Overview

The Audi A6 Avant is a long-lived entrant in the large estate car class – a market sector that Audi has been active in since the first 100 Avant arrived in the UK way back in 1983. Times have certainly changed though, with large SUVs now ruling the roost for most family buyers, despite their often smaller boots and inferior efficiency.

So, this most sensible and practical of cars in the German firm’s range has lots of opposition – not all from obvious sources. Yes, you’re likely to see it sharing a shopping list with the BMW 5 Series Touring, Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate, Volvo V90 and Jaguar XF Sportbrake, but equally A6 Avant buyers may well be tempted by a Q5 SUV, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GLC or Jaguar F-Pace instead. As we said, times are changing.

The most important aspect of an estate car is its boot, and the A6’s is easily accessed via an electric tailgate with some clever solutions to make loading items a little easier. However, boot capacity isn’t as capacious as we’d like, with a 565-litre load area with the rear seats in place. That means it trails its estate car rivals for outright space.

What we do know is that the once-mighty A6 range has been cut back in order to make way for more SUVs and electric cars. At launch, five engines were available, but now there are just three ‘cooking’ models – the 40 TDI diesel and 40 and 45 TFSI petrols, the plug-in hybrid 50 TFSIe and the more performance-focused S6. There’s also an RS6 Avant, which packs 600hp, and it is covered by its own separate review.

The lower-powered units all have 2.0-litres and four cylinders, while S6 makes do with 3.0-litres and six cylinders. All A6 Avants come with automatic gearboxes – either a dual-clutch S Tronic or an eight-speed Tiptronic, the latter is fitted to the S6. So, diesel, petrol and hybrid buyers are catered for, plus there’s model aimed at company car drivers and people who do a lot of short journeys.

All A6 Avants are available with a choice of front-wheel drive or optional Quattro. Four trim levels are available – Sport, S Line, Black Edition and Vorsprung – and all are well-equipped with a generous level of standard equipment, although you can quite easily boost the kit count of the car via the extensive options list.

Clearly, the thinning out of the range is in anticipation of the A6’s replacement by an all-new electric car, known as the A6 E-Tron, and you can find out more about that on our Audi electric cars page.

But for now, how does the Audi A6 Avant stack up against the opposition? Click through the next few pages to read everything you need to know, including its practicality, how much it costs to run, what it’s like to drive – and whether we recommend buying one.