Marv
May 21st, 2008, 13:55
So, last Saturday afternoon I went out to pick my daughter up and when I got back to the house, bugger me if there wasn't a brand new C6 RS6 on my drive with my Audi dealer standing next to it with a big cheesy grin on his face.:wo:
No, not my new car sadly, but the new arrival at my local Audi franchise. He'd come round on the off-chance to see if I fancied a test drive - good salesman!
Well sadly I was going out later so I only got 15 mins drive and I live in London so not exactly time to find any exciting roads but what great 15 mins :hahahehe: I thought I'd give some initial impressions compared with the C5 RS6
Firstly in the flesh the car is an understated monster. This one was in sensible Mugello blue but it still looked awesome. The wheels and particularly the brakes are just huge. The wheel arches are subtle and give the car a distinctive look compared to the standard A6 but they're definitely not in your face. I'd say the car is even more of a Q car than the C5 RS6 but it is classy - IMO it just works really well.
The interior is just a great place to be, a simple natural progression from the C5. I guess it's not that different from the current S6.
Hmm, the engine. Well sounds sooo different from the old V8 bellow. At idle I'd even say it sounds quite rough but in a menacing way. Still it revs so cleanly with a great off-beat sound. The dealer floored it down the road when he left and from outside the car you can tell there's something very serious under the bonnet.
And driving it....the absolute first thing I noticed was the speed sensitive steering - what is that all about. Very odd if you're not used to it. Doesn't feel connected at low speed it's so light and then suddenly stiffens up (just like the C5 but with less slack, more precise) just as you're half way round a bend!
Next thing is the gearbox. What a difference:bigeyes:. The torque converter locks up so quickly. The C5 slushes around, especially in 1st gear and at < 2000 revs. In the C6 it's locked up before you know it and so it feels much more like the DSG. Because of this, the pick up when you touch the throttle is just instantaneous (which actually takes some getting used to when you're pottering round town: like be careful not to launch into the car in front as you pull away at a junction!) The downshifts are just in a different league. Going from 4th to 2nd with 2 pulls on the flappy paddle is near instant. I like this gearbox. A lot.
The engine. So tractable, pulls from nothing to the red line with no lag. Doesn't really fell like a turbo engine at all. Sadly I can't say much more as I didn't get the chance to really push it.
Steering and turn in. The car still feels nose heavy but it's much better than the C5. It just feels happier to go into the corners (not as good as the RS4 though, that just defies logic). Again not really pushing it - there's a lot more to explore here.
Finally the dampers. I put it in comfort mode down a really shitty potholed undulating road (just like all UK roads:noshake:) and it works well. You can feel the compliance in the suspension, it's comfort without being too soft. You definitely get none of the shake and tremor you occasionally get in the C5 (feel it through the pedals especially when your DRC is knackered!)
All in all a great car, much better (less raw but does that mean less character?) than the C5. I liked it very much (who wouldn't). Being objective I'm not sure if it's worth the hefty price tag. However the sound of that engine, ooh that gearbox....I want one.
Going to arrange a full test drive for week after next...watch this space.
Marv
No, not my new car sadly, but the new arrival at my local Audi franchise. He'd come round on the off-chance to see if I fancied a test drive - good salesman!
Well sadly I was going out later so I only got 15 mins drive and I live in London so not exactly time to find any exciting roads but what great 15 mins :hahahehe: I thought I'd give some initial impressions compared with the C5 RS6
Firstly in the flesh the car is an understated monster. This one was in sensible Mugello blue but it still looked awesome. The wheels and particularly the brakes are just huge. The wheel arches are subtle and give the car a distinctive look compared to the standard A6 but they're definitely not in your face. I'd say the car is even more of a Q car than the C5 RS6 but it is classy - IMO it just works really well.
The interior is just a great place to be, a simple natural progression from the C5. I guess it's not that different from the current S6.
Hmm, the engine. Well sounds sooo different from the old V8 bellow. At idle I'd even say it sounds quite rough but in a menacing way. Still it revs so cleanly with a great off-beat sound. The dealer floored it down the road when he left and from outside the car you can tell there's something very serious under the bonnet.
And driving it....the absolute first thing I noticed was the speed sensitive steering - what is that all about. Very odd if you're not used to it. Doesn't feel connected at low speed it's so light and then suddenly stiffens up (just like the C5 but with less slack, more precise) just as you're half way round a bend!
Next thing is the gearbox. What a difference:bigeyes:. The torque converter locks up so quickly. The C5 slushes around, especially in 1st gear and at < 2000 revs. In the C6 it's locked up before you know it and so it feels much more like the DSG. Because of this, the pick up when you touch the throttle is just instantaneous (which actually takes some getting used to when you're pottering round town: like be careful not to launch into the car in front as you pull away at a junction!) The downshifts are just in a different league. Going from 4th to 2nd with 2 pulls on the flappy paddle is near instant. I like this gearbox. A lot.
The engine. So tractable, pulls from nothing to the red line with no lag. Doesn't really fell like a turbo engine at all. Sadly I can't say much more as I didn't get the chance to really push it.
Steering and turn in. The car still feels nose heavy but it's much better than the C5. It just feels happier to go into the corners (not as good as the RS4 though, that just defies logic). Again not really pushing it - there's a lot more to explore here.
Finally the dampers. I put it in comfort mode down a really shitty potholed undulating road (just like all UK roads:noshake:) and it works well. You can feel the compliance in the suspension, it's comfort without being too soft. You definitely get none of the shake and tremor you occasionally get in the C5 (feel it through the pedals especially when your DRC is knackered!)
All in all a great car, much better (less raw but does that mean less character?) than the C5. I liked it very much (who wouldn't). Being objective I'm not sure if it's worth the hefty price tag. However the sound of that engine, ooh that gearbox....I want one.
Going to arrange a full test drive for week after next...watch this space.
Marv