Audi A6 Avant 40 TDI Sport 2018 first drive

We’ll let you make up your own mind on the styling, but to our eyes the new Avant is a better-looking car than its predecessor. Neat surfacing combines with flared arches to give it a squat and purposeful stance, though Audi’s now trademark super-wide grille isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. It should be noted that all of our test cars were riding on chunky 20 or 21in alloys, and we suspect smaller wheel options might spoil the aesthetics. 

Audi’s design team makes lots of noise about the steeply raked rear window line, claiming it negates the need to offer a ‘shooting brake’ option (think Mercedes CLS) yet doesn’t impede on boot space. The 598-litre seats up figure quoted is identical to the outgoing Avant, although the length of the boot has increased slightly. The biggest improvement is in terms of rear seat room, with two six-footers finding ample space to spare.  

The rest of the interior is quintessentially Audi. Fit-and-finish is almost without fault, the materials look and feel suitably high-end, and even minor switchgear operates with the slickness you’d expect from the masters of Teutonic precision. The Virtual Cockpit also looks crisper than ever with the latest graphic updates. 

There’s one rather crucial exception to this, however. The new MMI Touch dual-screen layout has attracted criticism from us in the past, and it’s no different here. The haptic feedback gives off a passable impression of traditional buttons, but often still requires a second or even third stab before it reacts. The climate display is also needlessly complicated to operate on the move. While it’ll become more intuitive with familiarity, the eyes-up simplicity of the old rotary control dial is sorely missed. 

If you want simplicity, look at the A6’s bare-bones UK engine line-up. There’s just two choices initially, with a slow drip-feeding of further options coming later. Both are, rather unfashionably, diesel. One’s a silky V6 (badged 50 TDI), but we’re trying the volume seller here: the venerable 2.0-litre 40 TDI in 201bhp form. 

It’s fractionally improved in every sense over the old model: there’s slightly more power, a little more torque and subtly better efficiency figures. Despite the size and weight it has to move here, it’s an engine that’s very well-matched to the Avant, in part thanks to the standard seven-speed dual-clutch 'box. Other than some hesitance when pulling smartly away from a standing start, its changes are smooth and predictable, keeping the motor in the sweet spot between response and refinement. It's necessary, as the motor becomes a touch too vocal when really pushed. 

It means that, like the old car, the base A6 makes a slightly better case for itself as an all-rounder compared to the six-pot unit which, while more cultured and noticeably more brisk, struggles to justify a chunky £9000 price hike and is lumbered with a decidedly less slick eight-speed Tiptronic box. 

Like the saloon, the A6 Avant’s mild-hybrid tech operates largely imperceptibly. The engine-off coasting is unnerving initially, but the system always restarts the moment you brush the throttle. It also adds refinement to what is already a cabin pleasingly free of wind, road and unwanted engine grumble.

While there’s no weak link in the engine range, we recommend you choose carefully with the suspension options. We tried the standard springs with adaptive dampers back-to-back with the optional air suspension, and found the former (when left in auto damping) offers a more consistent compromise between tidy body control and a taut, yet isolating, ride. The air system is surprisingly unsettled at lower speeds and is worth avoiding as a result.

Comfort has improved, then, and so has agility - at least on the cars we drove fitted with the rear-steer system. Turning the opposite way to the fronts by an angle of up to five degrees at speeds below 34mph and reducing the turning circle by 1.1m, it’s markedly easier to manoeuvre at low speeds than competitors. At higher speeds the rear wheels turn with the front, boosting Autobahn-ploughing stability.

Don’t think this suddenly transforms the A6 Avant into a thrill-seeking sporting estate, because it doesn’t. This is still a car that majors on composure over fun, with neutral cornering behaviour and little in the way of entertainment. Its sheer width limits progress on anything other than wide, sweeping A-roads, although all of the Audi’s rivals are similarly afflicted.

Best, then, to enjoy the way the A6 feels completely unfazed by any situation you throw it at. It’ll rarely put a grin on your face, but the precise steering and prodigious grip levels are about as confidence-inspiring as cars in this class get. At the same time, its ability to eat up long distances and have you emerge in total comfort is up there with this category’s finest offerings.