2025 Audi A6 long term review, 6,000km report

We’re big fans of sedans here at the Autocar office, so when the A6 entered our long-term fleet, its keys kept swapping hands. Nikhil had it for a while and it played family sedan, Hormazd used it as his chariot of choice through the wedding season and Jay had a few days with it too. Luckily, I managed to hang on to it all through December and January. Being the Christmas season the first thing I did was decorate it. Nope no ornaments, but with dual-zone customizable lighting I set up the two sections with the quintessential Christmas colours; red and green. The ambient lighting is also nicely done with the higher sections in sharp pinstripes while the lower sections create a diffused glow. In a sober while or light blue shade it really looks very classy. 

Speaking of which, the interiors are now quite dated, but to me they still are very classy. The styling is sharp and not overdone and the leather, piano black and wood finish are all tastefully blended together. It helps immensely that material quality is top notch, the piano black surface is smooth and level, so no distorted reflections and the leather and wood inlays look rich and feel nice to touch and the light brown leather and dark wood colour scheme works well together. 

The only let down for me is the twin screen setup in the center console, I know folks love screens, but for me a touchscreen with physical controls for the AC and stereo is the way to go. Its just safer, easier to use and feels so good to the touch. The A6’s HVAC unit consisting of a dials, toggle switches and a small display screen, is honestly just so much better to use and in my opinion to look at too. 

While I’m on about things I would have preferred, I will list the music system, no its not bad at all, but at this segment there should have been a better sounding branded audio system. Especially when you consider how well the A6 is otherwise specced, I was particularly impressed with the inclusion of reach and rake power adjust for the steering wheel, soft close doors and a 4-zone climate control setup. Another bit I have to praise is the boot. There’s a standing joke at the office about how often I end up carrying loads of stuff in the boot, indeed many of my long-term reports have a shot of a fully loaded boot. So, to avoid feeding the fire I won’t have a picture here but let me just say that the A6 has a very large and deep boot and I did an airport run and comfortably fit three large check-in suitcases.

As I mentioned earlier, Hormazd did have himself chauffeured to a few weddings and while its no long wheelbase E-Class or 5 Series, the rear is definitely useable. Of course, if you are mainly chauffeur driven, the Merc and Beemer make more sense, if you drive a lot though the A6 has plenty to offer. And drive is what I did and I thoroughly enjoyed it. No not because I took it out of the city but I discovered an advantage of the A6 not going the long wheelbase route; speed breaker clearance. On my route to work there are about 13 to 14 speed breakers and some of these are Mumbai’s finest non-standard issue. With the BMW, three of these required a crab crawl, one with the E Class, but with the A6 I could take them head-on. I did scrape one other speed breaker with the A6, but in general it’s very easy to clear most breakers. So really if you drive yourself, there’s far less stress without having to worry about damaging the underside. 

Besides the wheelbase though, what also helps is the fact that the body is lifted a fair amount on its steel springs which also brings me to the suspension. The ride is really nice and supple and without a wallowly feel or that harsh edge typical of air springs. So with good ground clearance and a supple ride, Mumbai’s permanently dug up and unlevelled roads weren’t as much a torture. The other element that adds delight to driving it, is the 2.0 litre TFSi engine. Its creamy smooth and at low revs is so incredibly silent. And then as you push down on the throttle you can hear it but it’s a lovely purr. It makes an impressive 265hp so performance is effortless too and in the Balanced drive mode I found it just perfect for a refined but quick enough drive. Overtaking is easy and you don’t have to second guess a gap, other than the size of course. This may not be a long wheelbase car but its no hatchback either. So yes, I am really thoroughly enjoying my time with this car. It’s not something I will happily let go off but I suspect by the time you read this it will have already gone to someone else. I know Shapur is eyeing it and all because of that TFSi unit under the bonnet. 

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