CAR magazine UK's C6 Audi RS6 Avant review – what the 2000s super estate is like to drive in 2023. Full road test, specs, prices and a verdict you can trust
You know how a jet plane feels when it accelerates down a runway? That inexorable, unstoppable surge as it barrels up to take-off speed. There’s a similar feeling here. Get past 2,500rpm above third gear and the car gathers speed at a frankly astonishing rate. It feels inexorable, unstoppable.Audi wasn’t the first manufacturer to launch a fast executive estate with a turn of speed big enough to worry serious sports cars. BMW and Mercedes got there first with the E34 M5 Touring and W210 E55 AMG.
The C5 RS6 became the car of choice for the sort of people who blast down to ski resorts at a moment’s notice – and London gangsters, if the film Layer Cake is to be believed. But Audi’s rivals didn’t rest on their laurels. A new generation of E55 AMG arrived with a bonkers supercharged engine, then BMW launched the epochal, V10-powered, 500hp E61 M5 Touring.Audi had to respond and, after a hiatus of four years, launched a new RS6 Avant in 2008. But it didn’t merely respond. It went quite mad.
We borrowed what’s possibly the best example in the country from Audi UK’s heritage fleet. It’s done less than 20,000 miles from new, it’s in absolute immaculate condition. It’s as close to a brand-new C6 RS6 as you’re likely to find.The C6-gen A6 wasn’t much of a looker, but there was a smooth sophistication to its styling. For the RS6, it was pumped up with boxy wheelarch extensions, beefier bumpers and a bigger front grille.
Get going. Bimbling around town, it’s surprisingly easy-going. It trickles along on a light throttle, the six-speed automatic gearbox shifts smoothly, it’s quiet and comfy. It’s big though, especially in the narrow streets where I live. I had to stop and breath in to let traffic through. And good lord, the steering’s heavy.
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