1 year ago

Wads on Sportscars: Audi RS6

I borrowed an Audi RS6 Avant for a few days in April, so thought some of you may like a quick review.

I'll start with the interior because thats easy. The RS6 has a typically well finished Audi interior with lots of Carbon Fibre panels/inserts and leather in all the right places. The Audi range of interiors are different between the S & RS models but all have a familiar special feeling. All buttons that need illumination have nice red/white LED lights (I think I described the S5 as being like a Christmas tree as it had so many little lights in the cabin).

BMW, Porsche and Merc still have some way to go to match the quality and feel of the Audis cockpit. At least with an Audi RS model you know that you'll be getting some nice carbon fibre trim compared to a standard model while an M3 has virtually the same interior as the lowest model in the range!

Other point to note from the inside of the car is the sat nav screen - good size and very clear to look at. When it comes to functionality I have to admit I didn't bother trying to program it so can't say if its good or not, although, I would guess it would be well executed and better than my M3s system! The stereo seemed extremely good to my ears, but again, I made more use of listening to the open windows and V10 than the 10+?? Bose speaker system.

Luxury features. Before I move on to the interesting bit I'll just mention that I was quite impressed by some of the features Audi have packed into this car (and probably into others in the range). Things like auto lights and wipers are nothing new but I've not personally driven a car that has an automatic opening and closing trunk/boot lid. Also, a first, in cars I've tested, were the auto close doors. These don't open and close with the press of a button like the boot lid, but if you just lightly pull/push the door shut, servos kick in to smoothly close it fully so there is no more chance of driving off with a partially open door.

I'm not sure if its by design but the engine looks like a raging bull with its pale metal intake "horns"

Now then... What about the Lambo V10 5 litre twin turbo lurking under the hood? 575bhp and 479lbft is by far the most powerful car I've managed to borrow for testing on the road (only beaten by the Merc SL65s 607bhp which I tested on track), so I was quite excited by the prospect and at the same time worried for the health of my driving licence (a friend managed to get a speeding ban when he borrowed an S4 saloon recently). Opening the bonnet reveals the impressive looking engine with nice RS and V10 badging on showy carbon fibre plates, I'm not sure if its by design but the engine looks like a raging bull with its pale metal intake "horns".

Starting the engine results in a low throbbing burble - more V8 than V10 to my ear. In fact, it sounds more V8 than the C5 RS6 I drove a few years ago which actually is a V8! Revving the motor gives a good growl but everything is quite restrained and on the quiet side (if you've read a few of my other reviews you'll know that I like cars to be loud and proud) - nothing like as noisy as the same engine when sitting in a Lambo. Anyway I recorded the engine and exhaust so if you turn the volume up when watching the video you'll get some idea of what it sounds like.

A stab of the gas results in almost instant acceleration and brutal butt-kicking acceleration at that!

Out on the road the first thing that becomes clear is how immediate the power delivery is. As long as you are over 1500 rpm, a stab of the gas results in almost instant acceleration and brutal butt-kicking acceleration at that! The automatic box (7 speeds unless my memory is playing tricks) kicks down very quickly and smoothly when requested to offer up the fastest possible go. Leaving the car in full auto gives you a smooth and responsive transmission that does the job very well. Switching to the steering wheel paddle shifters swaps you to manual mode for a little more interaction. I preferred manual mode for most of the time I had the car, but as the feel is much the same as full auto, I suspect over time the appeal of the manual shifts may wear off. Full throttle upshifts happen quickly with a minor pause in acceleration between gears, engine and exhaust note builds to a nice level but, as hinted at before, it was still too quiet for me. Sound wise the V10 and exhaust combine into a throbbing old school muscle car type of tune compared to the BMW M5s V10 which is far more industrial and harsh in its tone.

When overtaking, it is best to move out well before hitting the gas to make sure you don't rear end the hapless victim of the manoeuvre!

Standing starts in the RS6 are blisteringly quick and totally without drama. I couldn't find a way of getting the revs to rise before launching, so a fast take off simply involves mashing the gas to the floor and holding on. The revs build steadily and forward thrust keeps coming right up until just before the red line.

Out on track my best 0-60mph run was dispatched in 4.2 seconds (4.3 to 62mph/100kph) with 100 following in just 9.5 seconds (0.2 sec quicker than the M5 in similar conditions). Even more impressive was the 30-70mph time of 3.3 seconds - the fastest I've ever tested. For comparison, the M5 takes 3.5, the Aston DB9 4.2, M3 4.0 and VXR-8 in 5.8. The overtaking power this car has is truly impressive, but the suddenness of the acceleration when you floor it needs to be treated carefully as you hit warp speed before you know it. When overtaking, it is best to move out well before hitting the gas to make sure you don't rear end the hapless victim of the manoeuvre!

Handling wise the big Audi does a great job of hiding its bulk and this C6 model seemed much more agile and controlled than the previous C5 RS6 which I remember being a bit poor when it came to corners. The new model comes equipped with an adaptive suspension setup with three modes - "comfort", "sport" and "dynamic". "Comfort" is just as you'd expect and gives the car a very supply ride allowing all but the most bumpy of roads to feel smooth as silk. Sport mode is a very firm affair and if anything a bit too much for poor British roads as both driver and passengers end up jiggling with every bump (not a bad thing if the passenger is female)...

It wouldn't keep up with a Cayman S in the twisties but once onto a straight the RS would soon be back on its tail and probably sail past before the next bend.

Dynamic mode offers the best of both worlds and would be my mode of choice 99% of the time. In said mode the car turns in well and corners with a moderate hint of body roll. For such a large car, the RS allows you to push through bends with impressive speed and control. Ok it wouldn't keep up with a Cayman S in the twisties but once onto a straight the RS would soon be back on its tail and probably sail past before the next bend.

I didn't feel any interference from the traction control system at any point which either means its very clever or that the grip and traction in the dry are so good that you'd have to be really silly to trigger the electronic aids. I did turn TC off one morning and quickly found that with cold tyres on a cold road its easy to provoke the car into a 4 wheel drift when over doing the power mid turn - fun but not worth the risk for normal driving so TC should probably remain on most of the time.

As usual I didn't push the brakes too hard on the open road as super fast braking is more likely to upset other road users than a little over-use of the gas pedal. Needless to say they were very good and looking at the size of the discs I'd suspect they could even handle a bit of track work without fading too quickly (not that you'll see many RS6s on track!).

One final thing to mention was that I thought that the RS6 was/is a relatively rare sight on the UK road but in the few days I had the car I saw no less than four other identical cars (different colours) and three of those I ended up in close formation with!

Oh, final final word - fuel and miles per gallon... I managed an average of 14mpg (UK mpg) which isn't too bad considering the power on offer although that did mean 20 pounds/day on fuel, which would get a bit much if I did many miles a year.