The front seats are impressively high calibre. They are RS Super sports seats clad in leather with a distinctive honeycomb-quilted design. As well as being four-way electrically adjustable, including for lumbar support, they are heated and the driver's seat has a memory function. There are also leather armrests on the door panels. Cabin quality is very high, in keeping with Audi's reputation for fine cabin quality and design.
Driven gently, this is an impressively quiet and refined car. It is not the kind of car you are inclined to drive gently, though, so a fair amount of engine noise is there as an accompanying aural wallpaper. Even so, it is a good sound for anyone who enjoys hearing a high-performing engine at work.
Safety and SecurityThe Audi A6 has a five-star Euro NCAP rating, so that goes for this model as well. The car comes equipped with six airbags and electronic safety aids including stability control, anti-slip regulation, differential lock, hill-hold assist and rest recommendation system. A first aid kit and warning triangle are provided. A Thatcham category 1 alarm system is also standard. Isofix child seat tethers are provided in the rear seats and also for the front passenger seat.
InfotainmentThe audio kit that comes with the car is very high class, a Bose Surround Sound system with superb sound quality for music on the move. The radio is DAB. Also standard is Audi's MMI Navigation Plus with MMI Touch control, an eight-inch colour display and seven-digit postcode recognition. Standard kit includes 20-inch alloys, quattro permanent all-wheel-drive, adaptive air suspension.
Rivals- BMW M5 Touring
- Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Estate
- Stunning performance
- Highly efficient aluminium V8 engine
- Sounds great, V8 music as you drive
- Fuel-friendly cylinder deactivation, eight cylinders but not all the time
- Not bad economy considering the level of performance
- Clingy on the corners, excellent handling
- All-weather security of quattro four-wheel-drive
- One of the best cabins in the business
- Sports seats look great and very comfortable
- All beautifully put together
- Styling not too ‘in-your-face’, for those who like to be discreet
- Doesn't look very special
- Heavy edge to the steering in standard setting
- The way the price tots up with extras. The test car's final tally was into six figures
- Just a touch more pizzazz to the way it looks
Audi has come up trumps with a discreet supercar disguised as a business-like estate. There is not much visually to tell you how hugely rapid this car is, so others on the road will be surprised by how quickly it disappears into the distance. Super-quick and satisfying to drive, the RS6 Avant ticks all the boxes as a practical estate-supercar.