2021 Audi RS6 Avant Review: Everything You Expected

The primary correctly quick automotive I ever drove was a 2007 Audi RS4. It was Imola Yellow and had probably the greatest engines of the previous 30 years: Audi’s 4.2-liter V8. That screamer of a powerplant revved to eight,000 rpm and labored alongside a six-speed guide transmission with an enormous, fats knob on the highest of it. The pairing was a delight, packaged in a beautiful sedan physique with wildly flared wheel arches.

I spent loads of time interested by that automotive and that first drive throughout every week with the 2021 Audi RS6 Avant, a dynamically marvelous wagon that must be as thrilling now as that RS4 was to me at 25. However it is not. Audi’s newest RS automotive is an extremely quick, highly effective, engaging, and splendid factor, however there is a standoffishness that makes it exhausting to like. Too typically, it felt like I used to be simply alongside for the trip, quite than an integral a part of affairs. It is a hell of a trip, to make sure, however in terms of Audi’s RS line, you need to be within the thick of issues. I by no means felt that.

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With respect to the Mercedes-AMG E63 and the Porsche Panamera Turbo S Sport Turismo, the Audi RS6 Avant is probably the most engaging automotive within the section. Completely proportioned and with thrives in all the precise locations, it must be Exhibit A when explaining to a non-car particular person why wagons are cool.

This automotive exudes menace, with its low and aggressive fascia and indignant headlights surrounding a large, gaping grille. The hood is muscular when considered from head-on, and the swollen wheel arches are as purposeful as they’re outsized. The profile is beautiful, and it is exhausting to recover from how properly the long-roof physique and the laser-straight beltline play collectively, with the previous chopping ever so gently down into an extremely quick D-pillar in the back of the automotive.

Once more, the wheel arches spotlight the view from the profile, though our tester’s large 22-inch alloys are loads shouty too. The rear of the RS6 is a research in why wider is healthier – a strip of gloss-black trim joins the taillights and accentuates the already thicc backend, whereas the RS line’s conventional oval exhausts jut out from a low rear bumper.

The cabin sports activities some RS6-specific enhancements, however excess of the outside, it mimics the usual A6. Twin touchscreens occupy the middle stack and a 12.3-inch show takes the place of conventional gauges. Swaths of matte carbon-fiber trim on the sprint and doorways play properly with all of the aluminum brightwork, and there are some beautiful results from the ambient lights at evening. However even with carbon fiber and an RS steering wheel, shifter, and seats, that is nonetheless an A6’s cabin – excellent, but in addition acquainted and never fairly as particular because the six-figure worth calls for.

Huge 22-inch wheels using on 30-series winter tires shouldn’t a snug trip make, and but in some way the RS6 is extremely plush. The trip high quality is astonishing, absorbing all that Detroit’s apocalyptic roads can throw at it and asking for extra. Experience stability is excessive too, permitting the RS6 to certain throughout imperfections with out transmitting any ugliness to the steering.

And in some way, the cabin stays quiet – tire roar, wind noise, and suspension impacts not often attain the ears. Thank the usual RS-specific air suspension for this spectacular efficiency. This Audi is loud when parked, although. That large V8 kicks its followers on after even the briefest journeys, leaving the automotive wheezing away within the car parking zone in a method that may trigger passersby to fret the automotive is about to overheat.

The RS-spec entrance seats are broad however closely bolstered, and so they supply big quantities of help whereas cornering along with trying unbelievable with their black disguise upholstery and refined contrasts. In again, there’s loads of area for 2 adults on the comfortable bench seat. A max of 37.4 inches of legroom and 39.5 inches of headroom beats the Mercedes-AMG E63 by almost 1.5 inches in each measures.

The RS6’s roomy second row comes on the expense of the cargo space. The usual power-operated liftgate reveals an enormous aperture, whereas loading and unloading issues over the low bumper and into the 30-cubic-foot enclosure is a breeze. That area expands to 59.3 cubic ft if you happen to fold the 40/20/40 bench down, however you will discover extra outright cargo capability within the E63 Wagon (35.0/64.0 cubic ft). Not less than the RS6 exceeds its company sibling, the Porsche Panamera Turbo S Sport Turismo (18.3/49.0 cubic ft).

The RS6 Avant’s tech suite is each properly completed and acquainted, consisting of a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a ten.1-inch touchscreen on the high of the middle stack, and an 8.6-inch show beneath it. The gauge cluster runs the newest model of Audi Digital Cockpit, which incorporates an RS-specific gauge configuration that places a hockey stick–formed tachometer entrance and heart, together with a gear indicator and a speedometer. As with the usual configuration, there is a compact and expanded view, so drivers can alter which info is distinguished.

The touchscreens function right here as in every other fashionable Audi: swift to reply and with engaging graphics and a manageable format. If you happen to’re in search of RS-specific tweaks to the MMI infotainment system, although, the RS6 does not come by way of.

This RS6 tester’s Government bundle provides a formidable head-up show, that may relay all method of information with out requiring the driving force to take their eyes off the highway. My polarized sun shades made certain I did not get a lot use from the expertise, although. And even when I had been capable of see the HUD, it isn’t so dramatically higher than trying on the digital gauge cluster.

Apart from the no-cost display screen actual property, the RS6 comes commonplace with heated and ventilated entrance seats, LED headlights, a Bang and Olufsen audio system, and a panoramic sunroof. The RS6 has a formidable record of ordinary gear that befits its $109,000 beginning worth.

Whereas the RS6 Avant is new for the US market, the bits that make it go must be acquainted to American shoppers. Its twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 powers a variety of premium Volkswagen Group merchandise, with the RS6-specific tune (along with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system) pumping out 591 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, or the identical because the RS7 and RS Q8.

The RS6 is down on output and torque on its chief rival, although. The E63 packs 603 hp and 620 lb-ft, and thanks partly to that benefit and to a barely decrease curb weight (4,725 kilos to 4,960), the Merc wins the bench race with a 3.4-second dash to 60, a tenth faster than the Audi. You’ll not discover this distinction on the highway.

There is a whiff of turbo lag, but it surely’s virtually like some evil German engineer needed to lull the uninitiated right into a false sense of safety, as a result of a second later the RS6 roars forward on an enormous wave of torque. The acceleration is so easy and the best way the V8 revs is so intense that I unintentionally banged off the rev limiter on my first pull. That is as a result of, like a dumb-dumb, I used to be attempting to channel the guide driving expertise I skilled all these years in the past within the RS4 however did not upshift in time. Anticipate the best way the V8 revs, although, and upshifts are sharp and predictable, whereas the gearbox is all too keen to drop a number of gears for sudden throttle inputs.

Getting the many of the RS6 means taking part in with the drive modes. There are the same old suspects: Consolation, Auto, and Dynamic. However the RS6 provides a pair of customizable drive modes, programmable by way of the MMI system and activatable by way of a pair of buttons on the steering wheel. Audi’s method mirrors BMW’s and it really works simply as properly, giving house owners the flexibility to preload settings and shortly alter on the fly.

These particular tweaks embody changes to the air suspension, the torque-vectoring differential, and the steering. Set all the pieces to Dynamic, and the RS6 disguises its 5,000-pound curb weight with ease. This can be a sharp, agile handler, thanks in no small half to the identical wonderful air suspension that makes the massive wagon so darn snug. Shared with the A6 Allroad, the RS6’s air springs are 50 % stiffer. Rear-wheel steering is commonplace on US-spec vehicles, doing to the RS6’s size what the air suspension does to its weight.

The RS6’s accessible carbon-ceramic brakes are a dear proposition ($8,500) and actually not all that needed, though they’re a prerequisite for the 190-mph high pace. The automaker limits vehicles like my tester, with its commonplace metal rotors (16.5 inches in entrance and 14.6 in again), to go 155. Pity the lack of high pace, however do not pity these brakes. They’re nonetheless immensely highly effective, utilizing eight-piston entrance calipers to deliver the massive wagon to a halt. The pedal feels assured beneath repeated exhausting braking maneuvers, reinforcing our place that solely a sure sort of proprietor wants the improve choice.

Regardless of all of this goodness, although, the RS6 Avant feels aloof. In some ways, it is just like the Nissan GT-R – ultra-competent, however attending to know and bond with the automotive is a wrestle. It looks like there are all the time layers to its skills that you just, along with your fists of ham, understanding of penalties, and wholesome concern of site visitors cops, won’t ever have the ability to entry.

The supply of this distance is probably going because of the restricted suggestions. There’s little chatter by way of the steering and that plush trip comes on the expense of communication by way of the chassis. The RS6 is a sterling performer, but it surely’s prefer it’s all the time saying, “No puny human, I obtained this. You simply hold on.” Rationalizing the $70,000 premium of an equal Panamera Sport Turismo is hard, however based mostly purely on the enjoyable issue, I would do it.

The RS6 Avant packages its wonderful energetic security gear in a $2,250 choice bundle, and if you happen to can afford this tremendous wagon, it’s best to have the ability to choice it accordingly. The Driver Help pack provides full-speed adaptive cruise management with energetic lane conserving, intersection help, site visitors signal recognition, blind-spot monitoring, and rear-cross site visitors alert. The corporate’s confusingly named Pre Sense rear system will even prime the wagon within the occasion of an impending rear-end collision.

Fortunately, I did not check Pre Sense, though the broader suite of energetic security gear is pretty much as good as anything within the class. The RS6 displays wonderful lane-centering skill and its adaptive cruise system handles sudden lane intrusions properly, with restrained, however applicable, braking drive.

The RS6 is not an excessive amount of of a fuel guzzler, due to good and invisible cylinder deactivation expertise. That mentioned, it is the least environment friendly car on this restricted class. EPA estimates sit at 15 miles per gallon metropolis, 22 freeway, and 17 mixed. The E63 takes the crown right here, at 16 metropolis, 19 freeway, and 23 mixed, whereas the category’ energy hitter, the Panamera Turbo S, is available in at 15 metropolis, 21 freeway, and 18 mixed. No, we don’t know how the Panamera has the identical metropolis score, a decrease freeway score, and a better mixed determine. Naturally, all the pieces on this class requires premium gasoline.

It could not imply a lot when speaking about six-figure tremendous wagons, however the RS6 is probably the most inexpensive automotive in its class, with costs beginning at $109,000, or $3,450 lower than the E63 and an incredible $72,700 lower than a Panamera Turbo S Sport Turismo. This check mannequin added just below $9,800 in elective extras and a $1,045 vacation spot cost for an out-the-door worth of $119,840 (not even near the max worth).

About half of these choices introduce purposeful upgrades. You need the $1,000 sport exhaust as a result of you’ve ears and so they deserve love too. The $2,250 Driver Help pack wants no introduction, both. However the $2,500 Government pack is extra of a supplier’s selection than vital, including additional leather-based upholstery, a head-up show, heated rear seats, and soft-close doorways. Good, however hardly needed.

On the aesthetic entrance, the $2,450 Black Optic pack featured right here presents a extra menacing look with out the gaudiness of the expensive Carbon Optic pack ($6,350). You may also pay $500 for the matte carbon-fiber trim and one other $500 for purple brake calipers. This tester’s flashy $595 Tango Pink paint rounded out the price of extras.