One subject occupies your thoughts following a first meeting with the new A6: that grille. Gaping first from the range-topping A8 6.0 W12, this snout will front every Audi from the A3 upwards so, like it or not, you’d better get used to it. Make yourself at home with the edgier styling, too, as we’ll also be seeing more of that on future Ingolstadt products.
That body is 34 per cent more rigid than the old one, but also 83mm longer in wheelbase, the benefit of which is felt in increased rear passenger space. Surprisingly, given the aluminium-bodied A8 and A2, the A6’s shell is predominantly steel.
Most of the engines offered are new, others substantially reworked. Four-cylinder petrol and diesels are among the units scheduled for inclusion later, but for now the range consists of a 3.0-litre V6 diesel and three petrol engines: a 4.2-litre V8, 2.4-litre V6 and the 3.2-litre V6 quattro tested here.
Equipped with Volkswagen Group’s FSI direct-injection system, it promises more power and economy than a conventional fuel-injected engine and delivers a rousing 253bhp at 6500rpm and a stout 243lb ft of torque at half that crank speed. Not to be confused with the narrow-angle V6 in the A3, this engine can be teamed with either front- or four-wheel-drive transmissions, but while front-wheel-drive models can be mated to either six-speed manual or CVT ’boxes, the quattro gets a conventional auto ’box only.
Unlike the A3, which uses the more advanced Haldex system capable of delivering power both across and between axles, the A6 quattro employs a Torque-sensing Torsen differential to distribute power between the front and rear axles only. Under normal conditions power is split 50:50, but up to 75 per cent of power can be delivered to one axle. The benefits in poor weather are clear, but the quattro hardware adds 140kg to the front-driver’s 1540kg kerbweight and impacts on fuel consumption and CO2, not to mention the list price, which climbs from £30,525 to £