"Boys. All they care about is who's got the biggest engine."
This statement made by Nathalie Kelley in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift struck a chord when we drove Audi's latest A6 3.0 TFSI quattro S-tronic.
This range-topping A6 packs almost twice the power of its 1.8 TFSI Ultra S-tronic sibling and costs $114,100 (as of 12th October 2015) more than the latter. Aside from the obvious difference in power and drivetrain, how much more car are you really getting for the cost?
Up close and Personal
Being the most performance-oriented member of the A6 lineup, the car had to look the part and it does so with quattro GmbH's 'S line' kit. Like a RubberB strap on a Rolex Submariner, the kit beautifully adds a smidge of sportiness and emotional appeal to the otherwise business-looking A6.
The aggressiveness of the kit is complemented by the A6's futuristic head lights with Matrix LED technology - a suave feature that is standard across the A6 range.
Although subtle, the 'S line' comestic upgrades on the A6 give you an added reason to glance twice over your shoulder as you walk away from it.
In place of the wooden interior panels in the 1.8-litre variant we drove are sleek glossy black ones that remind you of the car's sporty proposition. To the left of the dashboard, a nicely-fitted quattro badge proudly reiterates that fact.
In this 3.0-litre A6, the front seats are equipped with integrated air-conditioning and the dash features a head-up display - pretty useful during spirited driving.
The Drive
If the 'S line' kit isn't enough to tug at your heartstrings, the performance capabilities of the A6's 3.0-litre supercharged V6 engine should do the job.
It doesn't have that characteristic 'purry' V6 note but it sends the car on a century sprint in just 5.1 seconds. We took the A6 out to dinner with a friend who knew close to nothing about cars and when we gave the car a fair bit of throttle input, his instant reaction was, "What the hell? Isn't this some sort of family car?"
Power is delivered from the engine via Audi's silky smooth, seven-speed S-tronic transmission and behaviour of the engine, transmission and steering are adjustable using the multi-mode Audi drive select.
For the most part, Auto mode is sufficient to have you driving with gusto but for a bigger grin on your face, Dynamic mode enlivens the powertrain and hefts the steering, adding confidence and stability when blasting through a bend.
If the 'S line' kit isn't enough to tug at your heartstrings, the performance capabilities of the A6's 3.0-litre supercharged V6 engine should do the job.
It doesn't have that characteristic 'purry' V6 note but it sends the car on a century sprint in just 5.1 seconds. We took the A6 out to dinner with a friend who knew close to nothing about cars and when we gave the car a fair bit of throttle input, his instant reaction was, "What the hell? Isn't this some sort of family car?"
Power is delivered from the engine via Audi's silky smooth, seven-speed S-tronic transmission and behaviour of the engine, transmission and steering are adjustable using the multi-mode Audi drive select.
For the most part, Auto mode is sufficient to have you driving with gusto but for a bigger grin on your face, Dynamic mode enlivens the powertrain and hefts the steering, adding confidence and stability when blasting through a bend.
In Comfort mode, power delivery is forgiving and the steering is welterweighted. If you're a little picky with the settings, you can alter the engine, gearbox, steering and sport differential indivdually using the aptly named Individual mode.
Thanks to the quattro (all-wheel drive) system and a clever sport differential, the A6 is planted and grips through corners well even with full throttle. Ride quality is a little on the stiff side but it's an incredibly small sacrifice of comfort for the car's handling capabilities.
Conclusion
Although the 1.80litre A6 is quick enough on its feet and handles well enough even for the most enthusiastic of daily drivers, the bigger 3.0-litre variant here is the go-to variant if you do care about a bigger engine and bigger performance. After all, a little more power never hurts anybody.
What may hurt, though, is the $359,900 (as of 12th October 2015) ticket that will come along with the fun.
