Audi RS6 Avant

REPORT 5

£98,850 OTR/£101,700 as tested/£1,158pcm

WHY IT’S HERE

Is the RS6 everything to everyone? With bells on?

DRIVER

Ollie Marriage

HAVE YOU READ THE DRIVES GROUP TEST ON P40? IF NOT, THAT MIGHT be a good place to start this month. I had both RS6s at home for a bit and it was fascinating. The grey car was vastly higher spec than my Launch Edition car, but the only things I’d really have liked were the Alcantara steering wheel and keyless locking. Oh, and the carbon brakes. And the DRC suspension. That’s about £15,000 of options right there. Ouch.

Yeah, I’d have swapped. A few days later, with the grey car gone, I was off to Wales, travelling up separately from my family, with just bike and paddleboard for company. I spoke to Paul Horrell on the journey up, who was three up with three bikes and all the camping kit in his new i3S. He was having a relaxed time of it, but I reckon my trip was less stressful. Because churning through distance is what the RS6 does supremely well – better than any other supersaloon. Reassuring background rumble from the V8, easy CarPlay integration for simple podcast and nav selections, lovely air sprung ride. It even indicated 26mpg (which means an accurate 25mpg – it reliably reads 1mpg over).

Did the necessary while up there: no complaints from the family on getting back into it after a long hike in the Carneddau mountains, enough legroom to give cramping muscles space to stretch, and broadly admired on the campsite. And then the journey home. Boy was I looking forward to this. Solo again, everything strapped down tight – been too long since I drove across a good swathe of great roads. It was rapid and so capable, lovely thumping engine, astonishing stability and control – just too big and too heavy to be genuinely thrilling. The signals and sensations are more muffled here than in the grey DRC-equipped car, which felt that bit sharper in my hands. But still, easy cruise up, fun drive down and no sheep harmed. That counts as a successful trip in my book.