Audi A6 Avant 3.0 TDI quattro tiptronic Review: Santa's perfect sleigh

What we like:

Awesome performance off the line coupled with the monumental torque that will leave most performance cars waning (and their owners wailing). Top notch interior build quality and a rumbling exhaust note that will make even petrol cars green with envy.

What we dislike:

Steering weight is a little lighter than we’d like in something with this much performance.

Push harder in a tight bend and you’ll feel the quattro grip even harder. No doubt helped by the large footprint of the 20 inch tires.

Torque comes in from as low as 1,450rpm which launches the car off the line nicely. The car shifts swiftly through the gears and doesn’t suffer any lapse in acceleration as the twin turbos keep the revs up in the optimal range all the way up to the limiter. Something that is very profound with the Audi Drive Select in ‘Dynamic’ mode.

In ‘Sport’ mode, an ‘actuator’ in the exhaust transforms the diesel into a rumbling beast that will see lesser cars cower in its presence. A strange but welcomed development for a diesel.

Large Audi Avants have been outstripping performance cars for generations but for an oil burning A6 to achieve this level of performance is impressive.

One need not feel guilty when extracting all that performance because for its fire and brimstone agility, the V6 bi-turbo unit is frugal. Despite our constant flogging, the car still reported a rather surprising 11km/L. This is one family runaround that will find fit association in any supercar garage.

Credits: Story and Photos by Benjamin G. Kline