Audi A6 Review: Luxury Feel or Missed Opportunity?

Audi A6 Review: The mid-size luxury sedan segment is quite popular among buyers because these cars offer good rear seat comfort, come with a cabin packed with features, and are available with powerful petrol or diesel engines. This space is largely dominated by German brands, including the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

If you are planning for a new car around the festive season, which is premium, offers luxury, and has a refined petrol engine, then you can check out the Audi A6. Though it competes with the BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, it is priced quite low compared to them and comes under ₹70 lakh. The A6 is offered with a shorter wheelbase compared to its rivals, and has a decent feature list on offer. It includes multiple driving modes, four-zone climate control, a 360-degree parking camera, and more.

Recently, we drove the Audi A6 around the city and on highways and tested its various factors like performance, seating comfort, fuel efficiency, and other parameters. Here are our thoughts: why the Audi A6 is an underrated luxury sedan in its segment, and whether you should buy it or spend some extra bucks to get other LWB German sedans.

What’s Good

Exterior Design

The design of the Audi A6 is subtle, feels superior and has a clean look. The grill and the fog lamps have minimal use of chrome, which elevates the premium aesthetics. One noticeable feature in the A6, which the automaker continues to offer, is the headlamp washers. 

The A6 has LED headlamps and LED DRLs, and the throw of these headlamps is decent. However, the length and the distribution of the throw could have been better.

On the side, the A6 is 4,939 mm long, and it is the only short-wheelbase sedan in the segment. There are sharp cuts and creases, which do elevate the look. Talking about the wheels, the A6 comes with 19-inch alloy wheels, and the design of the alloy wheels could have been better.

The rear design of the A6 has a clean look as there is a chrome bar connecting the taillamp. The LED taillamps have a sharp design, and there are dynamic swipe indicators on offer. Lower down, there are fake exhaust vents as the real exhausts are placed under the body. Regarding the boot space, the A6 has decent space on offer. Though it has a powered tailgate, it misses out on gesture controls, which could have been offered at its price.

Comfort

The seats of the Audi A6 are pretty comfortable. Regarding the back seat comfort, though the A6 is based on a short wheelbase, there is a decent amount of knee room, leg room, and shoulder room on offer. The seat cushioning is good, but the underthigh support could have been improved. Further, there are rear sunshades, which do help in cutting the direct rays from the sun. However, it misses out on rear seat adjustments, and we felt the recline angle could have been slightly improved to give a more relaxing experience.

On the other side, the front seats of the A6 are pretty comfortable. There is ample cushioning and soft-touch materials, which elevate your experience in the front. However, in some areas, you’ll feel there are some parts and designs shared, which are present in other Volkswagen cars, priced much lower in the market.

Performance

Talking of performance, the A6 is equipped with a 2.0L inline four-cylinder turbo petrol engine, which makes 261 bhp and 370 Nm of peak torque. This engine is paired with a seven-speed DSG gearbox, which also powers the Volkswagen Golf GTI in India. Further, it is the only sedan in its competition that has a front-wheel drive drivetrain at its price.

The performance from the motor is great. The engine is refined at idle conditions, and there are no vibrations on offer. However, on hard acceleration, the engine does become vocal and provides power, but it does not give you the kick in the pants feel. Additionally, there is Audi Drive Select, wherein you can select from multiple driving modes. These modes alter the engine performance, steering, braking, and suspension. When we drove it in the Dynamic mode (aka Sports Mode), the engine became responsive to light taps of the throttle, but the sporty sound from the exhaust was missing. In the comfort mode, the engine became quite smooth, and there was a noticeable difference in the power delivery from the engine. However, it is good for daily driving, but it misses out on the sudden kick and the thrill of the power from the engine.

Interiors

The interiors of the Audi A6 have a premium feel. It has a clean and neat dashboard design and feels upmarket. The dashboard is neatly laid out, and the automaker has used premium materials in multiple areas, which elevates your overall experience when you are inside. The use of wood on the dashboard feels premium, and leatherette upholstery gives a luxurious look. Despite using high-quality materials and fabrics in multiple areas, the lower panels and the seat back panel in the A6 still get hard, scratchy plastic.

However, the 10.07-inch infotainment screen for music controls, navigation, and other features feels small when compared to other luxury sedans on offer in the segment. Further, there is a separate digital screen for climate controls, and it requires your attention to operate in the initial days. The 12.2-inch instrument cluster has the Audi Virtual Cockpit system, and there are three modes for the instrument cluster, which give it a premium look.

What’s Bad

Fuel Efficiency

The first thing that we didn’t like about the Audi A6 was its fuel efficiency. Though the engine has decent power output, driving it sedately in the city and on highways, the fuel efficiency numbers could have been better. During our run, we got a fuel efficiency of 9 km/l.

Ride and Handling

We feel the ride and the handling of the Audi A6 could have been improved. The suspensions are on the softer side, and they offer a comfortable experience inside. However, during our speed runs, due to a softer suspension setup, the ride became a bit bouncy, and potholes and the noise from the expansion joints did filter inside the cabin. The body roll in the A6 is well contained, and it maintains its line and pace upon hard cornering.  

Features

Well, one of the most important aspects of a luxury sedan is the features on offer. Though the Audi A6 is equipped with multiple convenience features like a 360-degree parking camera, 30 colours for ambient lighting, a four-zone climate control system, multiple driving modes, and others. 

Several features are missing in the A6, like front ventilated seats, rear seat reclining, and the boss mode feature, wherein the rear seat passenger can adjust the front passenger seat, and more. Some of these features could be a deal-breaker for buyers of this segment and are available in other German sedans.

What is the price of the Audi A6 in India?

The price of the Audi A6 after GST 2.0 starts at  ₹63.74 lakh for the Premium variant and goes to ₹69.89 lakh (ex-showroom) for the Technology variant.

Should You Buy It?

Our answer is Yes. If you want a sedan that has subtle luxury, decent features, and a refined petrol engine, then you can consider the Audi A6. While it does not feel as spacious as the Mercedes-Benz E Class or the BMW 5 Series, which are offered with a longer wheelbase, it can be a good option as it is priced quite low and it is an underrated choice in the segment. 

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