figure, but the downside is that because the seat cushion is fixed, the folded seat backs do not sit quite flat, so really long items like your treasured Georgian armoire will not rest as securely and neatly as you might wish. However, the range of standard boot fitments will go a long way to overcoming that disappointment: lashing luggage eyes, side restraining straps, bag hooks, double cargo floor, rail luggage fixing system, dirt-resistant tray and roof rails are all standard. A through-load facility and a fixing set that uses the two standard rails in the cargo floor are options.This 7th generation big estate car continues Audi’s much-trumpeted theme of lightweight construction thanks to aluminium and ally/steel composites that make the diesel models (which account for 98% of Audi’s A6 sales) the lightest in their class. As they say: “lightweight construction is the foundation of our holistic approach to improving the efficiency of our vehicles”; and it does work. The most fuel-efficient model in the Avant line-up is the 2.0TDI, which delivers 56.5mpg on the official combined cycle, yet performance is impressive enough: 0-62 in 9 seconds and a top speed of 138mph.Engine range is of course biased toward the diesels, where almost all the sales lie, and of which roughly three-quarters will be the 2-litre. There is however a 300PS TFSI petrol model for the unconverted petrol-heads. The three diesels will be joined in 2012 by a high power 313PS bi-turbo TDI.I drove the lowest and highest powered of the current diesels, and whilst the 245PS 3-litre V6 was hugely impressive, I could see no real disadvantage to ‘making do’ with the 2-litre. In theory it’s not quite as silky, having just four compared to the larger engine’s six cylinders, but in the real world it’s so refined that only the fussiest souls would find fault.I remember in the early days of Japanese car imports, writers would complain about the ‘lack of involvement’ in driving the things. What they meant was that everything worked just as it should, so you weren’t for instance having to turn up the radio to overcome the throaty exhaust. These days I hear similar comments about Audis, which are ‘predictable’, ‘uninvolving’ or ‘unmemorable’. Again, I think it’s because they do the job very well and without fuss, so you get out of the car saying it was just as you thought it would be. In other words, the expectations were high, and were satisfied.There are new welcome touches like the automatic tailgate opening – just move your foot under the boot floor (you’ll need to have the key on you), the tailgate opens and the parcel shelf retracts out of the way. Interior space for passengers is generous, with increases in head and shoulder room from what were already capacious sizes. One thing that hasn’t changed in the new Avant is the list of options; as ever it’s of biblical proportions. The 3-litre diesel quattro’s list price for instance is £40,950, but the list of 31 optional extras on our test car added almost as much again; from £155 for a speed limit display to £6,300-worth of Bang & Olufsen advanced sound system. The end result was a £78,745 car. You might think that buyers wouldn’t behave in quite that cavalier a fashion, but in fact sales figures show that Audi owners do like to personalise their vehicles to a fairly opulent degree.The company can hardly be blamed for giving customers what they want. Sales are booming, and in the decade from 2001 to 2011 the number of models on offer has risen from 17 to 38, and it certainly won’t stop there.Size: 4.93m x 2.09m inc mirrorsEngines: Petrol: 3.0 litres – 300PSDiesel: 2.0 litres – 177PS 3.0 litres – 204 & 245PSGearbox: 6-8 speed FWD & 4WDBest consumption: 2.0 Diesel – 56.5mpgPrice at Sept ’11: from £32,100Full details of the A6 Avant are available on the manufacturer’s website: www.audi.co.ukPeter Cracknell – Nov 2011
Audi A6 Avant
Having just trailed BMW’s UK sales in 2010, and
easily beaten those of Mercedes, Audi is so far in
2011 selling more cars here than either of them, and
confidently heading for new record sales.
As for their model range, that goes on increasing and
renewing, with the latest update being the A6 Avant,
following the launch of the saloon earlier this year.
Avant is Audi’s name for the estate style body, and
since the only reason for buying one is presumably a
regular need to hump around loads of chattels, we’ll
start by looking at the boot.
Official size before folding
seats is 565 litres, which
is near enough twenty
cubic feet in old money,
and that’s a lot. Fold the
rear seats and the figure
rises to 1680 litres. It’s an
impressive figure, but the
downside is that because
the seat cushion is fixed,
the folded seat backs do
not sit quite flat, so really
long items like your
treasured Georgian
armoire will not rest as
securely and neatly as
you might wish. However,
the range of standard boot
fitments will go a long way
to overcoming that
disappointment: lashing
luggage eyes, side restraining straps, bag hooks,
double cargo floor, rail luggage fixing system, dirt-
resistant tray and roof rails are all standard. A
through-load facility and a fixing set that uses the two
standard rails in the cargo floor are options.
This 7th generation big estate car continues Audi’s
much-trumpeted theme of lightweight construction
thanks to aluminium and ally/steel composites that
make the diesel models (which account for 98% of
Audi’s A6 sales) the lightest in their class. As they
say: “lightweight construction is the foundation of our
holistic approach to improving the efficiency of our
vehicles”; and it does work. The most fuel-efficient
model in the Avant line-up is the 2.0TDI, which
delivers 56.5mpg on the official combined cycle, yet
performance is impressive enough: 0-62 in 9 seconds
and a top speed of 138mph.
Engine range is of course biased toward the diesels,
where almost all the sales lie, and of which roughly
three-quarters will be the 2-litre. There is however a
300PS TFSI petrol model for the unconverted petrol-
heads. The three diesels will be joined in 2012 by a
high power 313PS bi-turbo TDI.
I drove the lowest and highest powered of the current
diesels, and whilst the 245PS 3-litre V6 was hugely
impressive, I could see no real disadvantage to
‘making do’ with the 2-litre. In theory it’s not quite as
silky, having just four compared to the larger engine’s
six cylinders, but in the real world it’s so refined that
only the fussiest souls would find fault.
I remember in the early days of Japanese car imports,
writers would complain about the ‘lack of involvement’
in driving the things. What they meant was that
everything worked just as it should, so you weren’t for
instance having to turn up the radio to overcome the
throaty exhaust. These days I hear similar comments
about Audis, which are ‘predictable’, ‘uninvolving’ or
‘unmemorable’. Again, I think it’s because they do the
job very well and without fuss, so you get out of the car
saying it was just as you thought it would be. In other
words, the expectations were high, and were satisfied.
There are new welcome touches like the automatic
tailgate opening – just move your foot under the boot
floor (you’ll need to have the key on you), the tailgate
opens and the parcel shelf retracts out of the way.
Interior space for
passengers is
generous, with
increases in head
and shoulder room
from what were
already capacious
sizes.
One thing that hasn’t
changed in the new
Avant is the list of
options; as ever it’s
of biblical
proportions. The 3-
litre diesel quattro’s
list price for instance
is £40,950, but the
list of 31 optional
extras on our test car
added almost as
much again; from
£155 for a speed limit display to £6,300-worth of Bang
& Olufsen advanced sound system. The end result
was a £78,745 car. You might think that buyers
wouldn’t behave in quite that cavalier a fashion, but in
fact sales figures show that Audi owners do like to
personalise their vehicles to a fairly opulent degree.
The company can hardly be blamed for giving
customers what they want. Sales are booming, and in
the decade from 2001 to 2011 the number of models
on offer has risen from 17 to 38, and it certainly won’t
stop there.
Size:
4.93m x 2.09m inc mirrors
Engines:
Petrol: 3.0 litres – 300PS
Diesel: 2.0 litres – 177PS
3.0 litres – 204 & 245PS
Gearbox:
6-8 speed FWD & 4WD
Best consumption:
2.0 Diesel – 56.5mpg
Price at Sept ’11:
from £32,100
Full details of the A6 Avant are available on the
manufacturer’s website: www.audi.co.uk
Peter Cracknell – Nov 2011
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