For some reason, premium German cars have been hit or miss lately. There are too many flaws to talk about, but exaggerated pricing, downsizing, and fake design elements seem to connect most of them. We don't need to tell you that the all-new Audi S6 sedan and wagon suffer from these issues.
The S6 was revealed over the summer, together with the S7, facelift S4 and updated SQ5. In Europe at least, all of them basically get the same engine, which is a bi-turbo 3.0 TDI with an electric compressor attached. You kind of saw something similar when Mercedes-AMG launched the C43 and E43, but at least those had a visible power gap.
We don't have an issue with the engine being a diesel, other than the environmental implications perhaps. But it feels like it's the wrong size. I mean, the old A6 also had a 3.0 BiTDI, but you didn't call it the S6. I supposed if they'd used a 4.0 TDI instead, the car might have cost about 20%, which would have been a problem.
But after seeing how spectacular the new RS6 looks, will people really be interested in this vanilla design? It doesn't feel far removed from the A6 with the S line package... because it isn't. Mat Watson from Carwow says that with savings taken into account, the S6 is about GBP 10,000 more expensive than an A6 50 TDI with S line kit and he doesn't think it's worth it.
But let's see what really sets the two apart. The S6 has seats with bigger bolsters and a few touches on the inside, as well as big wheels and brakes. The suspension is sportier, but you will have to pay extra for the air suspension, and you probably should.
The performance is just adequate, nothing to set your pulse on fire: 0 to 60mph (97 km/h) takes 5.0 seconds and tested here. So it's got pace, but none of that excitement you had with the V10 or V8-powered S6 models of old. And to take corners with, it's not much different from a normal A6, even when fitted with the optional quattro rear differential.
"Oh, but the S6 has quad exhaust pipes," we hear you say. Except this review by Carwow reveals what we already knew months ago, that all four tips are just fake pieces of plastic, and the real exhaust comes out under the bumper.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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