Audi A6 Sedan 2005 Review

There I was, driving at 100km/h in cruise control travelling north along the M1 listening to Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here at ridiculously loud but clear decibels on the 10-speaker Bose sound system in an Audi A6.

I had been sucked into the aural landscapes being painted by Pink Floyd and did not notice the 70km/h sign as the road peeled off to become the Gateway.

Here the road narrows and sweeps through a concrete canyon that tips most cars on their springs and provokes tyre howl unless you slow down.

No such dramas with the all-paw A6. I had passed through and out the other side and back into the 100km/h zone before I had noticed what I had done.

There are other A6s in the line-up. But why bother when you can have a thumping big V8 under your bonnet?

This 4.2-litre unit has 246 kilowatts on hand as you hit 6600rpm and the blue lights are closing in. But the more usable 420Nm of torque comes in at a much handier and community conscious 3500rpm.

Some people just love the howl of a fully wound-up V8 and I would have to put my hand up and say I'm one of them.

For a sedate-looking saloon, it really has a naughty side – a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing.

The new A6 line is longer, wider, roomier than its predecessor. It looks like a long, fat car belonging to a long, fat diplomat.

But plant your foot and it yields all that proud Audi racing heritage.

On the road, the A6 is quiet and smooth, but with a suspension on the sportier side for a big saloon. Together with Audi's famous all-paw quattro, the limits of adhesion can only be found under high G forces on a racetrack.

The A6 range features refined dynamic suspension, speed-related servotronic steering, a host of airbags and active head restraints, an electromechanical parking brake that automatically disables when you drive off, fog lights, adaptive cornering headlights, a light and rain sensor in the rear-view mirror and Bose 10-speaker surround-sound system.

It also sports that opinion-dividing open-mouth grille resembling the GT Bentley or Maybach. It only looks right with a long, thin Euro plate available through Personalised Plates Queensland.

If the V8's gentle purr at idle and menacing growl at full revs becomes tiring, you can always turn up that Bose system for one of the best sounds you will hear outside your living room.