One of my friends purchased a new Audi A6 recently and has always been bragging about how great of a car it is, so last night I took it for a spin and had these initial impressions.

Its a good looking sedan
The technology is nice and all controls were very friendly
The interior was of great quality (although the leather was not as nice as the Dakota)
The driving feel and personality are quite bland when compared to an E60
The check engine light was on and the car only has 3k miles

The car is a very nice sedan, but is by no means a BMW. Just my 2 cents!

 

Agreed Have you let this friend drive your E60?

 

NO NO....lol, if you let him drive your E60, he will forever regret his purchase....

 

I agree the A6 is an excellent looking car. I had 5 Audis in the past and feel partial to the brand. I actually thought it was going to be next car, replacing my X5. I instead opted for the 530i.

IMHO, the A6 looks great and comes across as more luxurious than the 5 series. The new engine is the most significant improvement, but steering remains light. Overall, the car does everything fine, but lacks the cohesivesness of the 5 series. For me, the 5 series is a fun car to drive.

Audi is also trying to push their cars upmarket, narrowing their discount to BMW. While you can understand their strategy, I think they should have been less aggressive in closing the pricing gap. As it is now, leasing an A6 is just a bad value, reflecting their low residuals. I also not confident their residual performance will improve significantly given their dealer infastructure, marketing and historical propensity to subvent when demand cools. If Audi offers a subvented lease early in the car's life cycle, I can't see any long-term improvement in their residual performamance (and leasing is important in the luxury market market). I'm not sure what the answer is, but I was hoping for an A6 that was a better value and more fun-to-drive.

PS - I am finally picking up my tomorrow.

 

I tested the A6 4.2 before settling on my 545. I agree it's a solid car but for me, once I had driven the 545 (I tested the Audi first) there was no comparison. One of the surprises for me was the A6 interior - I did a lot of research before testing the cars and repeatedly Audi gets praise for its interiors. When I tested the car, I just thought it was bland and didn't look like a 50K car. Good ergonomics, but it didn't feel all that special. Just shows you the thing about preconceptions - I had expected great things from the A6 interior and was disappointed and based on initial research had thought the E60 interior would not be a strong point but really liked it - for me it's better than the A6 plus the Audi MMI is (I think) inferior to iDrive. Taught me the lesson to never believe what you read in the motor magazines until you've taken a look for yourself.

 

The new S-line A6 looks good (I don't know if you get the S-line sport models in the US) but it still drives like an Audi i.e. uninvolving handling. A good A to B car but not one you'd seek out challenging roads in or go out for a drive in just for the thrill of it IMHO.

 

He actually went from 2001 540i (non-sport) to the A6 and he still prefers the Audi (his is only the 3.2L). The steering was pretty numb compared to the E60 and it definately did not handle as well as the E60s. The whole car just seemed to lack personality in comparison. I know there are so many mixed emotions about the design of the E60, but I love the fact that it sticks out from more conservative designs like the A6.

I am first in line at my dealership to special order a 530xi when the pricing becomes available, so I will be sure to let him drive my E60 when it comes around. I think he bought the Audi because of the Quattro. I know he has not driven an E60 so he may be regretting his decision then.

 

I used to have a 1999 A6 for 4 years, and loved it. It was a smooth, albeit uninspiring car. The fit and finish, seating material...etc was all world-class caliber.

My only major gripe about the A6 is its poor resale value. I imagine that as Audi improves its image, the resale value will rise.

I would definitely choose the A6 over the comparable Mercedes E class.

 

the A6 drives smooth as butter - you have way less "road feel" - less of a sporty interaction with the road. driving style wise i'd compare the A6 to the feel of the latest S class (M - whereas the e60 gives you more feed back from the road & the steering is harder.

 

Steering harder keep car more stable at high speed.