All range, no anxiety
New diesel S6 Avant is a corner-loving, stress-busting, long-range missile
One car to do everything? The Audi S6 Avant has to be in with a shout. Performance, desirability, luxury, technology, all-weather security, handling, space, comfort, running costs, build quality… the big Audi estate does the lot. For its first generations, the S6 was an RS6 with less pointy teeth, and in essence still is. This time, though, it’s carved out a more distinct identity with a brave switch to diesel, at least for Europe.
Bad news first: diesel means this 344bhp S6 is actually down 100bhp on its petrol-powered predecessor. The good news is pretty much everything else, including a huge 516lb ft whump of torque.
Beneath the bonnet lies a mild-hybrid 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel closely related to the one in the A6 50 TDI, but here the turbocharger is both larger and assisted in the low range by an e-compressor; unlike a turbocharger it doesn’t have to drum its fingers while exhaust gases wind it up.
It’s not quite as lag-free as Audi suggests and there’s little fun to be had chasing high revs, but the V6 TDI is incredibly refined, pleasingly rorty and undiesely of exhaust note, and blessed with a midrange so muscular that every flex of ankle feels like you’ve aced a World’s Strongest Man power lift.
Keep it in the relatively narrow 20003500rpm sweet spot and 516lb ft translates to devastating cross-country pace – flick through second, third, fourth and fifth gears on the quick eight-speed auto and performance just surges on. The S6 does 0-62mph in the fives and quits at 155mph only because it’s been slapped with an electronic limiter. It’s hardly slow.
Every flex of ankle feels like you’ve aced a World’s Strongest Man power lift
Neither is this all-wheel drive S6 numb and understeery at the limit, but instead combines sure-footed confidence with a satisfyingly rear-biased feel when you jump on the throttle early out of bends. Caveat alert: the optional rear-wheel steering and sport differential fitted to our test car no doubt flatter the 2.1-tonner’s agility, and, conversely, the optional air suspension makes for much sloppier handling, in exchange for a cushier feel and the ability to pump up the ride height. We wouldn’t.
So the S6 still does the heart-pleasing stuff despite the switch to diesel, but it’s the appeal to the head that seals this deal: comfort for the family, 565 litres of space for dogs and luggage, and, with 73 litres of diesel in the tank, the ability to go full Le Mans-spec Tom Kristensen with over 620 miles between stops. ⊲