IN4RIDE: AUDI RELEASES FACELIFTED 2009 A6

Thursday 12 March 2009

AUDI RELEASES FACELIFTED 2009 A6

Editor: Thami Masemola

Audi’s A6 range has been refreshed for the year 2009. The Audi A6 plays in a segment that experienced a 37% drop in 2008. Cars like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Jaguar XF, BMW 5 Series and Volvo S80 are in the same segment. Actually the XF and the 5 Series were the only cars in that segment that showed growth. But Audi recognises that not playing in that field will hamper its plans of having 40 different models and becoming the biggest premium car maker by 2015.

The new A6 then is part of this grand plan. Not many A6s have been sold so far compared to the other Germans. Fact is the A6 has remained as anonymous as a whisper in a full soccer stadium. Yet the car is not a bad car at all, in fact one would consider it one of the class leaders in every respect. Perhaps sales have been stunted by Audi’s previous image of a small, non-entity with nothing to offer the market. These days the Audi brand is considered one of the best around the globe. Their products really do speak for themselves.

Changes made to the A6 include a new front bumper, new fog lamps, LED indicators on exterior mirrors, optional LED daytime running lights, new rear bumper with an aluminium strip and LED rear lights. It may be hard to distinguish from the previous car unless one owns or is very interested in the A6. The rear is probably the most distinguished area of change.

Inside alterations are more visible with a lot of aluminium being used for things like rotary switches and mirror adjustment switches. MMI is included as standard in all the cars which is excellent value for money. Other standard features are cruise control, 17-inch alloy wheels, dual air conditioning, an SD card reader for playing media (I had hoped for a USB port instead, I mean who loads music on SD cards?) and a new multi-function steering wheel.

All the engines on offer are either brand new or have been reworked to deliver more power and economy at the same time. There is a 2.0-litre TFSI which is the “baby” of the range at 125kW and 280Nm. It

replaces the naturally-aspirated 2.4-litre and is claimed to do

0 – 100km/h in 8.5 seconds and achieve a top speed of 224km/h. C02 emissions for the 2.0-litre TFSI are 179g/km. When driving this model I realised that yes it is a small motor but because it’s so bold and turbocharged, it responds very well to acceleration inputs. The Multitronic gearbox is best left in automatic mode where it knows the best times to change. The A6 has always been quite neutral in its handling and this updated version keeps the status quo; it’s neither hard nor too soft.

Another new engine to the lineup is the powerful 3.0-litre TFSI which despite the badge, is not turbocharged but supercharged. Audi engineers had initially wanted to insert two turbos in the engine bay but because of space issues they abandoned the idea in favour of a supercharger. The 3.0-litre TFSI produces 213kW and 420Nm of torque. The 0 – 100km/h time is claimed at 5.9 seconds and top speed pegged at 250km/h. It emits 219g/km in bad C02 gasses. We know the same engine powers upcoming S4 and S5 models to 245kW and 440Nm. The supercharger and Tiptronic gearbox combination makes the drive smooth throughout the rev range even though there is a bit of low-down lag. Quattro splits the torque quickly to areas where it’s needed the most so handling is always optimal.

After introducing the RS6 Audi felt the S6 would no longer serve a purpose in its lineup for the Mzansi market and they promptly removed it from the list. The new Audi A6 is offered with an Executive Package and a Sports Package.