Road test: Audi RS6
August 01, 2008
When people ask me what the "best" car I've driven lately is, I'm fond of evading the question by saying that different cars are good for different things. So meet the Best Car For Escaping a Storm In: the Audi RS6 Avant.
While the rest of Auckland's motorists trembled in howling rain and 120km/h winds last weekend, I was safe in the knowledge that my car could rocket to the open-road speed limit in just 4.6 seconds regardless of the rain, thanks to a twin-turbo 5.0-litre V10 engine and full-time quattro four-wheel-drive.
Being based on the A6 Avant (wagon), there is also a vast amount of cargo space to rush your valuables to safety. And should you get hit by a massive crosswind, there's nothing to worry about: it takes a lot to shift a 2.2-tonne car off course.
That's the RS6 in a nutshell. Big. Heavy. Beautifully built. Supercar-fast (faster to 100km/h than the mid-engined R8, in fact) in all weathers.
It's an odd thing. Whether Audi really needs such a car in its range is open to debate. It already has a number of A6 Avant variants that are very brisk indeed (A6 TDI, S6), so I'm not sure how much adding one with that extra rush of speed really adds to the portfolio.
But then nobody ever claimed supercars had to be logical. And at least this one is sensible, with space for five and loads of luggage.
The RS6 does give Audi bragging rights. With a staggering 426kW, it's the most powerful Audi road car you can buy. The company claims it's also the world's fastest station wagon. That's kind of cool.
At $251,000, it's certainly the most expensive A6 you can buy. But you probably expected that.
Naturally, it has all the tech you expect. The V10 drives through a six-speed automatic transmission that changes cogs a good deal faster than your average two-pedal gearbox.
No, it's not quite as rapid as the twin-clutch robotised-manual Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) used in some other Audis, but it belts throughs the gears at a speed I guarantee will impress you.
The transmission drives all four wheels all the time, with a slight bias towards the rear (as has become the way for performance Audis). The RS6 suspension features Dynamic Ride Control, which cross-links the dampers diagonally to limit pitch and roll in corners.
There are three different modes for the suspension, which you can select through the Multi Media Interface (MMI) dial-thingy in the cabin.
The RS6 will get you from A to B in a manner so smooth and fast, you won't know what hit you. What it won't do is entertain and enthral on the way, like the just-discontinued RS4 or the R8.
It's not that kind of car, although I suspect some may be expect it to be, judging by the on-paper specification. The RS6 is more guided missile than stunt plane.
Don't get me wrong: it has the ability the make you senses tingle in certain ways. The V10 has a fantastic warble, even at idle, and if one ever gets sick of being forced into the back of the RS6's Nappa-leather seat on another run to 100km/h, one must surely be sick of life.
It's also easy to appreciate the car's subtle sense of style and quality. It's not a shout-out-loud supercar; in fact, during my weekend with the RS6, only the car-obsessed took so much as a second look at it.
But squint and you'll see some nice touches, like the squared-off wheelarches that pay homage to the original Quattro (that's "Ur Quattro" to us car nerds).
The RS6 is a luxury-car supercar, too. The leather is top-quality, the air conditioning has a humidity sensor, there's navigation and TV reception, a grunty surround-sound stereo and even a powered tailgate.
Although our test car did carry a couple of surprises: apparently, even when you're spending a quarter of a million dollars with Audi, you still have to fork out extra for keyless start ($3200) and a memory function for the powered front seats ($600).
So "best"? Nope, If that's a synonym for "favourite", probably not. The RS6 still leans a bit too much towards old-school Audi for me: incredibly fast and precise, but not the kind of engaging performance machine that you'd take out on a Sunday morning just for the thrill of it.
Unless there was a storm brewing and you needed to get that antique chest of drawers to safety. . .
What this means to you:
The nimble, compact RS4 is no more - Audi has brought in the heavy artillery for its new RS6.
While the rest of Auckland's motorists trembled in howling rain and 120km/h winds last weekend, I was safe in the knowledge that my car could rocket to the open-road speed limit in just 4.6 seconds regardless of the rain, thanks to a twin-turbo 5.0-litre V10 engine and full-time quattro four-wheel-drive.
Being based on the A6 Avant (wagon), there is also a vast amount of cargo space to rush your valuables to safety. And should you get hit by a massive crosswind, there's nothing to worry about: it takes a lot to shift a 2.2-tonne car off course.
That's the RS6 in a nutshell. Big. Heavy. Beautifully built. Supercar-fast (faster to 100km/h than the mid-engined R8, in fact) in all weathers.
It's an odd thing. Whether Audi really needs such a car in its range is open to debate. It already has a number of A6 Avant variants that are very brisk indeed (A6 TDI, S6), so I'm not sure how much adding one with that extra rush of speed really adds to the portfolio.
But then nobody ever claimed supercars had to be logical. And at least this one is sensible, with space for five and loads of luggage.
The RS6 does give Audi bragging rights. With a staggering 426kW, it's the most powerful Audi road car you can buy. The company claims it's also the world's fastest station wagon. That's kind of cool.
At $251,000, it's certainly the most expensive A6 you can buy. But you probably expected that.
Naturally, it has all the tech you expect. The V10 drives through a six-speed automatic transmission that changes cogs a good deal faster than your average two-pedal gearbox.
No, it's not quite as rapid as the twin-clutch robotised-manual Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) used in some other Audis, but it belts throughs the gears at a speed I guarantee will impress you.
The transmission drives all four wheels all the time, with a slight bias towards the rear (as has become the way for performance Audis). The RS6 suspension features Dynamic Ride Control, which cross-links the dampers diagonally to limit pitch and roll in corners.
There are three different modes for the suspension, which you can select through the Multi Media Interface (MMI) dial-thingy in the cabin.
The RS6 will get you from A to B in a manner so smooth and fast, you won't know what hit you. What it won't do is entertain and enthral on the way, like the just-discontinued RS4 or the R8.
It's not that kind of car, although I suspect some may be expect it to be, judging by the on-paper specification. The RS6 is more guided missile than stunt plane.
Don't get me wrong: it has the ability the make you senses tingle in certain ways. The V10 has a fantastic warble, even at idle, and if one ever gets sick of being forced into the back of the RS6's Nappa-leather seat on another run to 100km/h, one must surely be sick of life.
It's also easy to appreciate the car's subtle sense of style and quality. It's not a shout-out-loud supercar; in fact, during my weekend with the RS6, only the car-obsessed took so much as a second look at it.
But squint and you'll see some nice touches, like the squared-off wheelarches that pay homage to the original Quattro (that's "Ur Quattro" to us car nerds).
The RS6 is a luxury-car supercar, too. The leather is top-quality, the air conditioning has a humidity sensor, there's navigation and TV reception, a grunty surround-sound stereo and even a powered tailgate.
Although our test car did carry a couple of surprises: apparently, even when you're spending a quarter of a million dollars with Audi, you still have to fork out extra for keyless start ($3200) and a memory function for the powered front seats ($600).
So "best"? Nope, If that's a synonym for "favourite", probably not. The RS6 still leans a bit too much towards old-school Audi for me: incredibly fast and precise, but not the kind of engaging performance machine that you'd take out on a Sunday morning just for the thrill of it.
Unless there was a storm brewing and you needed to get that antique chest of drawers to safety. . .
What this means to you:
The nimble, compact RS4 is no more - Audi has brought in the heavy artillery for its new RS6.
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