Mazda 6 vs Audi RS6

What's the difference?

Has it really been 20 years since the humble Mazda6 station wagon hit our roads? You betcha, but I was more shocked that I remembered when it did!

I have a sudden flashback of questionable fashion choices, glittery butterfly hair clips and how Skipper was making a play at being the coolest 'Barbie' (she wasn't).

I've always had a soft spot for wagons, they are the forgotten heroes for family hauling. It's hard not to glide over them when the market is dominated by SUVs but if you happen to remember they still exist (albeit, barely) you might remember why they were popular back in the day.

Being a 20th Anniversary Edition means there are some nods to the past in this model but unlike the low-slung jeans of my youth, they're stylishly done. With some luxuriously-appointed rivals to contend with, like the Skoda Octavia and Volkswagen Passat, does it offer enough to be considered by a modern family?

My little family of three has been in it all week to find out for you!

When I say this is a rare review, I’m talking about the kind of rare that means you can’t even buy the car you’re reading about.

The 2026 Audi RS6 Avant GT you’re looking at in the pictures around this story is number 248 of 660. That’s six-hundred and sixty worldwide.

In Australia, there are only 22 RS6 GTs, and they’re all sold - at exorbitant prices, mind you, but we’ll get to that.

The RS6 GT is essentially a production version of the Audi RS6 GTO concept, built in 2020 and inspired by the Audi 90 quattro IMSA GTO race car, which means the RS6 GT carries a lot of ‘90 GTO’ in the way it looks. More on that shortly.

Aside from its extremely limited availability and its design package, there are some mechanical changes to increase the appeal of the RS6 GT, though whether any of its owners will put the on-road (or on-track) ability of this special wagon from Ingolstadt to the test remains to be seen.

A couple of days to live with one of the few RS6 GTs in Australia should reveal how special this car feels, and result in at least one example of the rarity being driven good and proper.