Audi A6 Avant long-term test: report 3

The car Audi A6 Avant Sport 45 TFSI quattro Run by Chris Haining, sub-editor

Why it’s here To find out whether an executive estate car can still cut it in a world that prefers SUVs, and to see if there's still a place for petrol power in these days of electrification

Needs to Soothe on a long motorway commute without costing the earth on fuel; be endlessly versatile without being annoyingly cumbersome

Mileage 3795 List price £53,530 Target Price £49,273 Price as tested £57,210 Official fuel economy 36.2 mpg Test fuel economy 41.4 mpg 

9 July 2024 – A good little runner

Despite looking more business suit than sportswear, my Audi A6 Avant can officially dash from 0-62mph in 6.2 seconds, and that's a very respectable time for its class. It reminds me of school, where nobody could accuse me of looking sporty, but I was always in top half of the table for the 100m sprint. In fact, the two of us tackle bursts of speed from a standstill in a fairly similar manner; there's a brief hesitation before setting off, followed by an increasing war cry as my lungs and its 2.0-litre turbocharged engine give their best in a determined lunge for the finish line.

The A6's engine, which is basically the same as that of the Volkswagen Golf GTI hot hatch, has to work a lot harder in this bigger, heavier estate car. It copes well, though; it may be vocal when pushed hard, but it doesn't coarse or stressed, and that's more than can be said for me. My six-foot-five, 16-stone frame takes some motivation, and the Couch to 5K fitness programme – the final run of which I completed just before writing this – made me wish I was as good as the A6 at tackling long distances.

From the outset, when trying to tackle a five-kilometer run, setting a sensible pace was the trickiest bit. Too slow and I waste energy, too fast and my lungs can't keep up with my body's demand for oxygen. The Audi, though, seems to grow longer legs the faster it cruises. When I first took delivery, I had realistic expectations about the A6's fuel economy; it officially returns 36.2mpg overall, and if it could match the 35mpg that I can rely on my trusty 26 year-old Audi A4 to deliver, I'd be more than happy. 

Imagine my surprise, then, when the A6 posted much better figures than that. In fact, at no point has it dipped below its official figure. My usual round trip to the office and back doesn't vary much in length from around 234 miles, but there's no telling what the traffic will do, and that means my average speed varies hugely. As with running, then, aiming for a constant pace isn't always easy. So, when I filled the A6's tank after one work one day and calculated that it had returned 41.4mpg since the previous fill, I was staggered. In fact, it's rare that it dips below 40mpg – amazing for a petrol-engined car that can turn in such a nifty sprint. 

And while I probably make a shambolic sight as I huff and puff the kilometers away, the A6 is perfectly unruffled. The deep tyre sidewalls that wrap the 18in wheels you get with Sport trim absorb minor surface scars before they can reach the suspension, so there's barely any fidgeting at speed. It's quiet, too, so the Harman Kardon sound system doesn't have much background noise to contend with; there's no doubt that Simple Minds' Street-fighting Years sounds better in the A6 than it did on my final C25K run, with my earbuds near drowning in perspiration. 

Breaking into a sweat, though, isn't something the A6 ever does.

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