The attractively styled A6 Avant is a capable alternative to a luxury SUV.
Let’s say you like the Audi A6 Sedan but can already foresee the day when you’ll need to bring a large TV home from your local big-box retailer. You could step up to Audi’s Q7, but a better option might be the A6 Avant, which is the sedan with a wagon rear-end grafted on.
The Audi A6 Avant comes only in a single version. It has a 3.2-liter V6 engine, Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive and a Tiptronic six-speed automatic transmission with manual-shift capability. (The A6 Sedan, by comparison, can also be ordered as a front-wheel-drive car, or as one with a V8 engine.)
The Audi A6 Avant has a richly appointed, bank-vault-quiet interior and a supple suspension — this wagon excels at isolating occupants from road irregularities. It is also an agile handler that doesn’t mind some spirited driving from time to time.
The quattro system offers superior grip on slick roads and improves dry-road handling and performance. As in any all-wheel-drive system, one of quattro’s downsides is poor fuel economy.
Standard safety features for the Audi A6 Avant include front, front-side and side-curtain airbags, electronic stability control, brake assist and electronic brake-force distribution. Rear side airbags are optional.
Trimmed in high-quality leather, aluminum and wood veneer, the interior is roomy and comfortable. But the steeply raked windshield and low, sweeping roofline create a sense of claustrophobia typical in modern cars with high beltlines.
A seven-inch Multi Media Interface (MMI) display in the center of the dashboard incorporates navigation, audio, climate control and other systems. A large knob behind the shift lever governs most functions, but there are also redundant buttons and knobs for some things, such as the climate-control system and stereo.
This setup is more distracting and less intuitive to operate than an array of traditional buttons, but it’s easier to use than BMW’s iDrive system, which relies heavily on one large knob and has fewer redundant controls.
The amount of information displayed in the A6 Avant’s cabin is staggering. The dash and instrument panel resemble a jet plane’s cockpit, especially when the controls light up at night.
An optional power-operated tailgate is available.
Is the Audi A6 Avant for You?
| Buy the A6 Avant if | You value a smooth and quiet highway ride as well as sporty handling; you need seating for five and added cargo space, but you don’t want an SUV; you prefer the foul-weather traction of all-wheel drive; you appreciate understated design. |
| Keep Looking if | A compact wagon like the A4 Avant will suit your needs; you want more interior space or a more-rugged-looking exterior, in which case an SUV like Audi’s Q7 is worth considering. |
| Who Fits? | Five adults fit comfortably in the Audi A6 Avant, though the center passenger in the back might feel cramped. |
| Closest Competitors | |
| Did You Know? | Unlike some European auto manufacturers that started out in other industries like aviation or racing, Audi was a luxury car company from the start, established in 1910 by August Horch in Zwickau, Germany. Audi is the second car company he founded. Horch left the first, A. Horch & Cie. Motorwagen-Werke AG, in 1909 — 10 years after starting it — because of a dispute with the company’s supervisory board. |
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