2015 Audi A6 First Drive Road Test Review

All around you get Adaptive Air suspension like you get higher up in the Audi range. It’s all a trickle down technology.  So now the A6 is much more comfortable and with a slightly modified chassis design with changes in materials and improving strength, the car while being more focused on comfort, it feel s steady but as it is long and heavy, it isn’t quite as agile it’s still biased towards comfort which just hits the spot.

There are 3 driving modes (Audi Drive Select), ‘Comfort’, which makes everything all soft and squishy. The ‘Auto’ mode changes the dynamics of the transmission, steering and suspension according to the drivers driving style and ‘Dynamic’ which firms everything up, adds weight to the steering and quickens up gear changes. The steering is electric and even in full “Dynamic” setting it just gets heavier but no changes in feedback. It’s probably the only thing I feel that could improve on the car. The Achilles heel is the front wheel drive system. While its competitors offer rear wheel driven sedans in the segment, the current A6 matrix is only available in FWD. But Audi are planning on a Quattro four wheel driven variant as well which will be added as choices soon.

Mechanically, that’s pretty much sums up the major boxes. Now the cabin on the other hand gets many, many features that are brilliant. For starters, you get Audi’s new Next Generation MMI system with navigation and media, displayed on a 20.32cm retractable screen is loaded with many more features like hand writing input, voice command, Bluetooth, a surround sound system from Bose and more. What its competitors don’t provide but the A6 does have is a 4 zone climate control and that plays a big role in the segment. Most people who buy the A6 usually end up sitting as passengers in the rear. So the A6 comes with a remote control for the MMI system hidden in the armrest. And if the leg room seem too less, the front passenger seat can be adjusted from the rear as well. Some more features included with the A6 are Milano leather upholstery which is finished beautifully all around the cabin, B pillar air vents, ambient lighting, electronically adjustable seats with memory function for the driver, parking system with rear view camera, cruise control, finest quality wood finish on the dash and the interior trims, convenient boot opening system, lots and lots of storage space and 8 safety airbags for passenger and driver safety.

Now to address the party piece of the A6. It’s a known fact that some car manufacturers use motorsport as a testing situation to develop future technology. The 24 hour Le Mans endurance race is one of the gruesome and testing conditions man and machine can endure. If all the components can survive the race, then it will survive anything the world will ever throw at it. Since the year 2000, Audi has 13 Le Mans victories to its name. But these victories are nothing if not capitalised for to benefit the common man. 

Instead of just displaying a trophy, Audi has used their Le Mans entries and victories as their Research and Development department. A lot of manufacturers do that but none of their products are so clearly visible. The new Audi A6 Matrix uses headlight technology like no other. The matrix head lamps are the party piece of the A6 which made its debut in the A8. With the beautiful dynamic LED turn indicators, the Matrix LED headlights not only help the driver remain at full beam in dark situations at all times, it also scans the road for other cars and just reduces the beams just for that particular car so as to not hamper the visibility of the oncoming driver or the car in front.

To end on a serious note, the A6 Matrix is loaded with features that you will actually use instead of features that you’ll never be able to figure out. Though it has a couple of things that play against it, in a few months time, I’m sure with a Quattro variant coming out, Audi will be swift in addressing the only thing that’s holding it back. A part from that, I feel there isn’t a package available that is as wholesome as the A6. It ticks the right boxes and it delivers in quality and standard. It’s still a true Audi and a car that deserves to be considered strongly when buying.