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Audi A6 2006 Review

So this is how the other half lives — or would, if they had any any imagination at all. Apparently, one arrives at the middle-upper executive level of life and reflexively calls on a BMW or Mercedes-Benz dealer.

For the 5 Series and the E-Class are every bit as de rigueur in this set as spending a year in Provence or buying wine as an investment.

Although ever more Audis — the third force in the prestige segment from Germany — are being driven from showrooms, the marque is yet to become an automatic lifestyle decision in the way of the other two.

The bankers (and those whose conspicuous consumption makes them rhyme with bankers) don't know what they're missing out on.

So if you see an A6 emerging from a CBD building or a blue-ribbon suburban driveway, you see a driver of wealth and tact.

Especially if the letters TDI are embossed upon the A6's behind. This, if not the perfect luxury car, is about as good as Audis get.

It's far from the ultimate model in the range — for that, see the S6 at the Motor Show. Nor, by some way, is it the least — clock the 2.0 TFSI at the same venue.

But it's the smartest choice. The A6 embodies those endearing qualities found in the better products of Ingolstadt: a superb direct-injection turbo diesel engine; quattro all-wheel drive; strong yet understated lines; and first-rate fit and finish.

It also entails some of the dynamic drawbacks inherent to the cars with four rings on their grille: steering from which almost almost every milligram of feel has been meticulously removed; suspension made for First World roads, not ours; over-servoed brakes; and a nose-heavy pushiness in extremes.

But for the most part, you won't much care about that.

In the year since we drove the petrol A6 of near-equivalent price and capacity, this, its sibling, has become the first diesel to be voted Best Luxury Car over $57,000 by the nation's motoring organisations.

Encountering the slightly up-powered version last week (it's now good for 171kW over the previous 165) was to affirm our belief that the TDI renders borderline redundant even so good a petrol V6 as Audi's.

Driven through a six-speed tiptronic transmission with manual and sport modes, the 3.0 V6 diesel's towering 450Nm is present from 1400 to 3250rpm.

It's a petrol V8-beating torque figure that gets this 1765kg sedan to 100km/h in 7.1 seconds — a company claim that equals that made for the FSI.

It's a figure that also questions the relevance of the 4.2 V8 A6, for all the real-world use of its 5.9-second sprint time.

Indeed, save for a hint of hesitation that characterises even the best-bred turbo diesel when the pedal is planted hard, the 3.0TDI has all the performance you could reasonably want.

Nor, except at idle and crawling pace, is there much to suggest there's a diesel beneath the bonnet. Refinement is a given with this engine, as is near-silence at cruising speed and a sonorous note when it is suddenly asked to get fast.

Combined with quattro — as opposed to the front-wheel-drive (and dive) of lesser A6s — the 3.0 TDI makes a case for consideration as a sports sedan. All this at wholly credible combined fuel consumption claim of 8.5 litres per 100km.

All this, of course, is but half the picture for prestige punters, for whom what lies within is at least of equal importance.

Being an upper-spec Audi, the inside story is of an interior whose air of sombre understatement cannot be marred even by the schmatte woodgrain that allegedly indicates class. Fit and finish are simply world-leading.

If you're serious about situating three adults in the back, though, an A6 avant would serve better than the sedan with a sloping roof that wins it awards but slices head space.

Dynamically, the A6 3.0 TDI can't match the harder-edged 5 Series. Nor is its ride so plush as that of the E-Class.

But in so far as value is an issue here, the Audi's $101,700 price tag represents just that.

It's also possessed of qualities — and a badge — that stimulate all but the dullest imaginations.

Pricing guides

$11,550
Based on third party pricing data
Lowest Price
$6,050
Highest Price
$17,050

Range and Specs

VehicleSpecsPrice*
2.0 TFSI Avant 2.0L, PULP, CVT AUTO $6,380 – 8,910 2006 Audi A6 2006 2.0 TFSI Avant Pricing and Specs
2.4 Avant 2.4L, PULP, CVT AUTO $6,600 – 9,350 2006 Audi A6 2006 2.4 Avant Pricing and Specs
3.2 FSI Quattro 3.1L, PULP, 6 SP AUTO $8,470 – 11,880 2006 Audi A6 2006 3.2 FSI Quattro Pricing and Specs
3.0 TDI Quattro 3.0L, Diesel, 6 SP AUTO $8,250 – 11,660 2006 Audi A6 2006 3.0 TDI Quattro Pricing and Specs
Paul Pottinger
Contributing Journalist

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Pricing Guide

$6,050

Lowest price, based on third party pricing data

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Disclaimer: The pricing information shown in the editorial content (Review Prices) is to be used as a guide only and is based on information provided to Carsguide Autotrader Media Solutions Pty Ltd (Carsguide) both by third party sources and the car manufacturer at the time of publication. The Review Prices were correct at the time of publication.  Carsguide does not warrant or represent that the information is accurate, reliable, complete, current or suitable for any particular purpose. You should not use or rely upon this information without conducting an independent assessment and valuation of the vehicle.