Audi has dramatically cut the fuel consumption of some of its big-selling A6 cars by more than 20 per cent thanks to several new engines and transmissions.
Headlined by a TDI Ultra with just 4.2 litres/100km of combined fuel consumption, the A6 is also about to score a facelift to brighten its conservative styling.
With the death of the continuously variable transmission in the Multitronic models, Audi has introduced an all-new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, dubbed S-Tronic, to sit inside the front-drive A6 models, leaving the eight-speed automatic for the all-wheel drive quattro variants. Another all-new A6 gearbox, the six-speed manual, will find work in the lower-powered front-drivers.
With its key rivals (the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the BMW 5-Series) also in full cycle swing, Audi's standard European A6 range will arrive with three TFSI petrol engines, five turbo diesels, plus the biturbo 4.0-litre V8 in both the S6 and the RS6.
Upgraded diesel The bottom of the petrol engine range begins at 140kW and stretches to 245kW, while the upgraded diesel family begins at 110kW and moves up to 240kW.
The spread of Audi’s Ultra badge for its most frugal models continues, with two A6 Ultra models. Powered by a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder TDI, the most economical of them still has 110kW of power but manages 4.2 litres/100km on the NEDC cycle, which translates to just 109 grams/km of CO2 emissions. Audi also has a petrol-engined Ultra powered by a 1.8-litre TFSI turbo motor and delivering 5.7 litres/100km.
It isn’t just a fuel-sipper engine, though, because Audi even fits the Ultra models with glass-fibre reinforced polymer springs to save 4.4kg over the standard steel units, helping pull the weight down to 1,535kg.
But the freshen-up has gathered in not just the bottom end of the A6 range, but the top end as well. The 3.0-litre turbocharged TFSI petrol motor has had a significant overhaul in terms of both power and smoothness, as has the 3.0-litre TDI and the 3.0-litre biturbo diesel.
Now with 245kW, the 3.0-litre TFSI is claimed to be more economical than before, and Audi insists its noise, vibration and harshness signatures are far lower, too.
The 3.0-litre TDI now comes with either 160kW or 200kW of power, while the standard biturbo version stretches up to 235kW. There’s an even stronger version of the biturbo diesel, though, with a 240kW standard power output that can be briefly boosted up to 255kW for the special edition Competition versions of the A6 3.0 TDI.
The highest-performing diesels score the eight-speed automatic transmission while all others use the seven-speed dual-clutch unit; Audi also makes the Sport differential optional on all quattro models with more than 200kW.
Hero cars The S6 and RS6 models remain the hero cars, though, with the V8 in the S6 still producing 331kW of power to launch it to 100km/h in just 4.4 seconds, even though it uses 9.2 litres/100km on the NEDC cycle.If you want to go faster, you still need an RS6 Avant, with 412kW from what is essentially the same motor as the S6’s cylinder-on-demand V8 – that’s enough to sling past 100km/h in 3.9 seconds on its way to a 305km/h top speed.
The switchable Drive Select system, which enables drivers to chop between comfort, automatic and dynamic settings, is standard, while there are two sport suspensions and an adaptive air suspension system as options.
The visual revisions centre around a freshen-up of the single-frame Audi grille to bring it more into line with the TT’s new family face, and the headlights, air inlets, bumpers, taillights and exhaust tips are all new. The headlights adopt Audi’s slick dynamic turn indicators, which grow in a line with each illumination, and both LED and Matrix LED headlights are optional.
The cabin of the refreshed A6 has Audi’s latest software, driven by the ultra-fast Tegra 30 graphics chip to power the range-topping MMI navigation plus system for the retractable eight-inch screen.
While the A6 continues with safety systems like adaptive cruise, a blind-spot system and an optional night-vision assistant and head-up display, it now fits the pre-sense safety system as standard equipment.
