Car Review: Audi RS6 Avant to buy or not

When you hear the word ‘excess’, what all comes to the mind? For me, its something like a large burger with fries and a soda or A sumo wrestler weighing 200 kilos or a shopping mall which is 1.5 kilometers long.

But how much is too much especially when it comes to cars? Presenting the spanking new Audi RS6 Avant, the fastest production family car Audi has ever made.

It’s a station wagon, a type of vehicle we Indians never took seriously. Most of us believe that they look bulky, stupid and hideous. The likes of Baleno Altura, Fiat Adventure, Tata Estate and many more failed to impress the modern family guys. It is very hard to justify then how a luxury and sporty station wagon from a company like Audi could survive in a country full of sedan / SUV lovers.

We are familiar with the Audi A6. One of their best-selling cars here in India. It is powered by a 2-litre diesel motor which produces 190 hp doing 0-100 in 8.2 seconds which in my book of automobile sensibility is quick enough. But with the RS6 Avant, it is a bit of a different story. It is powered by Audi’s 4-litre twin turbo V8 engine producing a mind-boggling 560 bhp and 700 Nm of torque that also does service in the Bentley Continental GT V8. The power is transmitted through an 8 speed ZF gearbox to all 4 wheels, thanks to Audi’s quattro all wheel drive system.

It is ridiculous how it is called a family car because it has more power than all Maserati’s, more powerful than the Aston Martin V12 Vantage and more power than a Nissan GTR. A GTR!!! It touches a 100kmph in 3.9 seconds and it will pin the passengers in the rear seat who would either be screaming for life or would be cursing you for making them feel nauseatic.

It is intoxicatingly quick off the line. Quattro 4 wheel drive system does make sure that you stay glued to the tarmac, in a straight line. But the same quattro system does make things a bit underwhelming with traction systems hitting in when you are going strong over corners the car generously understeers leaving you wanting for more. But it isn’t as intrusive on the track as the system in the RS7 and it is kind of strange because both the cars share absolutely similar underpinnings.

The steering is a downer with electrical inputs being prominent it feels absolutely numb and has no feedback while taking on those fast corners. The exhaust note is beautiful and very Audi. It hits its sweet spot at higher rpms. But by the time you hit those revs you will be doing way above legal speeds and will have to slow down, it is something that can be rectified with a much more sonorous sports exhaust coz the V8 backfire at every downshift is simply sensational.

The brakes feel super sharp, considering the car weighs around 2 tons the brakes do a wonderful job at bringing it to a standstill.

The interiors of the car are reminiscent of the A6 with all black theme and generous dashes of alcantara almost everywhere. The car we had at our disposal had air suspension fitted to it making the ride quality absolutely sublime, this along with Pirelli PZERO Corsa tires which indeed have superb grip.

We made a trip down to Agra via the Yamuna expressway and had an opportunity to test the efficiency of the most powerful family car in the Audi portfolio. To our surprise the trip computer showrd an extremely good figure of 16.1 kmpl on the highway. This was due to cylinder on demand system that shuts off 4 from 8 cylinders when cruising at lower rpm and feathering the throttle.

The boot space is massive, it really makes you feel that you are taking a 3 bhk on 4 wheels. With seats folded down, two adults can easily spread a matteress and sleep overnight with space for table lamps and pillow fights as well.

So then, it is excessively fast, excessively spacious as it can fit wardrobes of your wife, your girlfriend and your ex all at once, it is excessively mean looking (this shade in particular), it is excessively economical when you need it to be and it sounds glorious. It has everything in excess. Absolutely no one minds a little bit more than what one gets and that probably is the recipe for real happniess.

Specs

Engine	4.0 litre V8 TFSI
Power	560 hp
Torque	700 Nm
Transmission	8-speed tiptronic
Drive System	quattro with Sports differential
0-100 kmph	3.9 seconds
Top Speed	250 kmph
Top Speed with Optional Boosting Package	305 kmph
Length	4979 mm
Width	2086 mm
Height	1461 mm
Wheelbase	2915 mm
Ground Clearance	114 mm
Features	Audi drive select
	MMI Navigation with MMI touch
	Bang & Olufsen Sound system
	Panoramic glass sunroof
	Head-up display
	4 zone automatic air conditioning
	RS sports exhaust system
	Audi Matrix LED headlight
	Convenience Key
	Reverse camera
	Driver Information system with 7 inch colour display
	RS adaptive air suspension
	RS sport suspension plus with Dynamic Ride Control (DRC)
	RS multifunction sport leather flat-bottom steering wheel in 3-spoke design
	Dynamic Steering
Safety	8 Full size air bags
	Antilock Brake System (ABS)
	Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD)
	Electronic Stabilisation Control (ESC)
	aluminium tandem brake booster
	wave brake discs ventilated at front and rear
	brake callipers painted in high-gloss black with RS logo at front
	Electronic Stabilisation control (ESC)

This article first appeared on Rushlane.com