Audi RS6 Avant 2008 review

Station wagons by tradition come fairly low down in the desirability pecking order. Lacking appeal, they're conservatively styled, utilitarian and boring, right? That's unless you get a station wagon with a Lamborghini engine in it. This is the RS6 Avant — a high-performance luxury wagon from Audi's Quattro GmbH go-faster division, which despite its road hauling ability thinks it's a sports car.

It goes on sale in Australia in September. The price? Well, let's leave that for now.

The Ingolstadt flyer is a veritable wolf in sheep's clothing. Audi promotes it as the most powerful and probably the quickest production station wagon in the world. It's blindingly fast.

On paper at least, the new Audi has more power and torque than both German rivals.

It's marginally quicker than BMW's M5 off the line but the larger capacity Benz E63 AMG can match it in acceleration. Audi's rivals do win some bragging rights, however. Both the M5 and AMG have seven-speed gearboxes, while Audi's makes do with a fast-shifting six-speed tiptronic auto.

Audi has developed a seven speeder, but whether it makes it to the RS6 only time will tell.

However, there's no doubting the outrageous RS6, from all angles, packs some very serious hardware. For a start there's the thumping direct-injection bi-turbo 5-litre V10 under the bonnet, which is supplied by Lamborghini and tweaked by Audi to deliver 426kW of grunt and a staggering 650Nm of flat-line torque at low revs.

Top speed is about 280km/h but electronically governed for most world markets to a more modest 250km/h. Sprint times are just as breathtaking: 0-100km/h in a claimed 4.6 seconds that's nudging supercar times, while 200km/h flashes by in 14.9 seconds.

All that from a less-than-humble station wagon weighing in at a hefty 2030kg and using the latest version of Audi's all-wheel drive Quattro system.

There are a couple of sore points in this equation of excessiveness, though: the Australian price has been set at $259,000 (or $271,000 if the lift in luxury car tax passes into legislation). That's almost lineball with Audi's R8 supercar. If that's a bit rich, a sedan version of the RS6 is also coming our way in January. It will be slightly cheaper at between $250,000 and $260,000.

Then there's the fuel consumption. OK, if you can afford quarter of a million, you can't really grumble about the cost of fuel. The RS6, for a large capacity V10 (think of it as two normal-sized family-sized engines bolted together), is reasonable but probably socially unacceptable in the petrol stakes, slurping a claimed 13.9 litres every 100km. Realistically, typical premium fuel consumption levels are going to be closer to the 16-18 litres per 100km range in real-world driving and something we achieved in road testing.

What you do get is a wagon with massive 20-inch alloys shod with 275/35 high-performance rubber and heart-stopping 19-inch brakes, although you can option it with ceramic discs for a premium price of $13,700. Ouch.

Audi expects to sell 50 RS6 Avants and sedans a year and has already found 25 buyers.

A high-speed highway is the perfect place to stretch the legs of Audi's latest and greatest.

It's easy to forget the brutal RS6 is a wagon. There's much to admire but it is not perfect.

You would expect it to behave very much likea high-powered sports saloon, thanks to its mammoth power, quick steering and all-wheel drive. Yes it has plenty of grip, but plenty of understeer in the corners as well and there's no hiding that this is a two-tonne car with an engine slung between, and in front of, the front wheels.

No question the V10 is a gem of a powerplant but perhaps it sounds just a little too tame and needs a more sonorous exhaust note.

The wagon has reassuring high levels of grip. It has excellent wheel control thanks to the clever suspension system, which diagonally links the shock absorbers by pipes filled with oil. Loads generated under cornering create changes in oil pressure, which counters body movement.

What instantly grabs your attention driving the RS6, aside from the body-hugging seats with their high side bolsters, is just how much torque is instantly available. Squirt the accelerator and the rush is there almost instantaneously. Manual shifting is done using stubby paddles behind the steering wheel or you can leave it in auto.

For a wagon almost as long as a Q7, the load area is above average, even more with the rear seats folded, but is limited by the sloping roofline. Crikey, I nearly forgot, this is a wagon, after all.