Audi A6: Luxurious, Powerful, Affordable

The new 2008 A6 comes packed with features and Audi's trademark engineering—and still costs less than the Mercedes E-Class or BMW 5 Series

by Thane Peterson

Editor's Rating:

The Good: Beautiful interior, smooth, quiet ride, available all-wheel drive

The Bad: Troubling reliability record, pricier than Cadillac and Japanese rivals

The Bottom Line: A Mercedes for the budget buyer

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Up Front

In my mind—and many other people's minds for that matter—Audi luxury sedans have always been like a Mercedes-Benz (DAI) for budget buyers. With an Audi, you get a luxurious interior, good driving dynamics, a quiet ride, and just about every conceivable high tech feature—all at a lower price than a Mercedes. What's not to like?

The 2008 Audi A6 is a case in point. As I write this, I've just spent a week putting more than 600 miles on a 2008 Audi A6 4.2 quattro (the one with the big engine) in some of the worst winter driving conditions to hit Northeast Pennsylvania in recent years. I came away with a great deal of respect for the car.

The whole time I was testing the A6, however, I kept thinking: "If it weren't for the available all-wheel drive on the Audi, why not just buy a Cadillac?" I mean, if you're on a budget, and can't afford a Mercedes, why stop halfway down the price ladder? A Cadillac STS is cheaper than the A6 and has many of the same virtues, and a Cadillac CTS is a lot cheaper than an A6. Details on that toward the end of this review.

Don't get me wrong. Benchmark the '08 A6 against the Mercedes E-Class, and it easily holds its own. Like a Mercedes, even an entry-level A6 comes with loads of standard equipment, including 18-in. alloy wheels, leather seats and wood interior trim, a 10-speaker CD system, and Audi's MMI control system. The top-of-the-line V8-powered A6 sedan adds better interior leather, heated front seats, auto-dimming mirrors, and xenon headlights.

One of Audi's strengths is the way it continuously improves its vehicles. The current generation of the A6 dates back to 2005. In '07 Audi goosed the power on the available V8 engine by 15 hp, to the current 350 hp. So you now have a choice between a 3.1-liter, 255-hp V6 and a 4.2-liter, 350-hp V8.

For '08, the A6 also gets a new S line interior and exterior treatment. (The S line is a high-performance car similar to Mercedes' AMG and BMW's M Series.) The exterior package includes 18-in. alloy wheels and a rear spoiler. The interior package includes sport seats with an S logo, a new Milano leather upholstery, and a three-spoke sport steering wheel with paddle shifters. Headlight washers and Sirius satellite radio now come standard on all A6s.

At least by the standards of German manufacturers, the price is right, too. The base model V6-powered A6 3.2 sedan starts at $43,725 with front-wheel drive and $46,875 with all-wheel drive. The hot version, the V8-powered Audi A6 4.2 quattro, starts at $57,075. There's also an all-wheel-drive A6 station wagon that starts at $49,775.

A Mercedes E-Class sedan lists for six to eight grand more: A 2008 E350 starts at $51,675 with rear-wheel drive and $53,150 with all-wheel drive, while an E550 with all-wheel drive and a 5.5-liter V8 starts at $63,375 (including a $1,700 gas guzzler tax).

The Audi's fuel economy is surprisingly good if you stick with the entry-level A6 3.2 with front-wheel drive, which is rated to get 18 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway. The A6 4.2 quattro I test-drove is rated at 16/23 mpg. In a stretch of 401 miles of mainly highway driving, I got 20.3 mpg.