[Dippy]

The latest entry to the upper luxury segment is the all new Audi A6. This is Audi’s second offering to the Indian market after the A8. Poised to take on the Mercedes E Class and BMW 5 Series, it hopes to take market share away from these two. There has been a lot of advertising these days about the A6 and I happened to get behind the wheel of one yesterday. The model I drove was the 3.0 V6. Here is a small driving impression.

Design and engineering



To be honest, I never really liked the looks of the A6 when I saw it pictures but coming face to face with it, I was in love it with it. The car has absolute clean lines running all the way from the front to the rear. The huge front grille is very imposing and looks really good on the car. The traditional Audi rings take their place on the grille. Headlights and taillights are very well integrated and give a classy feel. The doors shut with a strong thud and reassure the fact that this is a very well built car and more so built to last. Now that’s what German engineering is all about isn’t it ?

Interiors



The interiors of the A6 are in a class of it own. The quality of the materials used hit you in the face. The four spoke steering wheel has a very chunky feel to it and gives you good grip. All the controls are well within the reach of the driver and extremely convenient. Everything in the car can be controlled by the MMI or Multi Media interface. You can control every thing from the audio system, AC to your sat nav et al through a knob placed on the centre console along with four function keys. The A6 comes with a 6 CD changer audio system and sound quality is top notch. The seats are very comfortable and literally hug you in place. There is loads of legroom at the rear. The front seats have various functions to give you the perfect seating.

Driving Impression



Strapped myself into the drivers seat and I was ready. Put the shifter into D and I was off. Engine response is amazing and I could feel the punch as I went through the gears. The engine growls and the sound is absolutely mesmerizing. The A6 comes with a Multitronic gearbox. You can drive the A6 in auto mode or in sport mode. Over that you have the option to shift to a 7 speed manual mode. I initially drove it in normal auto mode but later decided to have some fun in sport mode. Driving the Audi A6 changed my perception of FWD forever. I took the big left hander which leads towards Bandra Reclaimation from the Bandra Mahim junction at around 100 kmph upwards and the car was as solid as a rock. The handling is amazing for an FWD and I even managed to get the tail out. Flat out on Reclaimation I went upto 150 kmph and you really feel the kick as it shifted in sports mode. If the FWD is so good the Quattro will really be something else. Braking is efficient too and you manage to stop as quick as you can accelerate.

Summing up

Audi seems to have done their homework for India they’re here to stay. The Audi A6 is an excellent car to drive. Every minute detail has been taken care of and this is a car you would love to drive yourself and be chauffeured around too. You can travel at leisure if you like or can put the pedal to the metal if you are in the mood. Its great performance combined with class leading comfort and equipment levels make it a very good option in its market. This way I really don’t why Audi can’t take the fight to Mercedes Benz and BMW and come out triumphs.

[Psycho]

Originally Posted by Dippy

why Audi can’t take the fight to Mercedes Benz and BMW and come out triumphs.

Well Auto Union now known as Audi have alway's been competitors to MB, Bugatti and Ferrari from the post ww2 era lets see how the car is accepted here... at least in Europe Audi has never been accepted as a status symbol equivalent to BMW or MB. But perceptions tend to change...

[ajmat]

Points to add:

One issue is that the steering is accurate but dead

Best way to view an Audi is in your rear view mirror - the squat stance as it overtakes you is pretty sexy IMHO

[Technocrat]

wow Dippy you lucky bum :P

Btw doesnt the Red display look gawdy ??

The three spoke steering wheel has a very chunky feel to it and gives you good grip.

Err Dippy Three spoke steering wheel or four spoke

[GTO]

I took the big left hander which leads towards Bandra Reclaimation from the Bandra Mahim junction at around 100 kmph upwards and the car was as solid as a rock. The handling is amazing for an FWD and I even managed to get the tail out.

RIPPED BY TEAM-BHP AGAIN!! Haha, awesome first impression.

GTO

[Dippy]

Err Dippy Three spoke steering wheel or four spoke

Oops error there ... corrected

Dippy

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Dippy

This way I really don’t why Audi can’t take the fight to Mercedes Benz and BMW and come out triumphs.

Attaboy Dippy! Way to go - I was one of the few who voted for the Audi in the poll where most people preferred the image of the Beemers, and I'm glad to have some company. The Audis are in a class of their own in recent times.

[Montoya]

Wonderful review there Dippy..

I dont think Audi can take the fight to the Mercs and BMWs since they have the name which people aspire to buy..

@ Mods, can we have stickers which say ripped by team-bhp so after the test drive we can gift them.. or even some cards will do??

By the way dippy are they avaialble for test drive??

[Dippy]

I dont think Audi can take the fight to the Mercs and BMWs since they have the name which people aspire to buy..

I really beg to differ buddy. I agree with you that Merc and BMW have been the cars Indians really aspire to own especially because of the popularity of these two marques and it will take some time to catch Mercedes ..after all they have quite a set up here. But the mind set of the people is changing and you will find it interesting to note : I know quite a few people who are finding the Audi much better than their Mercs and are giving away their Mercs and buying Audis. I wont comment on BMW since I dont have knowledge on the same.

Additionally I also know that Audis might be priced higher than the Mercs but if you see the attention to detail in the Audis you will know the reason for the higher price.

Apart from that in general the indian customer buys Merc for others ( the status it gives him) but then if you buy a car for your own satisfaction you buy the Audi

No offence meant to anyone .

Dippy

[Montoya]

Hey Dippy thats the problem indians look for status more. few are like you and me who would buy the Audi over the Mercs and BMW..for self satisfaction.. infact i hate Mercs so much that i wouldnot take it even for free not that any one is giving me.. but yeah i love the BMW 5 series.. so dippy when are we getting our test drive report on the BMW.. i am sure that will change your midset..LOL

[Beemer]

Great write up dippy .

Originally Posted by Dippy

Apart from that in general the indian customer buys Merc for others ( the status it gives him) but then if you buy a car for your own satisfaction you buy the Audi
Dippy

You are bang on the target . I ve seen people buying a merc instead of knowing that it is not trouble free and the service is very expensive , i spoke to one of the guys who was on his way to buy a merc and we nearly had a 20 minutes of conversation .
Firstly i thought he is just one of those guys who has the money but knowledge about cars but i was surprised when i saw that he had every bit of knowledge what we ve about the cars .

So i generally asked his thoughts about the brand audi and the answer he gave me **** who is gonna buy an audi for such money and when i asked him about the problems merc owners are facing , he said he knows about it but a merc is a merc and he can bear any cost to own a merc .

So as far as i know majority of indians still think this way and IMO it is gonna take a huge time for audi to give a fight to a merc in terms of sales .

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Beemer

Great write up dippy .




So i generally asked his thoughts about the brand audi and the answer he gave me **** who is gonna buy an audi for such money and when i asked him about the problems merc owners are facing , he said he knows about it but a merc is a merc and he can bear any cost to own a merc .

.

Foward wind to Malaysia - same thing - people prefer Mercs and BMW to Audi's which are assembled there

[Rtech]

Erm dippy, care to tell us how you managed to bag a test drive in the A6?

As regards the looks, I too was not a fan when i first saw the pictures, but seeing it in person sure changes ones perspective on things! However, I hate the design of that dashboard, looks very "Hyundai-ish" to me!

Overall, a great car, but I would still prefer the 5 series.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Foward wind to Malaysia - same thing - people prefer Mercs and BMW to Audi's which are assembled there

Malaysians prefer a Volvo over most marques other than the Merc and the Beemer. Some prefer a Volvo over a Merc, too - such is the power of that brand in that country. Here the Volvos I've seen are the taxis used by Emirates.

[Technocrat]

If I am not wrong then even in UK the Volvos have a bit of snob value (have seen Hugh Grant Boasting about his volvo in a movie )

correct me if i am wrong