Audi A6 2005 News

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has published its latest round of safety recalls, with models from Ford, Mazda, BMW, Kia, Audi, Jeep, Alfa Romeo and Lamborghini affected.

Hot on the heels of the Australian government's mandatory Takata airbag recall, Ford, Audi and Tesla have joined the list of carmakers to detail which of it's models are affected.

A number of potentially hazardous faults have been identified in vehicles sold in Australia, prompting a wide range of recalls.

A vote by 75 motoring journalists from 22 countries has awarded the compact prestige car the World Car of the Year award for 2015.It finished on top of a 24-car field and eventually beat the two other finalists, the Ford Mustang and Volkswagen Passat.The other big prizes for 2015, Green Car of the Year and Performance Car of the Year, went to the plug-in hybrid BMW i8 and the Mercedes-AMG GT coupe.The winners were announced at the New York Motor Show today at an event hosted by Bridgestone Corporation and Autoneum at the culmination of a six-month voting process.The C-Class delivers levels of refinement, luxury, safety, ride and handling that challenge best-in-class.The awards are in their 11th year and previous winners include the Audi A6, BMW 3 Series, Lexus LS460 and Volkswagen Golf, Polo and Up.To be eligible for the overall World Car award, candidate cars must have become available for sale on at least two continents between January 1, 2014 and May 31, 2015.The WCOTY wins by Mercedes-Benz follow its victories in the Green Car contest in 2007 with the E320 Bluetec and 2012 with the S 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY and its Luxury Car success with the S Class in 2014.“We are extremely delighted of winning the honour of World Car of the Year,” says the chairman of Daimler, Dr Dieter Zetsche.The WCOTY victory follows a similar success for the C-Class in the CarsGuide Car of the Year award.The WCOTY judging panel says: “Taking its design and technological cues from the S-Class, the C-Class employs an all-new aluminium/steel hybrid platform and updated rear-drive powertrains that delivers levels of refinement, luxury, safety, ride and handling that challenge best-in-class.” WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2015Overall winner: Mercedes-Benz C-ClassGreen Car: BMW i8Performance Car: Mercedes-AMG GTLuxury Car: Mercedes-Benz S CoupeDesign: Citroen CactusPREVIOUS WORLD COTY WINNERS:2014: Audi A32013: Volkswagen Golf2012: Volkswagen Up2011: Nissan Leaf2010: Volkswagen Polo2009: Volkswagen Golf2008: Mazda22007: Lexus LS4602006: BMW 3 Series2005: Audi A6

THE Audi A3 small car -- which owes much of its DNA to the Volkswagen Golf -- has won the 2014 World Car of the Year, as voted by 69 jurors from 22 countries. The luxury hatch toppled the widely-tipped favourite, the Mazda3 from Japan, in the awards announced at the New York motor show today.The Audi A3 was among five German cars that took out a cleansweep of the 2014 World Car of the Year categories, and it was Audi’s second win in 10 years, having won the inaugural award. Indeed, German cars have won seven of the past 10 World Car of the Year awards, Japanese brands have won the remaining three.Accepting the award on behalf of the company, Audi's North America president Scott Keogh said: “The Audi A3 has only been on sale three weeks and already it’s off to a flying start.”Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi, said: “This major award win is an achievement that the whole company can celebrate.”The Audi A3 was among 24 finalists that included the BMW i3 electric car, which won the Green Car of the Year and the Car Design of the Year. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class was the Luxury Car of the Year while the Porsche 911 GT3 was awarded top performance car honours.But the Mazda3 had emerged as an early favourite for the outright World Car of the Year award following rave reviews globally since it went on sale late last year. The previous generation Mazda3 has been Australia’s top selling car for two of the past three years, and was the vehicle that ended the Holden Commodore’s record 15-years as the market leader, in 2011.The Mazda3 is returned to the top of the sales charts so far this year -- after being overtaken by the Toyota Corolla in 2013 -- and is likely to take out top-seller status this year buoyed by the new model which went on sale in January.World car of the year winners2014 – Audi A32013 -- Volkswagen Golf Mk72012 -- Volkswagen Up2011 -- Nissan Leaf2010 -- Volkswagen Polo2009 -- Volkswagen Golf Mk62008 -- Mazda22007 -- Lexus LS4602006 -- BMW 3 Series2005 -- Audi A62014 World Car of The Year category winnersGreen car of the Year -- BMW i3 electric carCar Design of the Year -- BMW i3 electric carPerformance Car of the Year -- Porsche 911 GT3Luxury Car of the Year – Mercedes-Benz S-ClassThis reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

The Avant arrives with a choice of  two efficient, direct-injection, turbocharged four-cylinder engines and prices starting at $81,800. The carry-all features a sleek design, lightweight construction and a generous level of standard equipment and convenience features along with an  extensive options list. Aluminium components comprise roughly 20 per cent of the body with weight reductions of as much as 70 kilograms compared with the previous model. The engine choices are 2.0-litre turbo petrol and turbo diesel with outputs of 132kW and 130kW respectively. They deliver exceptional fuel economy with the 2.0 TDI, for example, sipping 5.1 litres/100 km. Both include a start-stop system and both have continuously variable multitronic transmission (CVT). The luggage compartment has a capacity of 565 litres, which can be increased to 1,680 litres by folding the rear seats. Other standard features include the sensor-controlled, automatically opening tailgate operated hands free by passing your foot under a sensor. Both versions get Audi drive select and MMI Navigation plus. Safety is five star rated. It is in dealerships now.  

The final piece in the A6 jigsaw puzzle was dropped from the local line-up late last year after being on sale in Australia since 2001 in both petrol and diesel guises. The former was dropped in 2006 and it stayed diesel-only until last its disappearance last year.  Audi says the A6 allroad comes with a claim of fuel use reductions by as much as 20 per cent, depending on which of the four engines is chosen - although Audi Australia is tightlipped on what's coming here. The sole petrol engine for the new model is the supercharged three-litre V6 already seen in the current line-up, but offering 228kW and 440 Nm, kicking the crossover wagon from zero to 100km/h in 5.9 seconds and claiming 8.9 litres per 100km, although not when you're flat-out testing the acceleration claim. The diesel offering is three output variations - 150kW and 450Nm, 180kW and 580Nm or the twin-turbo powerplant's 230kW and 650 Nm, with thirsts starting at 6.1l/100km. Audi says it will soon offer a low-emissions "clean diesel" 180kW engine variant, although it's not likely in Australia in the short term. The twin-turbo 230kW/650Nm three-litre gets the eight-speed automatic (the rest are seven-speed twin-clutch autos) and drops the time to 100km/h to 5.6 seconds. The new A6 gets the company's staple all-wheel drive system, albeit with the addition of the torque vectoring system, which brakes the wheels on the inside of the curve to help the car turn more easily. The new car has the sedan's electro-mechanical power steering, as well as the option of variable-ratio "dynamic" steering and the clever differential that sends power left and right across the rear axle during "enthusiastic" driving. Among the fuel-saving systems is "drive select," which allows the driver to alter the car's functions to run in an economy mode. The new A6 allroad carries over the adaptive air suspension, which was standard on the outgoing car and can drop the normal ride height by 15mm at cruising speeds and can raise between 35 and 45mm for rougher roads, with variable-speed hill descent control for the more adventurous. Standard fare in the A6 allroad quattro also includes 18in and 235/55 tyres, but optional wheels up to 20in are on offer. The new Audi A6 allroad quattro will be available in Germany from spring 2012, starting from 54,600 Euros - it will be launched in Australia in the third quarter of 2012. Audi Australia says it's too early to talk specifics on engine options, specifics on equipment and pricing - the outgoing car was priced at about $104,000 but when the model first arrived it started just under $100,000, but Audi won't say if it will sneak into the five-figure price bracket. The new A6 allroad quattro is 4940mm long, 1900mm wide and 1470mm tall, only slightly longer but 38mm wider and nearly 50mm shorter in overall height over the outgoing model. Audi says the use of aluminium has shaved about 70kg from the weight of the outgoing model. The Audi A6 allroad quattro will have available LED and xenon lighting technology, as well as getting extra trim bits on the door sills, wheelarches, a different grille and underbody protection. The infotainment system - MMI in Audi-speak - has the added function of showing the vehicle pitch as a nod to its all-terrain aims. The luggage compartment boasts 565 litres of cargo space (with folding rear seats upping it the storage space to 1680 litres) and a load-restraint rail system. Also on the features list is a head-up display, ambient LED cabin lighting, four-zone climate control, a panoramic glass roof, automatic parking assist system which steers for the driver,and the keyless entry and ignition and a 15-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system. There's also optional Bluetooth car phone (standard on the outgoing car) but the new model gets internet connectivity and an in-car wireless hotspot. The allroad will also have radar-based adaptive cruise control with stop and go function that applies maximum braking (below 30km/h) if it senses an impending impact, the pre-sense accident prep system (in a number of guises), lane assist, side assist blindspot warning and the night vision system

The biggest recall has hit Toyota, which wants to check 144,500 Camrys for headlights, and nearly 8000 Honda Civics also have light problems.The federal Department of Transport says eight imported cars have been recalled since June 1, even Volvo, which makes safety a key selling point, hasn't escaped, recalling cars to check on a faulty door assembly.The latest recalls are;Audi: A6 built between March 2004 and March 2005 may have a software fault which, in exceptional circumstances, could delay release of both front air bags in an accident. Number of cars, 464.Toyota: Camrys built from June 2002 to May 2006; faulty headlight switch which may cause headlights to flicker or temporarily fail. Number involved, 144,589.Honda: Civic sedan and somes hatches built between 2001 and 2002; problem with plastic terminal connector melting, causing low beam lights to fail. Number, 7979.Volvo: Current model C70 may have incorrect left hand door assembly, so it doesn't meet legal requirements in an accident. Number, 173.Mazda: The Mazda3 MPS built from May 2006 to May 2007 may have a loose bolt securing the engine and transmission to its mounting. If it falls out, the engine may drop, detaching the drive shaft. Number of recalls, 1160. Recall will start next week.