Yahoo Finance Good Bones: 2019 Audi A6 Driven!
If you were expecting a daring new Audi A6, well, you haven’t really been paying attention. Audi’s styling approach as of late has been as conservative as Austria, and just as with recent redesigns of everything from the TT to the A8, this new model is more similar to its forebear than different. Yes, this medium-length link of sedan sausage has some new creases and bulges on its fenders, but its evolution is as predictable as a Swiss timepiece. A nip here and a tuck there and you have a car that, despite its new MLB Evo platform shared with the A7 and A8, is within half an inch of the old model in every dimension. Not since the original R8 over a decade ago has Ingolstadt made any truly bold moves, and anyway, the place to do so is not a model whose prime demographic is German bankers.
Six Is First
American bankers, too-or just Americans with bank-which is why Audi is launching the top-of-the-line V-6–powered A6 first. This is the same 3.0-liter powerplant from the new A7 and A8, making 340 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque thanks to a single turbocharger nestled in the cylinder valley in a hot-V setup. A belt-alternator-starter system with a 48-volt battery beneath the trunk floor enables the engine’s stop/start system, as well as permitting a mileage-improving coasting function that’s omitted from U.S.-market cars. As in the A7, the sole transmission will be Audi’s seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, which sends power to all four wheels using the latest version of Audi’s Quattro Ultra all-wheel-drive system that electronically disengages the driveshaft under light loads for improved efficiency.
Efficiency, however, is for lesser A6 models, like the inevitable version with Volkswagen’s corporate turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder under the hood. This one, the V-6, is for people who like to flex their right ankles. The engine is the most exciting thing about the new car-as it should be-providing instantaneous thrust thanks to a torque curve that’s more of a flat line once you crack the throttle. It’s eager to rev throughout its powerband and the dual-clutch gearbox snaps off shifts like a drummer playing rim shots. The turbo engine may lack some of the character of the supercharged V-6 it replaces, particularly in the A6, where the exhaust sound is absolutely smothered, but it shames the old engine in power and flexibility.
We can’t say the same for the new car’s chassis. While we’ll reserve judgment until we can actually drive a U.S.-spec A6 on American roads, our brief experience with a European car in Portugal revealed a somewhat stiff ride and the same sort of light and overboosted steering feel endemic to Audis. All A6 models use a multilink suspension front and rear, and cars sold in the U.S. will have steel springs and electronically adaptive dampers, with an optional sport suspension that lowers the car by 0.8 inch. Audi’s familiar Drive Select system varies shock valving, steering response, and transmission shift points through five settings: Efficiency, Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, and Individual. None of them helped improve steering feedback, which was minimal, even though our test car was wearing high-performance summer rubber on 20-inch wheels rather than the 18- or 19-inch all-season tires we expect to see as standard on U.S. models. Europeans will be able to order an A6 with air springs and four-wheel steering, but Americans desiring that hardware will need to step up to the forthcoming S6.
Superfly MMI
The real attraction for most A6 buyers likely will be a different sort of hardware, namely the new infotainment system that has revolutionized the interior. While Audi’s Virtual Cockpit digital gauge cluster is no longer so cutting edge-you can get the same thing in a $25,000 Volkswagen Jetta-it is making its first appearance in the A6, alongside the new touchscreen MMI system introduced on the new A8. The latter replaces nearly every hard button and knob-and the old MMI setup had quite a few of them-with two haptic-feedback touchscreens. We found touchscreen performance was good but not perfect, although with a little practice we expect we’d better get the hang of “triggering” our finger presses.
The 8.6-inch lower screen displays the HVAC controls or switches to a giant version of the touch-sensitive writing pad Audi introduced years ago. The 10.1-inch upper screen houses most of the other functions like the navigation and audio systems, and it is reconfigurable in a multitude of ways, including the particularly useful customization of the five-tile sidebar on the left side of the screen. Up to seven drivers can save separate profiles of preferences and settings.
The system is compatible with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, although we had to reboot our Android phone to coerce it to connect, and the mirrored display on the Audi’s screen appeared pixelated, clearly inferior to the graphics of the built-in system. MMI also allows owners to program shortcuts-to radio stations, navigation destinations, or phone contacts-that alternately appear on the lower screen. Overall, the system is intuitive and impressive, but its menus can run deep. And Audi forbids changing most settings while the car is in motion, including those of the audio system, which is the only glaring flaw we could find in our brief test. Thankfully, the volume knob has survived.
So too has the A6’s traditionally high level of interior finish, with wood inserts and smooth leather paying off the new car’s luxury promise. The dashboard design may take some getting used to, as the large expanses of piano-black plastic and metal-look trim that frame the touchscreens depart from Audi’s typical minimalism. (Remember, this is a company that recently used nav screens that retracted into the dashboard.)
As Audi has yet to ready its U.S.-market order guide ahead of the A6’s appearance this fall, we’re left to speculate about which features from Europe-market cars we’ll see here, from driver-assistance systems to remote self-parking to the “always online” navigation system that uses cloud data to inform the car. That goes for pricing, too. Regardless of the final specification, the A6’s new bones-both those under the hood and under the dash-are impressive, even if you might have to park the old car alongside it to recognize its new skin.
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