Audi A6 2.0 TFSI Review: Affluent German Technik

The all-black theme certainly exudes a certain degree of black opulence that will not date even after its COE lifespan ceases. By far, Audi has successfully matched the silver trimmings with the black interior - not excessively like some of its rivals.

Although it is an all plastic affair, you’ll be surprised to find it’s quality is unsurpassable and will, without a doubt, impress anyone who has a keen eye for details.

Open the boot of the A6 and strange things will start to happen. Look deep inside that carpeted black hole and you might start to feel like you are slowly being pulled in. Your sense of time becomes warped.

Don’t bother carrying your golf bags into the car – simply stand close to the rear bumper, and a vortex will just suck them right off your shoulder and straight into the boot. Exaggeration aside, it really IS huge, with an indicated, very useable luggage capacity of 546 litres.

Open the bonnet and you will find a 1,984cc Turbo FSI unit that powers the TT and Golf GTi. Together with the 7-speed Multitronic transmission, it produces a hearty 170bhp @ 4,300rpm. Torque figure stands at 280Nm @ 4,200rpm. On paper, the century sprint is achieved in only 8.7 seconds, but this is definitely worthy of a 2 litre turbo that finds itself housed inside a 1.6 tonne bodyshell.

It definitely is faster than the E200 and 523i, both which take just over 9 seconds. Storming down the expressway, you can leave the Continuously Variable Multitronic Transmission in “D” and leave everything else to run on its own. If you feel the urge to do a Villeneuve, chuck it into it’s 7-speed tiptronic mode and have all the fun you want.

Either way, the A6 itself is a well-refined car. It accelerates coherently through traffic, and it has lots of get up and go for the everyday road user. Be it the gridlocks of Orchard Road or just driving down the expressway, there’s no problem keeping up with traffic. The turbo spools up from as low as 1,800 rpm.

While you are moving though, it might take a while for you to get into the right gear and call up those horses should you be caught off guard.

Ride quality is on the firm side but is reasonably compliant and the suspension does a good job of soaking up large bumps without throwing the A6 off line. On twisty roads, the mid-range thrust gave a significant advantage to execute overtaking manoeuvre, especially on the exit of tight corners.

The 7-speed auto proves to be an ideal companion and does nothing to compromise the A6’s overall handling. Steering kick is minimal on bumpy surfaces too.

Road and wind noise are marvellously suppressed at highway speeds.

The Mercedes-Benz E200 looks classy. It is THE classic car of the “Towkay” past and present. That costs a full $180Gs and you get a 1.8-litre supercharged engine.

The BMW 523i favours the driver at heart with its front engined, rear driven layout and perfect handling dynamics. It’s popular without a doubt. Everyone who can afford it’s $200k price tag, and the thought of a yearly road tax of $2.3k has it. Maybe too many people…

Enter the A6 2.0 T, which is honestly, a fantastic proposition. It might be a front engined, front driven car, but it looses little in terms of everyday driving performance. There are some negligible flaws, but overcome it and you’ll realise that this car does make an attractive $170k, 2.0-litre turbocharged proposition.

Credits: Story and pictures by Azfar Hashim