Audi RS6 (2013 – 2019) Review

Audi RS6 (2013 – 2019) At A Glance

4/5
Honest John Overall Rating
Something of a performance car icon, and justifiably so, the Audi RS6 Avant offers incredible performance in an equally rounded package.

+Supercar pace with estate car space, beautiful interior materials and fit and finish, relatively understated means of having 600PS.

-Suspension can be a bit busy on less than perfect surfaces, should come with the Sports Exhaust as standard, the AMG E63S is even more gigglesome.

Insurance Groups are between 48–50
On average it achieves 81% of the official MPG figure

Audi, more than any of its rivals, defines the fast estate car sector, its RS6 model being the de-facto choice in among its small group of rivals. A car of incredible breadth, the Audi RS6 mixes the practical family estate car usefulness of the A6 Avant it’s based on, but thanks to the fitment of a 600PS 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 engine, it has a level of performance that will keep a supercar honest. Now in its fourth generation, this current RS6 went on sale early in 2020 to take on rivals like the Mercedes-AMG E63S 4Matic+ and Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo.

The Audi RS6 is a performance car icon, fitting a big, powerful engine to the pragmatic estate (Avant in Audi speak) car body that’s borrowed from the regular Audi A6 range.

The result is a hugely compelling all-rounder, a car that can carry a family in comfort, but also achieve the sort of performance that was once the preserve of super and even hypercars. With a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 gives it 600PS, enough to allow the RS6 to be able to able to reach 62mph in 3.6 seconds, that being the same as something like a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S.

If you happen to be in Audi’s German homeland you’ll be able to keep accelerating hard all the way to 155mph, where the electronic speed limiter cuts in, though Audi offers a cost option to raise that limiter to 174mph, or even have it removed completely.

If it is completely unrestricted then the RS6 is capable of 189mph, which is remarkable for such a spacious, practical car. It’s this ability that’s made it such a hit with the owners of super and sports cars, allowing them to own a family car that has performance that’s equal to (and even better than) that of the other, significantly less practical, cars in their garage. 

With a maximum boot capacity of 1,680 litres with the rear seats folded, the RS6 is an able all-rounder, the boot huge even with the seats up.

Four adults can be carried in comfort, such is the space in the rear seats, and while there’s a third seatbelt in the rear, it’s best left unoccupied, as otherwise it gets a bit cramped and uncomfortable. To drive it’s got all the civility of its A6 Avant relations, only with agility and pace that’ll shock if you really exploit it.

That’s thanks to Audi’s honing of the chassis, too, which has been engineered to suit the mighty power from its V8 engine. 

It retains all the qualities that make the regular A6 Avant such an appealing car, too, with fine built interior, handsome exterior and, being the range-topping model, a huge standard equipment list. All that means despite its sizeable list price – it starting around £100,000 – that you could convince yourself it’s a bargain, because you’ll genuinely not need to buy something like a Ferrari or a Porsche to enjoy driving at the weekends.

For fast, cross continental runs to your ski chalet of summer house there’s little better, the combination of all that power and security of Audi’s quattro four-wheel drive system making it an all-season, any conditions car. 

There are only a handful of direct rivals for the RS6, with Mercedes-AMG offering the E63S 4Matic+ estate, Porsche the Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo and Alpina the B5 Bi-Turbo Touring AWD, though a number of high-performance SUVs will do a similar job, if not quite so discreetly.

Ask Honest John

Audi RS6 - what causes wheel buckle?

"My Audi RS6 was bought new in late 2015 and has done 5000 miles. I reported an issue to the local dealer (not the supplying dealer) of a vibration through the steering at motorway speeds. Also a pulsing through the brake pedal when braking from speed. They diagnosed that all four wheels were buckled - 21-inch alloys. I had a 2nd opinion from an alloy wheel specialist and they agreed, except advising they are in fact twisted not buckled/flat spotted. The local dealer says this will not be covered under warranty. I called Audi UK and they advised that i take back to the supplying dealer (they are a three hour drive away). I am reluctant as I am sure I will get the same response and it will be a waste of time. What could have caused this issue? "
This is the problem with 21-inch wheels and 35 and 30 profile tyres. Very little tyre between the rims and the road so the wheels are very easily buckled.
Answered by Honest John
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