Audi A6 Avant

MODEL TESTED: Audi A6 Avant 2.0 TDI ultra S line S tronic PRICE: £39,375 ENGINE: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbodiesel, 187bhp

THE Audi A6 Avant is a hugely desirable addition to any corporate car park, particularly in efficient ultra guise. Featuring strong economy, a roomy interior and sleek style, this is a family car that appeals to the head and heart. Powered by a 2.0-litre TDI engine, it’s available in a number of spec levels, and here we test the sporty S line model with Audi’s twin-clutch S tronic box, which costs a hefty £39,375.

Styling 4.0/5

AUDI has stuck to a tried-and-tested design theme in recent years, so it’s often difficult to tell its cars apart – the A4, A6 and A8 look very similar at a glance. It’s the same story with the Avant estates, with the A6 and A4 models sharing similar proportions and styling cues.

Still, the A6’s swooping lines give the car plenty of kerb appeal. At the front, the brand’s traditional trapezoidal air intake dominates, while a pair of slim LED headlamps and chunky air vents accentuate the A6’s width, along with the horizontal chrome bars.

A strong shoulder line and sculpted doors follow Audi’s typically simple yet effective approach to design, while at the rear the Avant’s sweeping roofline and steeply raked tailgate have been spliced seamlessly into the design.

S line models are given an extra dose of visual appeal, courtesy of deeper front and rear bumpers, neat side skirts and 18-inch alloys. The car also sits 20mm lower on stiffer sports suspension – although you can add either softer SE settings or even firmer S line springs and dampers at no extra cost.

A facelift in late 2014 has kept the car looking fresh, even against models such as the slick V90, but it didn’t get such a thorough makeover inside. As a result, the design isn’t as modern as the Volvo’s, with the buttoncovered transmission tunnel and centre console a stark contrast to the V90’s minimalist approach.

Audi’s MMI infotainment system isn’t the brand’s latest, either, and while it’s intuitive to use, it lacks the high-resolution graphics of the V90’s tablet-style touchscreen. You can add a seven-inch TFT display between the dials as part of the £1,625 Technology Pack, but the A6 isn’t available with the firm’s Virtual Cockpit feature, which replaces the gauges with a 12.3-inch widescreen digital display. Still, the Audi’s traditional analogue dials are large and easy to read.

On the plus side, the A6 still sets the standard for quality. Not only is the interior flawlessly screwed together, it’s packed with high-grade materials. The Audi also gets a decent haul of standard kit, such as sat-nav, LED headlamps and leather trim, as well as a DAB radio, front and rear parking sensors, four-zone climate control and a powered tailgate. However, adaptive cruise costs an eye-watering £3,500.

Driving 3.7/5

ON paper, the Audi and Volvo look closely matched. Their 2.0-litre diesels offer identical power and torque, plus their kerbweights are only a few kilograms apart.

Yet at the track the A6 was hobbled by its sevenspeed twin-clutch auto gearbox, which suffers from poorly chosen ratios. Off the line it completed the 0-60mph sprint in a swift 7.6 seconds, thanks in no small part to the standard launch control and closely stacked lower gears. However, during our 50-70mph assessments, the A6 was undermined by the huge gap between fifth, sixth and seventh ratios.

For instance, at 50mph in top, the A6 ultra’s engine turns over at just 1,000rpm. This is well out of the TDI’S power band, meaning the car took a tardy 23.8 seconds to cover 50-70mph – over twice as long as the Volvo needed in eighth. More importantly, on the motorway, the gearbox is constantly kicking down ratios, which makes for less relaxing progress.

Keep the Audi in the right gear, and the engine is keen to pull, while refinement is good at speed thanks to acoustic glass that filters out noise. Road roar is also effectively insulated from the cabin, even over coarse surfaces.

On twisty roads, the chassis offers good grip, plus the steering helps you put the car where you want it. So it feels more agile and composed than the softer V90.

Yet while the Sport suspension delivers decent body control, it serves up a poor ride. At low speed the Audi follows bumps in the road, while on faster roads it constantly fidgets, with sharp ridges sending a violent shudder through the car’s structure. We’d strongly recommend ticking the box for the softer Se-specification chassis, which is a no-cost option.

Practicality 4.2/5

LAUNCHED in 2011, the A6 is the older design here, but it still feels spacious inside, particularly in the rear where it’s almost a match for the Volvo. There’s less legroom than in the V90, although it’s still generous by class standards. Occupants also sit low, so you get lots of headroom, while access to the front and rear seats is decent, thanks to wide-opening doors. You can easily find a comfortable driving position, too, as there’s a wide range of seat and wheel adjustment.

Opening the powered tailgate reveals a 565-litre boot, which is five litres up on the Volvo. The A6 stretches its advantage with the rear seats folded; it offers 154 litres more than its rival, at 1,680 litres. There aren’t as many clever storage solutions as in the V90, but you get some underfloor storage, plus Audi’s neat sliding rail luggage retaining system.

There’s decent storage in the cabin, with large door bins and a roomy glovebox. However, the cubby beneath the centre armest is very shallow.

Running costs 4.0/5

THE A6 emits less CO2 than its rival here, at 115g/km, although it falls into the same 23 per cent Benefit in Kind tax band. As a result, the Audi’s higher list price means it’s a more expensive business choice. The car also trails its rivals for kit, plus its options are pricey.

Private buyers will be surprised to learn the Audi has weaker residuals here; our experts predict it will retain just 41.6 per cent of its value after three years. But it almost matched the V90’s 45.5mpg test economy.

Ownership 3.6/5

AUDI has traded heavily on its upmarket image, so its lacklustre 21st place finish in the makers’ chart of our Driver Power 2016 satisfaction survey should sound alarm bells with company bosses. Just as shocking was the performance of the dealer network, which owners ranked 26th in the same poll.

Still, safety is a strength, and the A6 was handed a full five-star Euro NCAP crash test rating in 2011. All versions feature six airbags, stability control and tyre pressure sensors as standard. However, the class has moved on in recent years and buyers now expect features like adaptive cruise control and autonomous emergency braking to be included. They cost an extra £3,500 on the A6.