Audi RS6 Avant 2008 Review

The latest RS6 Avant is the most powerful series production Audi road car ever built. With a staggering 426kW on tap, its twin-turbo V10 engine is a full 73kW up on the previous top gun, the V8 RS6 Plus produced back in 2004.

It will not surprise you, therefore, to read that the new RS6 is also the fastest-accelerating road car ever to head out of Ingolstadt; officially it takes just 4.6sec to crack 0-100km/h. And while the top speed is electronically limited to 250km/h, 280km/h is available through a sport package. Development drivers have even seen 330km/h during testing.

However, it is the RS6's deep reserves of torque that really shape its on-road character. With 650Nm spread from 1500rpm to 6250rpm, the big Audi pulls like a locomotive from idle all the way up to its 6800rpm redline.

The only gearbox on offer is a six-speed automatic with paddle-shifters on the steering wheel and offering the choice between three distinct shift modes: automatic, sport and manual.

The 2025kg RS6 takes some stopping, so the standard brake set-up combines 390mm (front) and 356mm (rear) steel discs. Buyers who opt for the optional 20-inch wheel and tyre package can also specify 420mm (front) and 356mm (rear) carbon-ceramic discs.

On the road, nailing the throttle leaves you in little doubt that the RS6 is the new four-door performance king. It accelerates effortlessly, shrinking distance like no other car that seats five adults and provides 565 litres of luggage space. Not only is it sensationally rapid in a straight line, but it also boasts tremendous directional stability at speed, superb levels of mechanical refinement, a top-notch driving environment and, thanks to its four-wheel-drive system, near-invincibility in any weather.

Added to this is a not-unreasonable combined fuel consumption figure of 11.6L/100km, giving it a theoretical range of 560km from its 80-litre tank.

The only real concern we harbour is its rather lumpy ride. Final conclusions will have to wait until we have the chance to drive the RS6 in the Oz, but in a bid to maintain body control the suspension has been given a heavy reworking; the car's spring rates have been made 12 percent stiffer over the already harsh-riding S6.

And for all its undoubted motorway strengths, the RS6 cannot defy the laws of physics. This is a big and heavy car, and it takes plenty of road space for the driver to feel entirely confident about operating near the limits. At 2.2 turns lock to lock, the steering is pleasingly direct but not exactly generous in feedback.

The four-wheel-drive system doles out the drive in a 40/60 split front to rear. This car flatters its driver, allowing you to feed in huge amounts of power early and carry great speed into corners without fear of a nasty tail-led reprisal as you begin to wind on lock. There's tremendous neutrality in the way it corners, and massive grip to boot.

Once the high levels of adhesion have been breached, the onset of electronic stability control ensures the car fades in progressive and well-contained understeer.

The major strength of the RS6 remains its colossal engine, but this time around Audi has given it a chassis that will allow it to really challenge the likes of the BMW M5 Touring and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG.

Australian deliveries are expected in the third quarter of this year, priced around $259,000. Big money, but you can be sure the RS6 is good enough to make waves among the four-door performance elite.

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