Audi A6 Avant 1.9 TDI Review

It is sometimes said that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. I have always had a similar problem with the A6. To me it looks as though Audi called in about 8 members of their design team and gave them each a bit of the car to design. When they returned Hans had done the roof, Michael had done the bumpers, Rolf had done the doors etc and they just bolted all these bits together and there it was – the A6.

It was hardly a revolutionary new design the present Audi A4 and A6 are not fundamentally different from the 80 and 100 ranges they replaced. For me the A6 is not as elegant or as well proportioned as the 100 which preceded it. So starting from the point that the looks of the car don’t move me what about the rest of the car. I am grateful to a colleague who lent me his A6 1.9tdi Avant to test it.

Yes I did say a 1.9 tdi, yes, a car this big with a 110bhp diesel engine. To say acceleration is not brisk is an understatement. Admittedly once on the motorway speeds around the national limits are reasonably relaxing but overtaking or any manouevre needing an upward change of pace needs planning and probably a change down of gears.

Whilst the car is big on the outside you wonder after getting in what happened to it all. It felt so much like a reverse Tardis (the space inside seemingly too small for the size outside) it was like a magicians trick. I wanted to get out again and get back in slowly to marvel at how the space disappears. So you end up with a car that feels big on the road- an advantage sometimes yes but at other times certainly not - but is small inside.
Performance as I say is below class average and handling and ride are nothing special. Adequate but not as good as you would expect after shelling out £23k for it. Whilst the 1.9 diesel engine version provides a low-cost entry level car in the A6 range I think Audi would be better without it. It moves the car downmarket unnecessarily.

The A6 is probably a safe car – how safe my colleague perhaps did not want me to determine – and it is very reliable. Inside though the lack of room and dreary black interior were depressing, shame, I usually like Audi’s.

Key Features of the Audi A6 Avant 2.0 TDIe SE

Engine: 1896cc, 4-cylinder, turbo diesel
Gearbox: 6-speed manual
Max Power: 128bhp
Max Torque: 210lb
Max Towing Weight: 1,800kg
Combined Consumption: 45mpg
CO2 Emissions (tax band): 167g/km (H)
0-62mph: 10.4secs
Max speed: 125mph
Insurance group: 14

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