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Usability
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By Ben Barry
First Drives
29 January 2008 11:08
Harsh. The Audi RS6 carries on what the original car started back in 2002: it’s an all-wheel drive large family car – the estate goes on sale first to stress its versatility – with supercar-crushing performance. And that’s no hyperbole. With its 5.0-litre V10 – a heavily re-worked version of the 5.2-litre naturally aspirated unit we’ve already seen in the 429bhp S6 – aided and abetted by not one but two turbos, the RS6 musters 572bhp at 6250rpm and a torque curve that’s anything but curvy – the maximum 479lb ft is available from just 1500rpm all the way to 6250rpm.
Forget the obvious BMW M5 Touring and Mercedes E63 AMG comparisons, this is Lamborghini territory.
Both these rivals are rear-drive only with naturally aspirated powerplants (M5: 5.0-litre V10; E63 6.2-litre V8) that lose out to the RS6 with 500bhp and 384lb ft and 507bhp and 464lb ft respectively. On paper – and on a damp and twisty road – the RS6 has the upper hand. The trade-off comes in the shape of a £77k purchase price – £10k more than the M5 and £8k more than the Merc.
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Audi RS6 Avant (2008) CAR review
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jonnybaggs says
RE: Audi RS6 Avant (2008) CAR review
I have now run my RS6 for a month now, its run in and its mind blowing in terms of torque, usabilty and sheer power. I have a wife, 3 kids, two dogs and am delighted with how easy the car is to drive fully laden and even more excited to drive it solo when its sheer power can be exploited. For me it is the perfect family car, I realise there are other alternative's but living in the pennines the security of the quattro drive system complete's an unbeleivable package. For the detractors drive oneeveryday, for audi aficianado's it every you would expect
I have now run my RS6 for a month now, its run in and its mind blowing in terms of torque, usabilty and sheer power.
I have a wife, 3 kids, two dogs and am delighted with how easy the car is to drive fully laden and even more excited to drive it solo when its sheer power can be exploited.
For me it is the perfect family car, I realise there are other alternative's but living in the pennines the security of the quattro drive system complete's an unbeleivable package.
For the detractors drive oneeveryday, for audi aficianado's it every you would expect
08 May 2009 16:08
skiwi says
Audi move the game on..
Is it a sports car? No of course it isn't. But the owners will not be looking for that, but for performance that is there for when it is required, without all the shouty bits. And with a proper transmission for such endeavours. Dave
15 February 2008 09:20
carreader says
Doesn't appear to be much improvement over the last RS6. Was it too much to hope for an upsized RS4 experience ?
09 February 2008 01:13
JohnnyBimmer says
Grade C- this kids trying too hard!!
The RS6's LCD lights sums up this car.. it's just trying a bit too hard to be sexy. A fast estate car's a good idea to shift around a heavy load but this is too much power for a 'family' to be moving in and it's too uneconomical for long distance touring too. OK so you're an Exec during the week and want to use the power on the commute and then more sedately move the family at the weekend in something that'll show you're sassier than your average SUV man. I get the point just doesn't do it for me!
07 February 2008 01:19
BobLeBuilder says
Nice...
This looks like the ideal car for me for the following reasons: - Great for transporting the family in comfort. - Looks nice (compared to M5 touring anyway). - Quick (I've used a race circuit once in my life on a TVR track day, and I'm never going to lap Nurburg so I'm not bothered about laptimes). If I wanted something nippy I'd go for the new Nissan GT-R fizzer, but I can't imagine myself feeling particularly relaxed after a cross country run in one of those. - Ideal for long range cruising. - Comes almost fully loaded. Downside is its a bit expensive. I sold my car a while ago and have been sharing the wife's M3, which is a quick little motor, but cramped and a bit tiring over long distances. I'm looking forward to trying an RS6 out.
05 February 2008 15:17
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