If you don’t like wagons, you can’t call yourself a true diehard automotive enthusiast. Think about it! All the performance of a sedan but with more room for stuff. Audi knows people still want the long roof and therefore, they’ve given us a new and updated A6 Avant. It’s now a mild hybrid, but don’t be too upset, this one looks good.
Hybrids are coming to everything, and this A6 Avant comes equipped with a mild hybrid with a 48-volt system to improve efficiency. In conjunction with a 2.0L TDI four-cylinder, you’ll see 5.0-5.7 liters per 100km (41.3-47.0 miles per gallon) and with the 3.0 TFSI six cylinder it comes down to 6.9-7.8 liters per 100km (30.2-34.1 miles per gallon). That’s quite the bump in efficiency from a car we know was far heavier than the old TDI cars we remembered getting better numbers. Power is rated at 150 kW (201 horsepower) for the 2.0 TDI and 270 kW (362 horsepower) for the 3.0 TFSI.
While the numbers for the TDI aren’t exactly mind blowing, the fact that the car has a neat trick to give you a boost. The mild hybrid system has three parts: 48-volt battery, belt alternator starter and the powertrain generator (PTG). The PTG (aka: electric motor) allows silent parking and slow speed driving. But it also allows an 18-kW (24 horsepower) boost of power when starting from a standstill or overtaking. When under deceleration, the same system can recover up to 25 kW of juice for the battery.
Where the A6 Avant is going to keep your attention is with the options and could keep you interested for years. First off, they’ve got adaptive air suspension available. Second, all-wheel steering is optional with the all-wheel drive that allows up to five degrees of steering in the opposite direction. But they’ve also updated the standard progressive steering with a new torsion bar, stiffened the steering rack, and fitted stiffer control arm bushings. Feedback and response is said to be improved, especially in high-performance driving.
Inside they’ve made updates and included an adjustable panoramic glass roof able to switch between a light-flooded interior and shading. Bang and Olufsen bring the tunes with speakers in the headrests. Four zone climate control is optional, and even an air quality package with an ionizer and fine dust sensor. Pricing starts at 58,000 Euros ($62,587 / 229,772 AED).
Cheers!
M. T. Blake
Awaiting the RS cars now!