Audi's A6 offers subtle virtues

February 14, 2009|Kelsey Mays, Cars.com

Audi impressed me last summer with its redesigned compact A4 - a rare intersection of elegance and driver-friendliness among entry-level luxury cars - but I can't get fired up about the A4's larger sibling, the midsize A6. The elder Audi has no shortage of clever innovations, and its styling is vintage Audi: unassuming at first, then desirable in all its subtleties a day or two later. Alas, for a number of reasons - most of them related to the driving experience - it can't combine driving thrills with cabin quality like a number of its competitors do.

The A6's last full redesign was for the 2005 model year, so 2009 brings a number of late-cycle updates: new lights, revised equipment packages, tweaked underpinnings and a new supercharged 3.0-liter V-6. The supercharged six, included on the inaptly named A6 3.0T - in Audi parlance, "T" normally stands for turbocharging - comes with standard Quattro all-wheel drive in both sedan and wagon body styles.

New on the sedan this year are wider taillights that closely resemble those on the A4 sedan and A5 coupe. Premium trims get 17-inch alloy wheels, while Premium Plus and Prestige editions add 18-inchers, silver exterior trim, and LED daytime running lamps, similar to those offered on the A4 and Audi's R8 supercar.

On most trims, you'll have to push a button on the key fob to unlock the doors; only the Prestige includes keyless access, with a remote that stays in your pocket and push-button ignition.

Audi's latest direct-injection engines aren't lacking for low-end power, so you won't have to wait until higher revs before the cavalry arrives. The A6 3.0T is no different: Rated at 300 horsepower and 310 pounds-feet of torque its supercharged V-6 delivers surefooted thrust whether you're passing trucks on the interstate or overtaking slower traffic before your lane runs out. It feels more authoritative, especially at the low end, than Infiniti's M35 or Cadillac's V-6 STS; I drove a Jaguar XF a few days after testing the A6, and its V-8 couldn't deliver the same low-end power. Despite the all-wheel-drive A6 3.0T's hefty curb weight - 4,123 pounds - Audi says it hits 60 miles per hour in 5.9 seconds, a figure that beats the Mercedes-Benz E350 and nearly ties the Lexus GS 350 and BMW's twin-turbo 535i.