The Audi A6 TDi is something of style and substance

Let’s get the most important thing out of the way first. The Audi A6 is a damn handsome car. Very handsome indeed, and when you drive it you are saying: ‘I am a person who wants both style and substance.’

And you might also add: ‘I am willing to pay for the style ... provided the substance is taken as a given.’

With the A6, whose platform also underpins the VW Passat, that given is, of course, so. And many of you will by now be tired of us motoring writers always putting the VW/Audi Group platforms together, even if we’re trying only to say that you can pay more or less for pretty well the same thing.

But then, there are differences between the Passat and the A6, not least of which are those subtle cosmetic bits that show at the front and rear end, in the lights treatment at the back particularly. What they’ve done very well is to make a similar body to the (significantly) cheaper car stand out as something a little more special than a ‘mere’ VW. There’s something also discrete about the rear quarterlights. And then, inside, there are trim differences, a little more luxurious, while the dashboard bits also exude rather more class, particularly when you have the aircon ... almost an essential given the continuing difficulty that Audi seem to have in making ordinary ventilation decent. Add a little walnut effect as a special order and you can feel with justification that you are as much deserving of the boardroom table as anyone in a Merc or Beemer.

(That last timber wasn’t in the review car, and perhaps I preferred the standard aluminium infill, not coming from the timbered set myself. And besides, the real quality of the general plasticwork is enough to satisfy most of us.)

OK, so from the driver’s view, what do we see? Well, a pretty classic instrument setup with twin rev and speedo dials divided by (on top) clearly visible temp and fuel and (below that) the computer readout that starts with temperature and gives you the usual other info too ... it stands out because it’s placed exactly where you need to see it, instead of the too often middle of the central console.

That aforesaid climate control system does just that individually for both front passengers (never did work out what the rear people had to put up with). This allows some of the few times that my wife and myself can travel together in some form of temperature compatibility.

As far as room is concerned, that domed roofline allows good comfort too for the rear seat passengers at least in terms of how widely they can wiggle their tootsies or tap their knees. As it should be so, of course, even in lesser cars that call themselves 5-seaters but so often are really only for the knock-kneed. Door furniture throughout is stylish and substantial, and merged well with the join-lines at doors and window edges.

Now to the motional things, and you’ll be glad to know that for this one I’m not going to talk (much) about the VW engines which power most of its brethern. Because the review car was pulled along by a 2.5-litre V6 turbodiesel outputting 150bhp and showing an extraordinarily powerful torque from as low as 1500rpm. Add to that the 6-speed gearbox which is exclusive to this particular motor and you have performance on tap which is more than adequate for any driving situation short of out-and-out sports performance. It will also do this with a potential for 40mpg-plus ... a frugality only excelled by the 1.9-litre 110bhp (VW) TD’s almost 50mpg. I do have to say that it was clattery from cold. But once warm and on the road, this V6 was as nice as any petrol unit.

And once warm and on that road, we have a car that is superbly insulated from the noisy and noisome (two quite unrelated things - see your dictionary) and which motors along in a quite grand manner. I would personally swap the 6-speed for an autobox, a preference reflected by my style of driving that meant I mostly only used three gears in any given period of mixed driving. That said, the gearshift was strong but smooth, how I like a manual.

Handling is something I have to describe only from that same style of driving ... I never once put this A6 through a severe test of sharp and fast cornering. It’s not, to me, that kind of car ... but I have no doubt, from talking to colleagues, that it will take rumbustious treatment if that is the particular driver’s wont (or even ‘want’).

So, to a decision. Would I take this car and its fairly hefty premium over a VW sibling with an agreed lesser motor? Hmm ... I do admit to once talking a friend out of an A6 and into a Passat and saving him the guts of ten grand. But that was because I knew that although he could easily afford the Audi, it was not his style. But if I was asked is this particular Audi a car with a realvalue above its VW siblings, then I’d have to say ‘yes’. For the person with the right kind of reason to want it. The person who can say: ‘I am a person who wants both style and substance.’

And can add: (well, you’ve read it above already.)