Avant guards the caviar

Audi's sales director clearly believes the marque is one of the ultra-premium brands. He certainly has big ideas of the A6 Avant.

"It's made to transport caviar and diamonds," said Ralph Weylet at the car's launch. Given that both are so small, one wonders why they bothered with the estate version at all. When it comes to Ireland in March the more likely cargo of the A6 Avant will range from surfboards to prams.

This is the fourth generation of the mid-range executive estate and along with the new trademark trapezoidal grille, it's also the first to sort out the roof rail issue on the car, this time incorporating them into the roof lines rather than leaving them exposed.

The car looks a far more imposing beast than its predecessor. It's longer and slightly wider, which makes the rear end seems demonstrably longer and more estate-like.

The boot in the new A6 Avant offers 565 litres with the rear seats up, 40 per cent up on its predecessor. With seats down it rises to 1,660 litres: 70 litres more.

The new car will come with six engine variants: three petrol and three TDi diesels. Worth noting is a new 2.7-litre TDi diesel offering 180bhp. It's a reworking of Audi's 3-litre TDi and features a top speed in the Avant of 225km/h, with a 0-100km/h time of 8.3 seconds. Combined fuel consumption is claimed to be 7L/100km.

Other power options on offer are: a 177bhp 2.4-litre V6 petrol; a 255bhp 3.2-litre V6 FSI; a 335bhp 4.2-litre V8 petrol; a 140bhp 2-litre TDi diesel; and a 225bhp 3-litre TDi diesel. All come with six-speed manual, six-speed tiptronic or automatic transmission. Sadly Audi has yet to crack a way of putting its brilliant Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) into anything other than transverse engines, so for now it's not an option on the A6.

Of those we tested - the 2-litre diesel was not available to us - the 2.4-litre petrol offered the right engine note and flexibility in its drive to live up to Audi's aspirations of being a fun drive. The 2.7-litre TDi is also a strong performer and Audi has clearly spent time reducing the diesel engine note.

Of course, the most fun we had was with the V8 4.2-litre petrol. There are no plans as yet for an S6 Avant, though undoubtedly it will be coming down the pipeline in the not too distant future. The 4.2 offers plenty of fun and thrills in the meantime.

A choice of front-wheel-drive or Quattro four-wheel-drive is available. In either guise the car feels poised and well balanced, despite the extra overhang. In some of the tight and twisting roads of the test route there was never any real sense of an estate. However, our major gripe with the A6 remains the rather numb steering feel.

The new A6 is available with adaptive air suspension. Its ability to adapt was put to the test as we rounded a corner during testing, only to discover a set of speed ramps worthy of a 1970s border checkpoint. To colourful cries from the front passenger we braced ourselves for the inevitable spine numbing jolt, but were pleasantly surprised at the sudden suppleness in the suspension which cushioned the blow and saved us all a trip to the chiropractor.

Much was made at the launch of a wash basin-like feature under the boot floor - to wash off dirty shoes before getting into the car, we were told. Sadly this mobile sink will not be a feature on Irish cars, sensibly replaced by a spare wheel.

The popularity of estates in Ireland remains limited. Sales of this new A6 Avant are expected to be about 50 next year - out of a total of about 400. Yet a look at continental sales reveals just why the car firms take them so seriously - in Germany for example, 57 per cent of A6 sales are the Avant.

Prices here start at €54,050 for the 2.4-litre petrol with manual transmission and front wheel drive. That's €2,800 up on the previous model.