Audi A6 Avant Review 2024

The Audi A6 Avant is now an even more stylish and striking machine. Its executive car appearance has been enhanced with bulging wheelarches and long, flowing lines, giving it an imposing look. It’s a tech-fest onboard as well, with multiple screens and touch-sensitive controls making a real step on from the previous A6 Avant. But Audi hasn’t forgotten the many strengths of the old car either, ensuring this latest model still has lots of space on board for passengers and, of course, a voluminous and practical estate car boot. It’s also good to see the choice of engines, which was vast in previous generations, has now started to grow from an initially rather limited level.

Although large estate cars aren’t quite as popular as they once were – blame the ascendancy of the SUV – Audi still hasn’t skimped on creating the latest A6 Avant. It is a beautifully finished machine with real presence. It arguably has more elegance than its supposedly more svelte four-door coupe counterpart, the Audi A7 Sportback.

Audi has a long history of building some of the best estate cars going (which it calls Avants), and this heritage is clear to see here. It is a car enhanced by its voluminous estate car rear end, rather than spoiled by it.

Inside, it has an extremely modern and high-tech feel, thanks to its array of colour screens instead of buttons and dials. There are two screens on the centre console alone, plus you can choose to have the instruments replaced by a third multi-function colour display.

It does all take some getting used to. There’s no longer a physical control to change the climate control temperature, for example – even this becomes a touchscreen operation. But it’s certainly sophisticated and futuristic.

Like its predecessor, this generation of Audi A6 Avant is a very roomy car. the driver’s seat has plenty of adjustability in all directions (it’s just a pity electric seats are optional rather than standard) and there’s loads of legroom in the rear.

It goes without saying that a big estate car should have a big boot, and the A6 Avant delivers here too, with a class-competitive 565 litres with the seats up. No, it’s not as roomy as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class estate, but the Audi A6 Avant’s more svelte rear end is a compromise most won’t consider a step too far. The rear seats fold flat for even more space, in a handy 40:20:40 layout.

Since the launch of the A6 Avant in 2019 the engine range has changed a bit. Both the two V6 motors (the 50 TDI and 55 TFSI) are no longer available to order new, leaving a single diesel option, two petrol engines and a recently launched plug-in hybrid. All latest Audi A6s come with an automatic gearbox and Quattro all-wheel drive is available across the range. 

The diesel is the 40 TDI, a 204PS 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with mild hybrid technology as standard. Fuel economy is very good and it’s a more responsive and smoother-running engine than many expect. 

For those who prefer petrol, the 40 TFSI and 45 TFSI are both 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo units with 204 and 265PS respectively. Finally, there's the 50 TFSI e plug-in hybrid with 299PS and an EV-only range of up to 41 miles.

Audi’s engineers tune the setup of their cars to be composed, effortless and assured. The grin-inducing tactility you get from something like a BMW 5 Series is dialled back in favour of a drive that remains calm and collected no matter what speed you’re driving, or what the weather is doing. 

Ride quality is surprisingly supple, even in sportier S line versions. In the previous car, S line spec could feel a bit lumpy in town, but Audi has tuned this out here. The options list features a range of suspension options, including a smooth air suspension setup.

Despite the popularity of SUVs, only the sophistication and carrying capacity of a large estate car will do for some and will certainly make a brilliant family car. 

The amount of adjustment for the driver is particularly striking – you can slide the seat so far back, it almost leaves the steering wheel beyond your reach. You might wish that electric seats were standard, not optional.

There’s lots of space in the rear as well, with acres of headroom and legroom sufficient for even the tallest. We don’t take any issue with Audi’s claim that space is class-leading.

The boot is huge: the capacity, even with the seats up, is equivalent to 14 carry-on cases. That’s two for every passenger, with enough left over for those who don’t understand the concept of packing light. As standard, the seats are split 40:20:40, opening up almost 1,700 litres of space. More, in other words, than the Audi Q5 SUV alternative. This extra practicality is why the estate car still has so many loyal followers.

The understated appearance of previous Audis is out, with the designers now preferring a more sparkling and glitzier look. One thing that hasn’t changed is the quality and robustness of it all; this is a premium car and it feels it, particularly in the vivid crispness of the many screens and smooth, rich plastics and trims throughout.

On the road, it looks upmarket and distinctive, perfect for status-seekers. Paint quality is beautiful, while the sporty features of the S Line variant make even a 40 TDI look like a mini RS6.

Every Audi A6 Avant comes with two screens in the centre console, replacing most of the buttons. The upper screen is an 8.8-inch touchscreen display, used for the sat nav system as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. When you touch it, a haptic ‘click’ confirms your finger-press, helping usability.

The screen below is an 8.6-inch touchscreen that’s used for the climate control. It’s comprehensive, but some may find the fact changing the temperature now involves the jab of a screen rather fussy. Audi has a well-priced Technology Pack that adds a third 10.1-inch screen in place of the regular analogue dials. So smoothly do all three screens tie together, we think it’s well worth it.

Executive cars carry executive-grade price tags. Thus, the Audi A6 Avant range now starts at £41,755 for the front-wheel drive Sport 40 TFSI. Opt for the 40 TDI which comes with Quattro four-wheel drive as standard and you'll be paying £45,810. The more powerful 45 TFSI petrol engine with Sport trim is £46,880. 

Stepping up to S Line costs more than £3500, and while the Black Edition is a further £2000.

At the top of the range, Audi offers an extremely lavish variant called Vorsprung. This is an absolutely fully-loaded spec, with every conceivable extra fitted as standard. That’s why it carries a price tag of more than £63,000 for one with the 40 TFSI, topping out at over £68,000 for the 45 TFSI. 

Fancy the 50 TFSI e plug-in hybrid? Prices start at £56,665 for the Sport and topping out at £75,465 for the Vorsprung version.

On the second-hand market, used Audi A6 Avant prices are more accessible. Early cars are now dropping below £20,000 for a high mileage example, with S Line versions starting from around £22,500. Again, most cars found at this level will be the 40 TDI diesel, with other options proving rare.

Attention-grabbing economy is the big draw of the 40 TDI engine. In its most efficient guise, it is capable of returning almost 63mpg – and that, surprisingly, is with Quattro four-wheel drive. 

Petrol versions are less economical but don’t seem too thirsty, with the 45 TFSI capable of over 42mpg in Sport guise (the figure dips slightly in S line spec due to its larger wheels), while the 40 TFSI delivers 36mpg. 

The 50 TFSI e plug-in hybrid has an official fuel consumption of nearly 189mpg, but to achieve that you'll need to be able to regularly charge it. However, thanks to low 34-35g/km CO2 emissions, company car drivers will pay just 10 percent Benefit in Kind tax.

For those running an Audi A6 Avant themselves, the fact even the lowest insurance rate is group 30 might be a bit of a shock. 

The Audi A6 Avant is a very safe and assured car to drive. It isn’t a car you’ll steer onto a twisting road for the sake of it, but it does serve up trustworthy and unruffled prowess no matter what the weather. Quattro versions are particularly able in this regard.

There are a range of suspension options for differing levels of sportiness. It’s all rather confusing, so you’ll need to configure carefully – or check the spec sheet of a second-hand car. Our tip is to look out for models with adaptive suspension.

All Audi A6 Avants now ride the bumps better than before, even S Line variants with big wheels. This means it is both more comfortable in town and more assured at speed.

There is one interesting option that can make it feel a bit smaller and easier to manage: four-wheel steering, which shrinks the turning circle when parking, while also adding even more stability at higher speeds.

Engines are all very refined, with even the four-cylinder 40 TDI offering a hushed and smooth drive. The 50 TFSI e plug-in hybrid will give genuine silence when running on electric, at speeds of up to 84mph. The older (and no longer available) V6 engines sound nicer, but there’s little in it these days in terms of general refinement.

The regular S tronic automatic gearbox is fine, with swift gearshifts and a generally fuss-free nature. We prefer it to the eight-speed Tiptronic fitted to the discontinued 50 TDI, which we found could easily be caught out – downshifts often take longer to kick in than you’d like, making the car occasionally feel slothful and lacking responsiveness.

Safety testing by Euro NCAP saw the latest Audi A6 Avant awarded a five-star rating, with adult occupant protection looking particularly impressive on 93 percent. Safety assist features were pegged back a little, to 76 percent – the score would have been higher had more of the gadgets been fitted as standard.

Pre-Sense autonomous emergency braking is standard, though, as are LED headlights – although here, there are two further upgrades, topped by the ultra-vivid HD Matrix LED headlights. Optional adaptive cruise control is offered, which not only keeps you a set distance from the car in front, but also centres the vehicle within its lane.

All new Audi A6 Avants are now capable of towing a 2000kg load. We’d advise choosing the official tow bar option and also look into optional air suspension, to help maintain an even stance even when lugging heavy loads. 

Sport models come with 18-inch alloys, LED lights both front and rear, dual-screen MMI infotainment, all-round parking sensors, rear-view camera (handy when parking) and cruise control with speed limited.

The wheels grow to 19-inches on S Line models, which also get lower sports suspension, Audi Matrix LED headlights and a comprehensive sport-style makeover outside and in.

Black Edition is a more well-equipped take on the S Line, while Vorsprung adds in virtually everything you can optionally choose on an A6 Avant, with a corresponding jump up in prices.