By Staff Reporter

The Audi A6 is a business class sedan with its main rivals being the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedans. Now in its eighth-generation, it looks more elegant, brings a host of technological improvements and powerful yet fuel-efficient engines.

Elegant Exterior

Outside, the A6’s design is striking whilst managing to remain elegant and sophisticated. A touch of sportiness adds to the visual drama, especially when kitted with the S-Line package. Up front a wide, low-slung grille dominates the fascia with headlights surrounding the grille of which there are three different variations, namely: LED, Matrix LED with dynamic indicators and the HD Matrix LED technology with high-resolution, dynamically illuminating high beam.

As standard the A6 comes fitted with 18-inch wheels. These can be upgraded to 21-inches. The S6 is fitted with 20-inch wheels which are upgradable to 21-inch. The A6’s side profile is minimalistic though a sharp line runs from the rear-doors to the attractive rear-lights. A chrome strip runs across the boot-lid and has been integrated into the rear-lights.

Futuristic Interior

The spacious interior of the A6 sedan looks clean with futuristic black-panel design dominating much of the interior. It comes standard with leather/leatherette upholstery while the S6 gets sport seats as standard. The best in class, smartphone-like, intuitive MMI navigation plus comes standard along with a 12.3-inch virtual cockpit and an optional heads-up display. Driver and passenger are able to use the driver focused 10.1-inch infotainment screen and 8.6-inch screen (for climate control, vehicle function and text input) which have an acoustic and tactile feedback. The luggage compartment offers a generous 530-litres.

Powerful yet efficient

Three engines will be made available to the South African market, namely:

1. A6 40 TDI: 2.0-litre diesel with 140 kW and 400 Nm;
2. A6 45 TDI: 3.0-litre diesel with 183 kW and 600 Nm; and
3. S6 TFSI     : 2.9-litre petrol with 331 kW and 600 Nm.

The 45 TDI and S6 variants makes use of an 8-speed automatic and Quattro all-wheel drive whilst the 40 TDI uses a 7-speed automatic and does not have Quattro all-wheel drive. For improved comfort and efficiency, the S6 has a 48-volt mild hybrid system allowing the S6 to coast at 55 km/h and 160 km/h with the start stop kicking in from 22 km/h.

Driving a car that is nearly 5 meters long car can be daunting. Thankfully, as standard, the A6 comes with progressive steering to help comfortably maneuver the A6 sedan in town and tight parking spaces.

Pricing and Availability

The new Audi A6 range is priced as follows:

1. Audi A6 40 TDI S tronic                        R919,500
2. Audi A6 45 TDI quattro tiptronic       R1,100,000
3. Audi S6 TFSI quattro tiptronic            R1,401,500

The A6 range comes standard with the 5 year / 100,000km Audi Freeway plan. The Audi A6 40 TDI and S6 TFSI are currently available for sale at all Audi Dealerships around South Africa. The Audi A6 45 TDI is planned to be introduced into market by mid-year. The high-performance model, the Audi RS6 Avant is planned to be launched in the second half of 2020.