More than half the cars I review these days are electric, which is really an indication of where the market is at. It feels a bit strange that internal combustion engine (ICE) cars are now the minority, so when one comes along, it sometimes does feel like a breath of fresh air, ironic as it may seem.
On the surface, the new Audi A6 seems like a bit of an outdated dinosaur in this age of electric vehicles (EVs). But spend some time with it and you’ll realise that there’s plenty of appeal and character in a properly engineered ICE car that EVs just somehow cannot offer.
It doesn’t quite look it at first glance however. The design of the new A6 looks, well, like an A6. It doesn’t come across as particularly revolutionary over its predecessor, with its familiar outline and visual cues marking it out clearly as Audi’s executive sedan contender.
There are elements that mark it out as a new generation of course, such as the recognisable Audi grille and slim headlights that are borrowed from the latest A5, but on the whole, the A6 wears its conservative styling well, coming across as neat and contemporary without going too bold.
It’s kind of the same story inside too. The A6 features the new ‘Digital Stage’ layout that Audi is implementing across its most of its latest models, which consists of a large 14.5-inch central infotainment screen and the 11.9-inch driver instrument panel, both incorporated into a large curved display.
It looks futuristic, and the infotainment interface does feel more suited for the smartphone generation with its drag-and-drop icons, but it just somehow doesn’t quite match Audi’s previous layout for simplicity and ease of use. Even the physical controls, or whatever are the remnants of it, are of the haptic touch variety, which don’t quite give the same sort of tactile satisfaction of a properly well-oiled button.
The A6 does fare better on the comfort front, with the car offering plenty of space for rear passengers especially to stretch out thanks to its generous 2,923mm wheelbase. The seats are plenty comfy and luxurious too, although the back is probably best suited for two rather than three due to the large central hump in the centre that impinges on legroom for the middle occupant.
Equally spacious is the boot, which offers 492 litres of capacity, a fairly decent amount in this class. It’s helpfully sized too, and the rectangular shape makes it plenty useful in accommodating large luggage bags or long items, while the available net and side compartments help to hold your stuff in place.
Where the A6 surprises the most though is in the drive. On paper, one wouldn’t expect too much from the powertrain, which is a fairly humdrum 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot unit that produces a modest 201bhp and 340Nm of torque, all sent to the front wheels in a seemingly anodyne fashion via the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
Push down on the accelerator however and you’ll be instantly reminded why traditional ICE cars feel so different from EVs. The A6 in this form is certainly not what you would call quick, clocking the century sprint in 8.6 seconds. But it does so with such an effortless ease in the way you’d expect a large German executive sedan to be, offering the right amount of urgency without the sense of wild hooliganism that hide under the cloak of many EVs.
This is a car that is built for refined cruising on the highway, with its impressive noise insulation and body control. You get just a hint of engine roar if you are slightly aggressive on the throttle, but it never comes across as unpleasant, and only adds to the overall character of the experience.
It melds this with a rather excellent ride quality, with its well-damped suspension making light work of most road surfaces, The trade off is a car that is not particularly exciting to steer, but the A6 has never been known for its dynamic prowess anyway. The handling in any case is more than competent enough to cope if you don’t overdo it and incite understeer by going too hot into the corner.
For all of its shining qualities though, perhaps the A6’s single biggest disadvantage over its electric equivalents is its price. Thanks to the Government’s ever-stricter taxation regime on non-electrified cars, the A6 in this form incurs an emissions surcharge of $15,000, in contrast with a fully electric model which nets a $25,000 rebate. That’s a pretty significant swing, and means that this particular A6 is retailing for well over $400,000 with COE.
That can be quite a bitter pill to swallow, and it does go a long way towards diminishing the car’s appeal. As lovely as it is to drive, 400 large for a car that doesn’t exactly move the needle can be a bit hard to justify. But if you can look past the exorbitant price tag, and would rather hang on a bit longer to the ICE age, the A6 is certainly a very pleasant way to go indeed.
