S6 V10 Avant - tell me all about them
Discussion
I'm considering going back to audi after a big falling out. (bolt left in timing covers after belt change which wrote off the car & general lack of customer service from Audi UK & what was then my local dealer)
Okay so for the last couple of years I've been running around in a gransport coupe but find myself wanting something a tad more practical. Something which can take a dog, mtb & go to the tip would be ideal.. so I either go for something practical & tedious or I get an estate with a decent motor in it. Hence thinking about the S6 (or RS4 avant I guess). Does anyone have any experience with the S6? How does it drive, performance, handling, general fuel economy, range on a tank of gas etc. What about the gearbox (s-tronic?), and the toys? - anyone got a link to the standard spec etc?
Cheers in advance..
Okay so for the last couple of years I've been running around in a gransport coupe but find myself wanting something a tad more practical. Something which can take a dog, mtb & go to the tip would be ideal.. so I either go for something practical & tedious or I get an estate with a decent motor in it. Hence thinking about the S6 (or RS4 avant I guess). Does anyone have any experience with the S6? How does it drive, performance, handling, general fuel economy, range on a tank of gas etc. What about the gearbox (s-tronic?), and the toys? - anyone got a link to the standard spec etc?
Cheers in advance..
Drove one the other day, and a couple when they were new in 2007. Very nice indeed. Same engine and gearbox as v10 s8. And same level of electrical toys/creature comforts too. Its not S tronic, just a normal torque converter type auto, with tiptronic manual override, which is much smoother in traffic and pulling away than S tronic would be, Although the gear change itself will never be quite as fast. RS4 is manual only.
RS4 feels faster and much more agresive with sharper handling. But the ride comfort is criminal compared to the S6. RS4 suspension is more temperamental with the dreaded DRC dampers. Its V8 engine, which while is absolutely superb in terms of torque power and indeed noise, is a lot more like a hand build race engine than you normally see in a road car, so that will enevitably cause some sort of issue later on and be very expensive when it does. Some people are complaining of lower than stated power figures, there's a big hoo har on the RS246 forum.
The 435bhp V10 while super smooth and powerful is in a lesser state of tune than the RS4's V8 and so should be more reliable and I've never had a complaint about one yet. The S6 that I drove had propper springs and damper and this give the best compromise between handling and comfort, (they are not DRC on the s6) and give a slightly firm, yet very compliant ride. (not sure but other A6's have air suspension option, if that applies to S6, avoid the air suspension models)
Only real downside is if like me you have driven the new RS6, is its not one of them. There just seems to be more sound deadening in the RS6, its silent at 100mph when the S6 had quite a bit of road noise.
The one i drove had an average fuel consumption of 17mpg. No idea how the customer drive it though, so you could well get more. The Audi web site should have tank capacity on it somewhere and you could work out the range.
RS4 feels faster and much more agresive with sharper handling. But the ride comfort is criminal compared to the S6. RS4 suspension is more temperamental with the dreaded DRC dampers. Its V8 engine, which while is absolutely superb in terms of torque power and indeed noise, is a lot more like a hand build race engine than you normally see in a road car, so that will enevitably cause some sort of issue later on and be very expensive when it does. Some people are complaining of lower than stated power figures, there's a big hoo har on the RS246 forum.
The 435bhp V10 while super smooth and powerful is in a lesser state of tune than the RS4's V8 and so should be more reliable and I've never had a complaint about one yet. The S6 that I drove had propper springs and damper and this give the best compromise between handling and comfort, (they are not DRC on the s6) and give a slightly firm, yet very compliant ride. (not sure but other A6's have air suspension option, if that applies to S6, avoid the air suspension models)
Only real downside is if like me you have driven the new RS6, is its not one of them. There just seems to be more sound deadening in the RS6, its silent at 100mph when the S6 had quite a bit of road noise.
The one i drove had an average fuel consumption of 17mpg. No idea how the customer drive it though, so you could well get more. The Audi web site should have tank capacity on it somewhere and you could work out the range.
Whereas the last S6 we had in showed an average of 11!
Don't know what the roads are like around TT's way but I'd disagree re. ride comfort. RS4 is very firm but I found it to be a better damped car than the S6 which in comparison was jiggly and unsettled (although ultimately the 'softer' car - dampers just felt ineffective/poorly judged). When the DRC is working the RS4 has a feel of togetherness I can only liken an Integra Type-R, it just feels so absolutely in touch with the road surface (one of a few things that make an RS4 feel special).
It's nice in a slightly immature way that Audi bung stupid engines in normal cars (S6) but I think that's the car's only party trick - if you want a real party trick it's twin-turbo big brother is the only option.
Nice S6 is RS4 money - unless you need the space the RS4 in my opinion is the better car in every area except the dashboard and if taken care of, likely to hold on to stronger money.
Don't know what the roads are like around TT's way but I'd disagree re. ride comfort. RS4 is very firm but I found it to be a better damped car than the S6 which in comparison was jiggly and unsettled (although ultimately the 'softer' car - dampers just felt ineffective/poorly judged). When the DRC is working the RS4 has a feel of togetherness I can only liken an Integra Type-R, it just feels so absolutely in touch with the road surface (one of a few things that make an RS4 feel special).
It's nice in a slightly immature way that Audi bung stupid engines in normal cars (S6) but I think that's the car's only party trick - if you want a real party trick it's twin-turbo big brother is the only option.
Nice S6 is RS4 money - unless you need the space the RS4 in my opinion is the better car in every area except the dashboard and if taken care of, likely to hold on to stronger money.
Hmmm space.. not sure on that one. I had a B5 S4\RS4 & found them to be a bit small for an estate not by a lot but less than ideal. The S4 would do 400 miles on a tank which was fine but the RS4 would do about 250, not great. The gransport which can be pretty thirsty does 400 miles on a tank (though the tank is massive) so aint bad in that respect.
Body control on the S6 - reading the reviews - does seem to be a potential problem. I guess only a test drive will tell.
RS4 Avant.. yeah I've always had a soft spot for them but there's loads of them about & the S-lines are very similar these days. S6's are a a lot less common, which is nice. RS6 - fantastic but out of my price range at the moment, I just don't want to chuck another 50k on a car - looking at 25-30k tops. That said, I would love one, love the looks, one of the guys at work has just got one & it's rapid to say the least.
Body control on the S6 - reading the reviews - does seem to be a potential problem. I guess only a test drive will tell.
RS4 Avant.. yeah I've always had a soft spot for them but there's loads of them about & the S-lines are very similar these days. S6's are a a lot less common, which is nice. RS6 - fantastic but out of my price range at the moment, I just don't want to chuck another 50k on a car - looking at 25-30k tops. That said, I would love one, love the looks, one of the guys at work has just got one & it's rapid to say the least.
I test drove one recently before settling on an A6 3.0tdi Le Mans. The S6 is a nice car with a wonderful engine but the ride was so incredibly poor that I didn't bother completing the drive and just headed back to the dealers.
Best advice I'd offer would be to try one for yourself - make sure you go on some bad roads, and if you can live with that (and the mpg) then why not?
If you google Clarkson Audi S6 there's an online article he wrote a while back which he seems to pretty much nail.
Best advice I'd offer would be to try one for yourself - make sure you go on some bad roads, and if you can live with that (and the mpg) then why not?
If you google Clarkson Audi S6 there's an online article he wrote a while back which he seems to pretty much nail.
Dr G - where abouts are you? I'm not in town at the moment but normally am. You in the trade or just happen to have a collection 
S6 handling.. yeah I've done some googling & generally it get's a slating. That said, a couple of the things I liked about the B5 S4 over the RS4 was that is wasn't so obvious (no arches) and it was a lot more comfortable day to day vs the rather hard & commited RS4 over crappy roads. As for mpg, I doubt it can get worse than the gransport in sport while you are having fun
S6 handling.. yeah I've done some googling & generally it get's a slating. That said, a couple of the things I liked about the B5 S4 over the RS4 was that is wasn't so obvious (no arches) and it was a lot more comfortable day to day vs the rather hard & commited RS4 over crappy roads. As for mpg, I doubt it can get worse than the gransport in sport while you are having fun
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