AUDI A6 AVANT REVIEW

List price from£32,985 Lease price from£338 The verdict8

Smooth and sophisticated, the Audi A6 Avant is an estate car that makes transporting big loads a pleasure

It’s no wonder executive estates are the answer to many people’s motoring needs. With luxurious interiors, long equipment lists and plenty of space for trips to the car boot sale or flat-pack furniture store, they pretty much do it all.

This A6 Avant is Audi’s take on theme. Handsomely styled and beautifully built, it also promises very low fuel consumption and CO2 emissions if you go for the Ultra model.

Space

Not the roomiest in its class, but still very spacious

Up front, the A6 offers more head and elbow room than most rivals. And there’s quite a lot of storage, including deceptively big door bins and some useful cubbyholes in the centre of the dash.

The boot also impresses, because it's a practical shape and fractionally larger than those of the BMW 5-series Touring and Jaguar XFSportbrake. And while the A6’s rear seats lie at a slight angle when they're folded down, at least they don’t leave a nasty ridge that makes it tricky to slide in larger items.

Having said all that, the Mercedes E-class Estate offers even more space whether the seats are up or down, so it's the one to choose if you run an antique furniture business.

The space for passengers in the back of the A6 is comparable with rivals; even large adults will be perfectly comfortable.

Comfort

Good seats and well-resolved suspension

There’s a little more wind noise than we’d like from around the wing mirrors of the A6 Avant, but otherwise you’ll find it a quiet place to spend time.

It also has excellent seats that stop you getting back ache on a long trip, and there's a wide range of seat and steering wheel adjustment to help you find a driving position that suits.

The sportier-looking S-line models come with sports suspension, which can make them crash over larger bumps, although Audi does still offer regular suspension as a no-cost option.

SE-spec cars are the most forgiving, combining this softer supension with smaller wheels and chunkier tyres.

Dashboard layout

Looks good, and for the most part, feels great to use

The Audi A6 Avant feels classier inside than any other car available at this price; all of the buttons and control knobs have a slick action, and the general ambience is one of luxury and quality.

The instruments are easy to read at a glance, too, and you operate many of the car's functions by scrolling through well-ordered menus on a colour screen. However, the system isn't as user-friendly as the one in the BMW 5-series Touring because it takes a lot of familiarisation before you can tell the shortcut buttons apart without taking your eyes off the road.

Also, the dashboard is positioned quite close to you to make everything easy to reach, but it also makes it a little too easy to catch your knee on the headlamp switch when getting in and out of the car.

Easy to drive

Impressively undemanding, for such a big car

The Audi A6 Avant is a big car, but because of its near-vertical tail end, it’s actually pretty easy to place when you’re reversing.

At the front, meanwhile, the relatively squared-off nose helps you judge where the corners are, and on the few occasions you do have trouble, the standard front and rear parking sensors will get you out of it.

Many versions of the A6 Avant have an automatic gearbox as standard, too, which makes stop-start traffic easy to deal with, while those that don’t are available with one as an option.

Just as crucially, every engine in the A6 range – even the cheapest 2.0-litre diesel – offers plenty of punch.

The only slight problem comes when you're looking to change lanes on the motorway; the chunk of metal between the front and rear windows is rather wide, limiting over-the-shoulder visibility.

Fun to drive

Confidence-inspiring, but it's no sports car

The A6 Avant has many strengths, but fun isn't one of them because its steering feels vague and overly light at speed.

It’s a pity, because the A6 actually grips well in corners, and it's suspension does a good job of preventing excessive lean.

Choose a quattro four-wheel-drive version of the A6 and it feels very surefooted even in treacherous conditions. But compared with a BMW 5-series Touring or Jaguar XF Sportbrake, it's still rather dull and uninvolving to drive.

Reliability

Probably won't leave you stranded, but warranty could be better

The A6 performed pretty well in the latest JD Power customer satisfaction survey, earning itself 26th place out of 109 cars – a better showing than the BMW 5-series, and a good indicator that it’s a pretty reliable car. However, the Mercedes E-class Estate and Jaguar XF did even better.

It’s also worth noting that Audi's warranty last for three years or 60,000 miles – whichever comes sooner – whereas Mercedes and BMW both offer three-year, unlimited-mileage warranties.

The other note of caution we’d sound here is that Audi’s score in the Warranty Direct Reliability Index, which is based on actual warranty claims, is pretty low.

Fuel economy

2.0-litre diesels look impressive on paper

Audi recently introduced a new 2.0-litre diesel version of the A6 Avant. Called the Ultra, it boasts super-low fuel consumption figures that best all its rivals'.

Look farther up the range and the A6 Avant’s economy still looks good compared with that of the Jaguar XF Sportbrake and Mercedes E-class Estate, but here like-for-like versions of the BMW 5-series Touring are better still.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that we struggled to get anywhere near the official fuel consumption figures in real-world driving conditions.

Affordability

Looks great value, and shouldn't cost too much run

Comparing models like-for-like, the A6 Avant is quite a bit cheaper than any of its rivals, and the fact that it comes well equipped adds to the sense that you're getting value for money.

It also holds its value well, which contributes to reasonable leasing costs. And while servicing and repair costs won’t exactly be cheap, they’re about about par for the course for this type of car.

Company car drivers will be pleased to note that, thanks to its low price and emissions, the A6 Avant Ultra will work out cheaper to tax than any of the competition.

Safety

Pedestrian protection is a weak point, but otherwise good

The Audi A6 Avant version hasn't been tested by the benchmark European crash testing agency, Euro NCAP, but the saloon version, which is very similar, has.

It scored the maximum five stars, and rated well for adult and child protection, though the BMW 5-series did even better in these areas.

What let the Audi down was its pedestrian protection score, which was bettered by all of its rivals.

Every A6 comes with six airbags, as well as electronic systems that help to prevent skidding in a straight line and around corners. Meanwhile, another system holds the car on a hill for a short time to help you pull away without rolling backwards.

Standard spec

Well-equipped, especially considering the price

Even the entry-level SE model comes with leather seats, a digital radio, cruise control, a colour screen, and dual-zone climate control, among quite a lot else.

The S-line version adds sports seats which are electrically adjustable, Xenon headlamps, and a selection of cosmetic tweaks to make it look more purposeful.

Then there’s the Black Edition, which brings an upgraded sound system, tinted rear windows, and a selection of blacked-out body parts.

On the whole, then, the A6 Avant is equipped on a par with most of its rivals, which is good news when you consider it costs less.