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Aug 25, 2009
Car and Driver Reviews the Audi A6
"Five at Fifty"
By John Phillips, Car and Driver September 2009
2009 Audi A6 3.0T
Audi's
* quattro® The Full Compliment of speed, luxury and prestige
"At the conclusion of comparos, we sometimes ask, "If you had to drive from New York to L.A. tomorrow, which car would you choose?" It's a tricky question because traits we sometimes underestimate suddenly take on greater weight: ride, visibility, fuel economy, tank size, number of 12-volt outlets, even all-wheel drive, which could come in handy, say, just west of Denver. Here's how we landed on the issue: One vote for Benz, four for the Audi."
"Throttle tip-in is deceptively gentle, but if you keep your right foot extended, there's a contained explosion–your lucky day, punk–when the tach and speedo converge on 25. That's when the A6 leaps like a startled ferret. Check out the 2.8-second 30-to-50-mph report. Even the two V-8-powered cars can't match that. Thing is, it isn't the quantity of power that's so impressive as the ease with which it's accessed."
"All-wheel drive requires extra hardware and weight, but we were incredulous that this was the heaviest car in the group. It feels ever light, nimble, agile, balanced, and willing. Much of the greatness can be credited to the steering, which surpasses the BMW's because it is so much lighter–a boon in parking lots–and is also better at revealing road textures. Bonus kudos to the
A vehicle's brakes must be matched to its power, weight, and top speed.
* Brakes tied with the BMW's for best feel.
Body motions are expertly controlled, yet the ride is as compliant as the Jag's.
*
See 4-link front suspension, 4-link rear suspension, dynamic suspension, stabilizer bar, and trapezoidal-link rear suspension.
The Audi Further endeared itself with transmission that, in manual mode, was prescient about adapting to the driver's inputs. It held onto gears rather than upshifting mid-turn, and it kicked down with machine-gun rapidity. We flicked at the paddles and slapped at the manumatic. But in the backcountry, simply leaving the shifter to do its own thing in sport mode proved scary fast around our 15-mile Hocking Ring. We didn't record lap times–hey, it's a public road–but all five voters agreed that the Audi was on the pole."
"The full complement of speed, luxury, and prestige. Or, as associate editor "Tall" Jared Gall called it: 'Comfy without being cushy, sporty without being aggressive.'"