Instrumented Test
The Audi A6 is currently our favorite mid-size luxury sedan. It’s really good. That’s particularly true of the brilliantly balanced 3.0T and the sportified S6 variant. But what about the price-leading A6 2.0T model? It’s the A6 that gives Audi dealers a banner-ad model to lure customers into dealerships with an attractive, sub-$50K price or an attractive monthly lease. Is it an unlovable bait-and-switch car, the type that each dealer stocks only one of on the lot? We strapped our equipment to one to find out.
Admittedly, our Ibis White test car with Nougat Brown leather was hardly bare-bones, thanks to the inclusion of the Premium Plus package that adds $3700 to the 2.0T Quattro’s $49,325 base price. That well-spent extra coin brings the A6 up to proper luxury-car snuff, adding navigation, the MMI infotainment system’s clever touch-pad input, parking assistance with a rear camera, a power-adjustable steering column, USB ports, auto-dimming heated exterior mirrors, a six-month subscription to Audi Connect services, and blind-spot monitors. A $900 warm-weather package and an $800 set of sweet 19-inch wheels with all-season rubber hiked the final tally to $54,725. We could imagine the A6 being just as nice without the fancy wheels and the warm-weather pack’s sunshades and four-zone automatic climate control, but the Premium Plus package seems more or less necessary, so consider $53,025 as the true price of entry, which is still notably less than the $58,325 starting point of the 3.0T model.
The real question is can we live without the A6 3.0T’s superior performance? In a recent test, the 2016 model, powered by a supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 with 333 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque, sprinted to 60 mph in just 4.6 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 13.3. With the 2.0T’s turbocharged four-cylinder producing a respectable 252 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque, it was a full 1.5 seconds slower to 60 and trailed the 3.0T by nearly the same amount at the quarter-mile mark. The 3.0T also sounds way better than this car’s smooth but bleating four-pot.
Of course, zero to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds isn’t exactly slow, but that’s achieved with a 3000-rpm brake-torqued launch. For real-world driving, this Audi’s 7.1-second 5-to-60-mph time is more telling—and reflects the approximate time required for the car to gather itself, downshift, and get the turbo spooling. Hence, we left the shifter in Sport mode for much of our time with the car in traffic-choked Los Angeles—which explains our ho-hum observed fuel economy of 21 mpg. Left in D, the time we waited for the engine to get to full boil had us missing lights and allowing car-lengths to stretch before us in stop-and-go congestion—spots that quickly filled with more alert drivers with decisive right feet (or perhaps naturally aspirated engines).
Our 2.0T trails significantly in handling and braking compared with the 3.0T, mustering an Altima-like 0.83 g of lateral grip and a 175-foot 70-to-zero braking figure versus the 3.0T’s 0.92 g and 156 feet. Chalk up some of that disparity to our 3.0T test car’s 20-inch wheels and low-profile (255/35) Pirelli P Zero performance tires. By our seat of the pants, however, the 2.0T felt entirely composed and firmly planted during a brisk charge up and down Angeles Crest and Angeles Forest Highways, which confirmed why this car is so beloved by our review staff. The steering is direct and beautifully weighted, if low on feel. And while the brakes didn’t generate impressive numbers, pedal feel and response are nearly perfect. It’s not hard to wonder what that prior 3.0T’s rolling stock would do for this car.
The rest of the A6 needs no help. All models received a midcycle refresh for 2016 that brought new head- and taillamps, a sharper grille, and revised bumpers. The interior changes are mild, and it can be argued that none were needed. The cabin remains the same, serene space it’s always been, with Audi’s signature craftsmanship and attention to detail.
The A6 has won no fewer than four comparison tests since 2009 and has scored a place on our 10Best Cars list multiple times. Given the A6’s overall excellence in the fields of technology and luxury, the lackluster performance and unsexy engine note of this 2.0T Quattro won’t do much to dampen our enjoyment of the model. Factor in the 2.0T’s attractive price—which, come to think of it, leaves some room in the budget for grippier tires—and it’s still a winner in our book.
