Written by Tim Pollard and CJ Hubbard Updated: 2 June 2025

Overview

Should you buy one?

The Audi A6 Avant continues a long tradition of being among the best estate cars for a wide variety of buyers. The swoopier design of this latest version underlines the firm’s focus on aesthetics and style over outright load-lugging, but in the real world the Audi still has a huge boot with lots of clever estate features. It works very well on UK roads, too.

We’d encourage you to poke around that boot – and the interior, with its swathes of shiny piano black trim – before you make a buying decision, though. In a nutshell, it’s less focused to drive than the BMW 5 Series Touring and not as commodious as a Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate. With those provisos in mind, should you choose an A6 Avant as your premium estate car choice, we hardly think you will be disappointed.

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What’s new?

The Audi A6 Avant is this German premium brand’s largest estate car. Its offered with petrol and diesel engines as an alternative to those who are not yet ready to plug in to the all-electric model, which we cover in a separate A6 Avant E-Tron review. At a time when more and more carmakers are discontinuing estates in favour of SUVs, we applaud Audi for persisting with the genre of large practical wagons. It has a long tradition in this area.

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The A6 Avant offers the usual Audi quality in a large body that stretches to nearly five metres long. This commodious footprint means it has plenty of space for people, but the slanting roofline restricts the boot to 503 litres, which is quite a bit less than other estates in this class. However, the boot is sensibly shaped and comes with plenty of loading options and accessories to keep your luggage secure – so don’t dismiss it on numbers alone. This is still a spacious machine for families, and executives who want to stretch out a bit.

The market for large premium estates is dwindling, as many brands turn away from this bodystyle in favour of taller, bulkier crossovers and SUVs. The main combustion rivals to the A6 estate are the aforementioned BMW 5-Series Touring and Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate, as well as the Volvo V90.

What’s it like inside?

The interior of the A6 Avant is roomy and easily accessed by wide-opening doors. The moment you step in, it’s hard not to notice the predominantly digital cabin. All models have two large displays: one 11.9-inch Audi Virtual Cockpit which acts as the instruments in front of the driver, flowing seamlessly into a large centrally mounted 14.5in touchscreen for navigation and entertainment duties – a single large panel on the dashtop accommodating them both.

All premium brands rely on digital screens nowadays and Audi’s are fast-acting and easy to use. We’ve found the logic of the menus and infotainment operation pretty straightforward and we’re confident that all but the most technophobic will be able to navigate the system easily. It responds swiftly to touch inputs and it isn’t too difficult to hit the right bit of the screen on the move, even over the UK’s bumpy tarmac.

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We’re not so sure about recommending the optional third display, which adds an additional 10.9in screen for the front-seat passenger. Talk about overkill… The function that lets that passenger watch a film on the move, while blocking the angle of view so the driver isn’t distracted, is neat enough, but do you really need it?

Our biggest issue with the interior concerns some of the materials used. Audi spent decades building its reputation for faultless interiors and several of our road testers find its current insistence on using shiny ‘piano black’ plastic for many of the surfaces a little low-rent. Compared with the high-quality materials deployed in earlier generations of A6, piano black is a bit tinny, prone to scratching and attracts exactly the sort of grubby fingerprints that a family-focused estate car will surely generate.

That’s not to say the interior is actually poor quality – as with all Audis, it’s largely put together in a very convincing fashion. But compounding our concerns about the piano black portions are the haptic sliders and ‘digital buttons’ that adorn the steering wheel and the control panel on the driver’s door that crams so many functions – vehicle lights, locks, mirrors and seat memory function – into one wobbly unit. This feels too insubstantial in use, though it is at least easier to access than some earlier VW iterations that were buried low down in the dashboard.

Comfort

The latest A6 Avant is a very comfortable car. The seats up front are supportive and high quality and none of our testers struggled to find a suitable driving position. They remain comfy even over long distances.

Tall adults are well accommodated in both rows of seats. A 6ft 3in adult can fit comfortably in the back seat behind a similarly tall driver and legroom is generous, thanks to the A6’s extended wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear axles). It really is very roomy in the rear, while the option of a vast panoramic roof panel with variably opaque glass makes it feel light and airy without compromising headroom.

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Special mention to the ventilation for back-seat passengers: they get a couple of vents low down on the centre console and another two higher up at face height built into the doors’ structural B-pillar. A pair of cupholders is built into the back armrest to hold drinks.

Audi A6 Avant boot space and practicality

You look at the swoopier profile of the new A6 Avant and worry it’s become less practical than earlier estates from Audi. The angle of the rear tailgate is defiantly sportier and sleeker – presumably to the detriment of outright load lugging. However, once the bootlid opens (automatically, of course) you’re presented with a large loadbay that is beautifully trimmed and very sensible in shape.

But if boot space is paramount for estate cars, the A6’s 503-litre load area capacity falls short of its main rivals, the with Volvo V90 (560 litres), 5 Series Touring (570 litres) and E-Class Estate (615 litres) all offering more space with every seat occupied. Any of these rivals may suit you better if outright luggage space is important.

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That said, we’ll give a special mention to the A6 Avant’s intelligent storage solutions, luggage holding devices and dividing belts which stow neatly away in an underfloor compartment. They latch into aluminium rails running the length of the boot floor and the attention to detail of these accessories is marvellous to behold.

Fold the rear seats away and A6 Avant’s boot expands to a 1,534 litres. That compares better with the 1,526 litres available in the Volvo, but still falls short of the 1,700-litre 5 Series Touring and 1,830-litre E-Class Estate. The Audi’s rear seats split three ways 40:20:40, so you can configure space for luggage and limbs exactly as suits your needs, but that’s hardly a unique feature these days.

Safety

The new Audi A6 has not yet been independently crash tested by Euro NCAP, so we cannot publish an official safety score. We will update this page when the car has been assessed.

What we can report on is an extraordinary array of driver safety systems. This car is festooned with the latest Audi digital trickery and the car’s electronic brain will do everything in its powers to stop the car from skidding or losing traction or crashing. All lighting is by sophisticated LEDs, which actively shutter off to avoid blinding oncoming traffic, maximising your vision and reducing glare for others.

Audi A6 Avant engines

Just two models are offered in the UK at present, although Audi tells us that the range will rapidly expand to include more choice. For now, pick from a 2.0-litre TFSI petrol or a 2.0-litre TDI diesel with Quattro all-wheel drive.

Most Brits will choose the 2.0 TFSI, which develops 204hp sent through the front wheels only. That’s enough for 0-62mph in 8.3sec and 149mph flat-out. CO2 emissions stand at 161-181g/km.

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Spend around £4500 extra for the 2.0 TDI with Audi’s clever Quattro drivetrain as standard for superior traction (handy if you live in a rural location or need to keep going in slippery conditions). The diesel also produces 204hp, but with an additional 24hp from the MHEV Plus mild hybrid 48-volt system, which enables low-speed electric-only running. Top speed is 148mph and 0-62mph takes a brisk 7.0sec, while CO2 emissions tumble to 135-155g/km, depending on final spec.

Expect plug-in hybrids, higher-power models and a choice of high-performance S6 and RS6 Avants to arrive in the coming years.

What’s it like to drive?

The Audi A6 Avant is a talented estate car. One of its most striking qualities is the hushed refinement on offer: Audi has long championed aerodynamic efficiency – all the way back to the flush glazing on the advanced 100 Avant from 1982 – and the newcomer has plenty of clever styling features to keep wind and road noise to a minimum. The company claims the A6 is a third quieter than its predecessor and we believe it.

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It rides well and it’s rare that any bumps and lumps feed into the cabin; if you upgrade to the optional air suspension, this is magnified further, as it really can iron out very poor surfaces. This is not a terribly expensive enhancement, and is so far the only suspension we’ve been able to sample here in the UK. Most buyers are likely to stick to the regular steel springs, however, as these will likely prove fine in most circumstances.

Performance is well judged and both 2.0-litre engines provide sufficient acceleration, although neither is that tuneful to listen to, nor what we’d describe as truly rapid. An S-tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission is fitted as standard, which is slick enough. But you’ll need to make the most of all seven gears to make the swiftest progress.

British buyers are being denied the more sonorous 3.0-litre V6 models at launch, although we know that these larger motors are in the pipeline for right-hand drive sale. The upcoming Audi S6 Avant will use a tuned version of that engine.

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We prefer the BMW 5 Series for the last word in handling precision and steering feedback; but while the A6 Avant isn’t as granular or intimate about keeping the driver involved it is still very capable. The steering is sharp with a choice of different weightings depending on the driving mode selected, and for a big car it feels nimble and easy to position and control. The regular models are certainly much lighter on their feet and better composed than the hefty electric A6 e-Tron.

What models and trims are available?

For the May 2025 launch Audi offers three trim packages on the Audi A6 Avant for British buyers, ranging from entry-level Sport through sportier S Line and top-spec Edition 1 model. Standard equipment rises according to the spec level:

• Audi A6 Avant Sport: 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights and rear lamps, aluminium roof rails, heat-insulating windscreen, leather upholstery, MMI navigation with 14.5in colour touchscreen, parking cameras, adaptive cruise control, 10-speaker stereo 
• Audi A6 Avant S line: Upgraded 19-inch alloy wheels, sport suspension lowered by 20mm, privacy glass, three-spoke sports steering wheel, S line body kit
• Audi A6 Avant Edition 1: Larger 20-inch alloy wheels in graphite with gloss accents, exterior black pack, black roof rails, red brake callipers, Dynamica microfibre and leather upholstery pack, additional protection systems (rear-cross traffic alert, rear turn assist, side assist)

If you’re curious to learn more about how we reached the star ratings on the next page, check out how we test cars.