# 12,000 round up of C6



## aj-badger (Jun 28, 2006)

I thought to help along the C6 group I though I would give you a review of my C6 now that I have covered 12000 miles in a little over 4 months.
I ordered they car late in 2006 and after a long wait (due to good A6 deals in the UK increasing the number of orders) it arrived at my door on a bright Saturday morning at the end of November. It was like being a kid at Christmas.








However my time with the car doesn’t really start until a month later, as after barely 80 miles, whilst taking my parents for a picturesque drive, the gearbox went bang (literally)







, leaving the car with no drive. Audi Assist took the car into the dealers and arranged for a loaner whilst it was being fixed (another A6). Fixing took a full month as a new gearbox had to be built and coded for the car in Germany. A real downer of a way to start living with a new car, but Audi handled it well and gave me a free service for my trouble.
I got the car back just before Christmas and it didn’t take very long to forgive it.








My car is a A6 Avant 2.7TDI S-Line Multitronic, which means FWD only. This turns out to not be much of an issue as most of my mileage these days is cruising on the motorway. Specification wise I went for Lux Pack (Gets Full Leather, Heated Seats, rear Parking Sensors), Comms Pack 2(MMI High, CD Changer DVD Sat Nav – which includes Colour DIS and GSM Phone Prep), DAB Radio and storage Pack. Black with Black Leather. 
The interior is up to usual Audi standards, and coming from a C5 you can see the influences, but with the MMI controls being around the gear lever, the centre of the dash initially looks a little strange (no radio), but you soon get over that. MMI is very easy to use, maybe a bit like getting used to a new Nokia Mobile phone – you know the concepts, but take a while to instinctively press the buttons. Overall I think it’s a great concept, the combination of the colour DIS and the 7” screen is great. The Nav, phone, CD (including MP3 Playback as the car was built after Nov 06) and Radio are all very easy to control without having to feel for buttons.
Driving the car takes a little time to get used to as well. The gearbox being a CVT auto does not allow the car to rev like a normal auto. Move off in D gently and the revs stay at about 1300 – 1500rpm and the gearbox changes the gearing continuously to allow the speed to increase. A strange sensation at first, but the engine is quiet (quiet compared to a petrol, not just a diesel) so at these speeds you don’t notice the revs not changing and after a while you realise that your easily keeping up with traffic without every going over 1500rpm. Around town this makes for a very smooth ride, you’re never caught in the wrong gear and the engine torque is maximised wherever possible. After the initial running in period I found that I still was not venturing above 2000 rpm, unless I really wanted to “make progress”. On the open road 70 mph is about 1900 rpm which is also the start of the torque “plateau” of the 2.7TDI, so even in D a prod on the throttle means the car jumps away (no pausing for the gearbox to kick down) and leaves a few surprised sports car drivers. I had to set the speed warning at 100 mph as it does not take much to get there from 70mph. This low reving easy going nature is great for a relaxed cruise and means I generally get over 40mpg. Earlier in the year we took the car to France and drove the length of France in 1 day to return home. 4 people, plenty of luggage 90mph cruising gave 40.9mpg. I’ve seen 47mpg on a easy going drive (but with real world traffic conditions). Overall in the last 12000 miles the car has averaged 36.9mpg over all conditions.
To get even more performance from the car you can select sport mode on the gearbox. This gives you 7 fixed gear ratios that are slightly shorter than those in normal tiptronic mode. Here’s where the car really seems to get up and go (with the engine emitting a gruff 6 cylinder howl). The 18” S-Lines and Pirrelli P-Zeros generate plenty of grip, the firm suspension manages roll nicely, and it certainly can hustle for a big car. I live near the Peak District in the UK which has some very nice driving roads so I can certainly vouch for it’s abilities. OK it’s no GTI, but with plenty of torque and quick steering it will gives a good account of itself. Talking of steering, my wife had a Volvo V70 which is about the same size, the A6 has so much more lock that I can turn a full 360 in the road outside our house whereas the wife had to stop and reverse. This makes placing the car easy on the tighter of the UK roads and parking a breeze.
Living with the car has been easy, I’ve averaged around 750 miles per week, and most weeks I only travel 1 or 2 days. It’s proved itself comfortable and a nice place to be in. The AC is excellent (as you would expect), all controls are well placed and easy to use. There’s plenty of room for luggage and passengers, and simple things like the cup holder is well placed, the mirrors give a good view and the radio reception is very good.
After 12000 miles it still looks as good as new, nothing has fallen off (gearbox aside) and no squeaks or rattles have appeared.
I’m a happy owner, now and again whilst accelerating hard out of damp junctions and the like I wonder if Quattro would be a better solution (though it hits the fuel consumption and you don’t get the excellent multitronic box) and you can never have too much power so I wonder about the 3.0 TDI (or dream about the upcoming RS6). Truth be told though when I’ve got a 250 mile journey ahead of me the drive is still a pleasant part of the day, and I always arrive without aches, ready for business and looking forward to doing it again on the return.


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## gianton (Aug 8, 2006)

*Re: 12,000 round up of C6 (aj-badger)*

Great review m8! Can't wait till mine arrives (2.0 TFSI Multitronic)! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## carman63 (Mar 20, 2007)

Nice write-up! I wish we had the diesel option in the US. But my FWD 3.2 gets about 32mpg on the highway, with about 26-27 mpg in mixed driving. That's actually about the same that I get in my GTI, unless I really get on the throttle


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## MrBroon (Apr 18, 2007)

Great review... 
Does anyone know when the 2008 UK model year for A6's will start and if there are any new additions or changes to specification?
Regards,
Jim.


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