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Thomas Gigold was driving the Audi A6 Avant 2.0 TDI. How the 177 hp station wagon proved itself in everyday family life with three children - our test reveals it:
"Audi's photocopy design department pulled another model out of a hat. The Audi A6 is […] quite boring to look at”, is in the (so far only) German TOP GEAR magazine on Audis family flagship read.
And what the nameless editor - the God of Audi stretching out his absolute hand over him - had on page 166 printed in the eternally patient paper basically describes my only real problem with the Audi A6 Avant right at the start of this test.
This car is a pleasure - especially if you like technology and looking for a surprisingly good combination. If there were not this - and here it is again: boring - dress.
Of course ... design. When the elongated Avant stands in front of you after a week of “seeing” - on its 19 ″ aluminum wheels, crouching on the road with the lowered suspension, the short overhangs and the almost coupé-like line - you forgive the Audi designers almost the relative lack of imagination at the front. This hardly differentiates the A6 from its brothers A4 and A5 or even from the large (platform-like) A7. If it weren't for the drawn eyes of LED daytime running lights, which have become more and more delicate in recent years, by which you can still recognize the different classes.
But who cares about externals? The little differentiating appearance is obviously not a sales barrier for the Ingolstadt. The Audi A6 is a bestseller - with the BMW 5er in the upper middle class, head-to-head racing for the sales crown.
And after 1287,4 test kilometers you understand why. Because the A6 Avant is a completely successful car. With small deductions in the B-note.
A6 Avant: the lifestyle vice
But let's talk about the outside again for a moment. As boring as the united front of the Ingolstadt may be, so skilfully staged the rear. Because in the side view, the Avant manages to actually convey a sportiness that makes one doubt the trunk volume and the load carrier properties. Only a glance at the technical data reveals that the Audi even swallowed five liters more in the trunk than the comparatively huge rear of the BMW 5er. To bring this silhouette is already a feat of the designer. Sure: measured in boxes, the slightly steeper rear of the BMW is likely to accommodate a little more, but lacked during the test days the possibility of direct comparison for the proof of this thesis.
As much as one may call the Avant a lifestyle vibe due to its roofline and its preferred business clientele, in the end it is a convincing combination. The rear seats can be easily folded, the tailgate is large enough, the security systems well considered. Here is the Audi truly no nakedness.
Four passengers welcome, five do not have to be
It is said about Germans that they like to search the hair in the soup. And as good as the Audi may be shaved - one, two hair fall into court after all.
One of these hair is the fifth seat. Namely, it is only usable on paper. The middle rear seat is not really suitable for sitting. Too strong it is shaped as a separation between the two outer seats. After 130 kilometers on it groaned even the 12-year-old test rider on the hardness, the poor back-shaping and the non-existent lateral support. In addition, the center tunnel is unusually high, which requires articulated knees to take a seat.
Of course, in times of statistically 1,3 children have to be asked per family: when do you need five seats? On the other hand, there are plenty of families who buy a minivan with a child because they "like to take their grandma or girlfriend with them."
The fact is that the fifth seat in the rear remains on paper, but dies out with more and more vehicles - the A6 Avant is not the exception here, but the rule. While the Baby Boomer generation still four or five with luggage in the VW Beetle climbed over the Alps, the Generation Y for the trip but please use a fully equipped T5 - even if a combination theoretically sufficient. All in all, however, the A6 Avant can easily accommodate five people, if one of them is not quite as comfortable as the rest.
Premium is, if you do not like to get out
If you stay with four passengers, "comfortable" for the Audi A6 Avant is the correct vocabulary to use.
On the four molded seats prevails best couch atmosphere. You sit incredibly comfortably, in well-formed seats. At the front, the high center tunnel contributes to the fact that one suspects the supposed seat closer to the road than it really is. Like that. The adjustment options for seats, four-zone climate and heated seats (front) and for the vehicle itself are also varied. Only the driving dynamics settings for the Audi subjectively feel not quite as drastic on the performance of the car as the comparable system of competitor BMW. Blind it was difficult even for sentimental passengers to say whether the basic sports tuning of the suspension is now on "Comfort" or "Dynamic". On the positive side, if you tune the vehicle once, the attitude remains until you change it. At BMW, however, the car resets itself to the standard setting after every drive. So it happens that the Audi almost always ran in the sportier "Dynamic" mode during the entire test period. At the end of the day, it flushed 8,4 liters of diesel per 100 kilometer through the lines - in view of 1.968 cubic cubic capacity, around 300 kilometers of free ride on the highway, mixed with equally high 120 km / h share and the remaining kilometers in urban areas a perfectly acceptable one Value. Thanks to the large tank - which at the current price at least 100 Euro swallowed when it is empty - mastered with the A6 Avant even in this way about 900 kilometers.
The premium claim of Audi is breathed as a driver, especially in the interior. And for that the A6 does not even have to move. And of course that's his core competence.
For long-haul aircraft make the Audi in addition to the - with moderate driving style - low consumption of the 6 liters per 100 kilometers, especially his assistance systems.
Easy Driving with all sorts of Audi help
Now the automotive enthusiast may argue about assistance systems, but the fact that they reduce the risk of accidents and stress behind the wheel is inevitable. The Audi supports the driver in steering, braking, keeping in lane, keeping speed ... Leave the assessment of whether all these systems are generally more or less detrimental to driving pleasure - the Audi can convince with all these gimmicks.
There is the perceptible speed-dependent change in the steering behavior, which requires less or more force for the steering angle depending on the speed. There is also the now almost mandatory cruise control, unfortunately without spacers. There is the traffic sign recognition. There are the automatically darkening inside and outside mirrors. And there is the Death Angle Assistant. To find everything in the surcharge list - which has our test car of 34.327,73 Euro net just fix on 56.180,66 Euro in value has climbed up. The most expensive feature: the MMI navigation plus with MMI touch. After all, 2.941,18 Euro net Audi can cost the navigation device.
Which of these systems are needed in the end? None. And all. Because in addition to the typical for Audi, almost above average good workmanship in the interior, they are the ones who make the A6 Avant real profit.
By the way, if you really want to impress fellow travelers, you can order the Audi with a parking assistant including Surround View (983,19 Euro net). It not only shows the car and its surroundings during the bird's eye view. He safely maneuvers the five-meter-long family ship into even the smallest parking spaces, in which every passenger and visually-impaired passerby only closes his eyes and sends out prayers for the integrity of the vehicle to heaven. The assistant not only takes work off, he impresses fellow human beings sustainably.
Power plant from Ingolstadt
The 177 PS strong turbo diesel shows all-speed strong and hard-working. Alone: starting at the speed mark of 180 km / h, the power of the unit is decreasing. The road to 210 km / h becomes tough. The end is at 222 km / h. Despite uncanny tracking and a few wind noises, the living space beyond the 180 km / h is not paradise for the "small" diesel. Without any guilty conscience, he leaves the area to his stronger brothers - the 3.0 TDI and the pride of the family, the upcoming Audi RS6 Avant.
Nevertheless, the unit is not to be underestimated, what it of the own traction control, however, probably one or the other time still. That could not really convince: on the rain-drenched streets of the German summer 2013 the powerful TDI provoked the pedal of the Audis several times when provoked less sensitive kick on the accelerator so powerful that the front wheels succumbed to the 380 Newton meters and several laps for nothing on the tarmac turned.
Otherwise, the Audi A6 Avant not only conveys a feeling of security in everyday life, but also of safety. The assistance systems and above all the entire handling of the Audi contribute to this.
Audi A6 Avant: Convincing all the way
At the end of the extensive test, the Audi A6 Avant left us with an outstanding overall impression that absolutely lives up to the Ingolstadt premium claim. There are only a few little things that stand out in the end, but actually can not tarnish the positive impression. But presented the Bayern station wagon just too well. And after seven days, you are terrified that you can suddenly differentiate the different Audi models in the rearview mirror ... Again, a prejudice less. Too bad.
