2013 Audi RS6 Avant review

What is it?  The new Audi RS6 Avant, a lighter, faster, but less powerful version of the iconic warp-factor wagon. It’s still got two turbos, but the cylinder count has shrunk from ten to eight. Technical highlights?  COD might sound a little fishy, but it actually stands for Cylinder-on-Demand technology, which shuts down the inlet and exhaust valves of cylinders two, three, five and eight when you’re driving slowly. This ability to run as a four-cylinder has helped the RS6 record an impressive 28.8mpg on the combined cycle and the switch from four to eight cylinders is imperceptible. What’s it like to drive?  Fast. And big. Both of which you could probably have guessed. The grip it generates is quite astounding and it seems to reel in the horizon at an unhinged rate of knots, but while the experience is deeply impressive and occasionally mentally unsettling it’s not terribly interactive. You just have to try to keep up. It’s fitted with Audi’s excellent Sport Differential, and you can feel it working and gently pushing the tail round if you get on the power early in a corner, but that tail feels a long way behind you and the effect isn’t as pronounced as in smaller models. The new RS6 is the first RS model to have adaptive air suspension (which will be standard on the UK models) but all the cars on the launch were equipped with the optional steel sprung ‘sports suspension plus’ setup. You can delve into the MMI settings and switch the suspension between Comfort and Dynamic modes, but given that the Dynamic mode felt too stiff and bumpy on essentially pristine German roads, you can guarantee it won’t work anywhere in the UK. Unless you plan on taking your RS6 Avant to trackdays… If you do venture onto a track then it might be wise to fit the monstrous 420mm carbon ceramic brakes, which did a reassuringly good job of hauling speed off when we had a brief run up and down a stretch of Autobahn. And to be honest, charging down the outside lane of de-restricted motorway is exactly where the RS6 feels happiest. How does it compare?  If you’re in the market for an RS6, BMW M5 or Mercedes E63 AMG, then it really all comes down to the driving experience, because all three have (near as damn it) the same price, power, torque, fuel economy and top speed. They’ve all got twin-turbo V8s behind their respective grilles too. The Audi does steal a march with its quattro-assisted 0-62mph time, being the only one to dip under four seconds, but we’ll need a group test to pick our favourite. I suspect it will be rear-wheel drive though… Anything else I should know?

Make sure you specify the optional Sports Exhaust because it brings out much more of the V8 soundtrack. If you plan on spending much time on the Autobahn (or Bruntingthorpe) you can also spec a Dynamic package that will increase the top speed to 174mph, or a Dynamic Plus package that will raise the v-max further still to 189mph.

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Specifications