CAR REVIEW: Audi A6

THE SOLUTION: Audi A6

Any race-car designer will tell you weight is the enemy. It ruins performance, increases wear ’n’ tear and sends fuel consumption sky high. But any executive-sedan designer will tell you size is crucial, both for carrying people in comfort and style, and conveying “presence” on the road.

Ideally, then, any new exec express should be lighter, bigger and more spacious.Tricky, but Audi’s engineers have managed the motoring holy trinity with the new A6, which wears a bigger, sharper suit than the previous model, while being roomier inside and significantly more svelte.

New engines saved 20 kilograms here, use of aluminium in the body saved 30kg there, to the point that some new A6 variants weigh up to 80kg less than the outgoing model.

On Abu Dhabi’s grand prix circuit, it all added up to a car that accelerates, brakes and handles appreciably better than its predecessor. Looks sharper, too, care of the
re-sculpted headlights and grille and an increased wheelbase that reduces front-end overhang.

Initially available in quattro (4WD) form with 2.8L and 3.0L petrol engines as well as the 3.0 TDI diesel, the MH crystal ball predicts 2.0L petrol and diesel front-wheel-drive variants to follow soon.

- Bruce Ritchie
From August 2011