Audi A6 Slightly Refreshed, Gets More Power
The weak link for Audi (aside from yes, I know already, the reliability of the breakdowns and electrical glitches) has been the lack of a competitive V6 in the US for the past few years. It's not that the 255 bhp 3.2 liter V6 was bad (smooth as dulce de leche in fact), it's that numerically it was at a disadvantage against BMW's 300 horsepower turbocharged I6, Benz's 268 hp V6, and pretty much everybody else in the 300 horsepower neighborhood. At times, in the big A6 with required automatic transmission, the engine just felt like it could use an inhaler. To get back in the hunt, Audi is offering the 3.0 liter supercharged V6 previously announced for the A4. It's rated at 300 horsepower and 310 lb ft of torque – about on par with where Audi's 4.2 liter V8 was just a few years ago. The 3.2 liter V6 will soldier on for A6 models equipped with the suicide-inducing FWD/CVT combination. Move up the range from those two V6 engines and you can pick up the 4.2 liter V8, now offering 350 horsepower (some 30-40 shy of the competition again). And then we move into serious performance territory: The 5.2 liter V10 S6 with 435 horsepower, and the properly bonkers RS6 with a twin turbocharged, dry sump 5.0 liter V10 and 580 horsepower. The rest of the facelift is superficial, mostly limited changing the front and rear lights. This writer quite liked the A6's own taillight styling, more or less carried over from the last generation to the current – but out it goes, in the name of sausage design and engineering. The A6 also picks up LED headlights up front. Still no word on the 3.0 liter V6 diesel. As for the gas engined cars, we'll bring you pricing and fuel economy numbers as soon as they're available.
Immensely bored law student. I've also got 3 dogs.
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I have been saying for over a year now that Audi needs to use the 3.6 from the VW range in more of its cars and ditch that 3.2.
Just as well Audi anounces these model redesigns as they usually end up looking just like the previous model and without some marketing no one would ever notice.
I've owned an A6 Avant and an A4 Cab. Both were nice cars but devoid of any hint of personality. Yes, the interiors are well-crafted, but much of the near/luxury industry has caught up. Too bad for Audi.
@drifter Audis used to be cheaper than BMW and MB, but that really isn't the case anymore. The '09 A4 3.2 costs about the same as the 335i and the C350. People that choose Audi now choose them because the are better looking, and have better interiors than their German rivals. The one area where Audi certainly is not in MB's league is the number of lemon law buybacks. Nobody does criminally bad quality like Mercedes. And yes, I am excited about the new TFSI V6. Audi's normally aspirated V6s have always been anemic, going back to the 2.8. The new 3.0T will finally be a proper replacement for the 265hp/280ft.lb A6 2.7T S-line. The new S4 will be all the better for the supercharged V6. The V8 S5 is just too heavy in front.