Test Drive : Audi A6 Avant Sline 2.7TDI Multi

[badgera]

Over the weekend I completed my new car selection process with a overnight test drive in an Audi A6 Avant 2.7 TDI S Line Multitronic.

The same day I test drove a new Passat, but was only allowed a couple of hours and had to pay for my own fuel. The Audi I had overnight and fuel was only mentioned when the sales man said he had filled it up for me .

First impressions:

Sadly due to both mine and the cars schedules the car did not get washed before I collected it, however, being an S Line in Daytona Grey it still looked stunning. When the latest A6 came out the SE spec just didn’t look right to me, however the subtle changes made for the S Line along with my favourite 5 Arm 18” alloys this large Avant manages to hide some of it bulk and carry off the right combination of sophistication and sportyness.

As always with Audi interiors the quality is first rate. In addition to the standard S-Line seats this model had full leather in black. I think the latest A6 interior looks great. The MMI console and screen making all the difference.

Driving:

On starting the 2.7TDI the difference between this and the 2.0TDI is immediately obvious – it is very smooth and doesn’t sound at all like a diesel at tick-over (at least from the inside). The 2.7 has plenty of torque and in combination with the multitronic box gives you plenty of mid range go. Using either sports mode or the steering wheel paddles turns the multitronic into a speed speed auto. This mode feels much more sporty and seems to give better pull out of bends, though I think this could be just down to the engine revs changing within a fixed gear rather than in normal mode where the engine revs stay constant. A number of times though the journey I found I was travelling faster than expected. The suspension is firm but more comfortable that the A4 S-Line setup. The chassis turns in well and corners flat with seeming plenty of grip. Athough only FWD I didn’t ever spin the fronts, though it was dry, this might be different in the wet. After spirited driving I still was averaging 35mpg, and saw averages of over 40mpg for short periods of cruising.

Living with it:

The sports seats are roomy, yet supportive. The driving position was good with plenty of leg room. Rear leg room was also very good, as is boot space and practicality. The MMI turned out very easy to get used to, I liked the display of CD track’s (anybody recommend a tool that writes CD Text – iTunes doesn’t) and the ease of scrolling through available radio stations. The integrated Bluetooth Phone is easy to use, displaying you phone book on the Colour DIS (this car had the full comms pack with DVD Nav, Phone, MMI and Colour DIS).

Overall I’m struggling to say anything negative about it. At times the steering may have been a little light and the multitronic can still feel odd at times.

I liked it so much I’ve ordered one for myself – Black with Lux Pack (Black Leather, parking sensors, interior light, heated front seats), Comms Pack II (DVD Sat Nav inc TMC, CD Changer, MMI, GSM Phone Prep), Visibilty Pack (Xenons and Adaptive Lights all topped off with the storage pack. Roll on November I can’t wait.

[Chris_B]

[ QUOTE ]

anybody recommend a tool that writes CD Text – iTunes doesn’t

[/ QUOTE ]

Long-winded, but I rip my CDs at the higest possible rate to MP3 and add track names with Easy CD-DA Extractor (well worth the small registration fee), and I've then been using Nero 6 to re-burn the ripped MP3 files, although ECDDAE has it's own CD-writer that will use Nero's burning engine if installed, but I haven't played around with it yet.

So, I end up with silver CDs in the car with full CD Text on, and my originals stored safely at home.

Good review BTW, roll on November indeed!

[badgera]

Thanks Chris, I'll try that when the time comes..

[eolair]

Great review.

To save our fingers doing the walking, what's the approx price?

[badgera]

I think the value is around £34K. It's going to be a company car, Audi is pushing A6's hard so they are actaully the same lease costs as a 2.7tdi A4. Bargain!!

[PeterS]

Thanks - good review Was looking at a 2.7TDI Quattro S-Line (I think that's right ) at the weekend, and was very impressed. Haven't driven one yet though

Peter

[badgera]

Peter. I drove the FWD 2.7 with the Mutlitronic (CVT) auto. This actually adds to the performance and economy. The quattro version would be a normal auto (or manual). If quattro is a requirement I would look at the 3.0, it's not actually a whole lot more expensive, but it was the co2 that killed it for me.

[PeterS]

Thanks for the input Andrew I was just very impressed with how good it looked. There's a new Audi garage a few miles down the road, so will have to organise a test drive .

Peter

[badgera]

I'd certainly have a go in one. I guess ultimatly it depends on what you are looking for in a car, but for my money the interior is better than the 5 series the exterior is better looking (in S-Line Spec), it's comfortable, handles and goes well.

Beyond that it's an Audi, so not at all embarrassing at parties