Audi A6 (2008-) Review

Overview

• Next: Reliability and Quality

Middle age comes to us all, but some deal with it better than others.

Take the Audi A6. Four years into its life it's more energetic than ever. Not only does it account for a quarter of all the brand's sales (last year was a record), but it's fast earning a reputation for breaking into emerging markets.

Better yet, it's kept in good shape and still offers buyers a capable drive and a spacious, beautifully built cabin.

Despite this, Audi has decided to freshen it up with a subtle facelift. There's a new front bumper, redesigned headlamps and wing mirrors, and the saloon's adopted a pair of LED rear lamps from the Avant estate. Inside, there have also been mild tweaks to the million-selling A6's cabin.

But the big changes have occurred under the bonnet. On average emissions and fuel consumption have fallen by 15% across the range and the range has been augmented by more powerful engines.

Headline news is the replacing of the noisy unrefined old diesel engines with a range of common rail diesels first seen on the all-new A4 range. Two engines are dropped completely: the 3.2 V6 and the 4.2 V8 are both replaced by an all-new 286bhp supercharged 3.0-litre that is the flagship for the non S- and RS- models. Not only is the new engine over 13% more powerful than the old V6, it matches the V8's torque figure while betters the 3.2's fuel consumption by a considerable 16%.

More real-world will be the arrival of the 'E' diesel. Using the new common rail TDI, the 134bhp 2.0-litre averages a creditable 53.3mpg and emits just 136g/km of CO2.

What at first may seem a mild aesthetic tweak hides quite a comprehensive re-engineering job, but with an all-new E-Class Mercedes on the way and yet another 5-Series BMW in the pipeline, has Audi done enough to help its A6 golden child weather its autumn years?

Price range: £24,800 - £76,160