Audi A6 review

It’s the new Audi A7! Except it isn’t. You see, Audi’s plan was to name its all-electric models using even numbers, while its internal combustion-engined cars would take on the odd numbers. It’s why the new petrol and diesel-powered A5 is actually a saloon and estate replacement for the old A4. And yes, the two-door A5 is dead as a result. 

Unfortunately, after it had made that change to the A4/A5, Audi then agreed with its customers and dealers that this was a stupid idea, so it announced that it would return to its old system… starting with the new A6.

So, the A6 is just an internal combustion car still?

Erm, no. There are now many flavours of A6, with the A6 e-tron all-electric version that’s available as a super slippery Sportback or a more practical Avant. We’ve covered both of those off in a separate review that you can find by clicking these words.

On these pages we will just focus on the combustion-engined Sixes in Saloon and Avant form, although before you head off to the full EV it’s probably worth noting that there is a plug-in hybrid A6 on the way that’ll manage 66 miles of electric range as an Avant and 69 miles as a Saloon. Impressive.

What other engines can I have?

This oily A6 still comes in both petrol and diesel forms, but on UK shores you only get the option of 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot engines. You’ll get a seven-speed auto gearbox and 201bhp no matter which fuel type you pick, although the diesel gets mild-hybrid tech, quattro all-wheel drive and 295lb ft of torque, while the petrol makes do with front-wheel drive and 251lb ft.

What else is new?

Well, the first thing to note is that this car looks quite different to the A6 e-tron. The EV is based on an entirely different platform and gets split headlights, a closed-off ‘grille’ and the option of cameras for wing mirrors.

The combustion-engined A6 is slightly more conventional, although it’s still super streamlined and manages a drag coefficient of 0.23Cd in saloon form and 0.25 as an estate. You’ll notice the slimmer lights compared to the previous gen, plus the giant new air intakes in the front bumper, the flush door handles and the lack of chrome trim. It’s also slightly longer than before.

The saloon gets a little ‘notchback’ spoiler and the rear lights on both now include a full-width lightbar and strange little fang-like brake lights that hang down and look a little bit like fake vents until they’re illuminated. We like the design overall, but that final detail doesn’t really work to our eyes.

What’s it like inside?

Hope you like screens. The A6 is full of 'em, with an 11.9in ‘Audi Virtual Cockpit’ driver display and a giant 14.5in central touchscreen merged together in a curved dash unit. There’s also a configurable head-up display and an optional 10.9in touchscreen for the front seat passenger. Want to know more? Click through to the interior tab of this review.

How much will it cost me?

Great question. Prices currently start at £50,560 for the petrol-powered saloon, or £54,830 if you want the same shape and the hybridised diesel engine. The Avant is £52,510 as a TFSI and £56,780 in TDI form.

Rivals include the ever-present BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class, plus cars like the Volvo V90, Genesis G80 and the Lexus ES. Shame there's nothing from Jaguar these days, isn't it?

Can we all just take a moment to thank Audi for not calling this the A7? We’re only just getting over the confusion caused by the new A5. 

Now that’s out of the way, we can conclude that the new combustion-powered A6 is an attractive thing that works from most angles. We’re not completely sold on those new rear lights and the interior is a bit of a tech fest, but generally this is a smart-looking saloon or estate. 

It’s a bit of a shame that it borrows its engines from the A5 and Q5 and isn’t offered with six-cylinders on our shores, because fully-loaded even the torquier diesel feels a bit stretched. The BMW 5 Series is a more sporting car to drive, but also manages to be more refined than this A6. Still, keep things sedate and this can be a properly comfortable cruiser. Loads of space for dogs in the Avant too – which of course is always the most important metric to judge these things by.