Last week I received an invitation in the mail to test drive an Audi A6/7, and in return get a $100 American Express gift card. Today is Black Friday and I did a test drive in a phantom black pearl A6 with naugot brown interior.

A few quick thoughts while it is fresh in my mind.

1. The interior is stunning. Significantly improved from the last gen A6, and imo it is now class leading. No cheap materials anywhere to be found. The interior is sportier than the exterior of the car would suggest.

2. The new 3.0 liter TSFI is a great engine. Appears to be even quicker than the 535xi (although it doesn't sound as nice) and lightyears ahead of the 3.5 V6 in my 2011 E350.

3. I love the Audi select ride where you can program the engine, transmission, and steering from comfort to dynamic. No harshness or clunking over rough roads or potholes! Felt composed and confident everywhere I drove it.

4. Looks are always subjective, however, I love the undestated clean lines of the A6, and the LED eyeliners are distinctive and sexy. IMO the E350 and 535xi are both good looking cars and I can see how each has their share of fans.

5. Nice electronics! The Nav screen is brilliant (although I'm not sure how I feel about the pop-up implementation) and the basic back up cam, radio, etc. are far nicer than the E350. Cool available features like the mobile hotspot and an awesome Bang and Olufson audio system if you are willing to spend big bucks.

6. I love that Audi has stayed away from "dumb features" like run flat tires, auto start-stop, etc.

At this point the A6 would be my top choice when my lease expires next fall. However price is always a consideration and Audi lease deals are never as generous as Mercedes or BMW. The Mercedes dealers in my area are discounting big time to move cars, while the Audi dealers may only have a half dozen cars on the lot.

I need to spend some time in the Audi forums to see what owners are saying about their cars.

 

You call that front end "understated?" What are they trying to do there??? Are they trying to recreate Edsel? (Oh, most of you here are too young to know Edsel!) That's what drove me away from Audi -- even though I'm ~much~ more interested in ~other~ things about a car.


EDSEL

 

http://www.insideline.com/audi/a6/20...ison-test.html

In July Inside Line rated the 2012 A6 favorably over the BMW 535. Their test results had the A6 at 5.2 seconds for 0-60, and 4.9 seconds with 1 foot of rollout. Not shabby for a 4,000 lb+ 6 cylinder with AWD.

 

I agree about the motor, really amazing at how smooth and fast it is for "only" 300 HP. Felt more powerful/linear/smooth than the 535i to me as well.

The interior I also have to say I liked in person (not so much in pics), but found quite a few cheap, light and very hard plastics, and the lack of stitching anywhere on the door areas, showing only flat vinyl doesn't look too luxurious IMO. Also, the pop up Nav is extremely "afterthought"-ish and cheap looking to me.

The A6 is extremely understated and elegant, but IMO the front throws the whole balance off. It's the fussiest and most overstated of the bunch (between E and 5) and when you look at the car from the front 3/4 angle, the futuristic-attempt of the a front makes the sides look rather extra-bland and dated in comparison. The sides are far more elegant and cohesive than the front, however. All in all, still a nice car.

Audi is doing "BMW" better than "BMW" this time around, and the Reviewers adore the car. It is worth noting that in their quest to take the Sport advantage, many reviewers and drivers have reported a lack of road noise/noise isolation, bringing down the comfort/luxury aspect.

If Audi gets more aggressive with their deals, then it would be interesting to see just how well the new A6 could keep up to Americans eyes (in terms of them buying it). It would also provide necessary variety on the roads.

BTW, does this $100 thing still stand?

 

I'll agree with the op here. We recently bought a q5 and I was able to look at every model. I just got the e350 but only because of its price. After testing out the a6 and even our q5 in many ways, the e350 seems lacking The biggest being mpg to engine power, it just feels sluggish for a v6. My heart was set on the A5 and I'm still leaning towards that once the 2013 refreshed version comes out.

The downside of audi, as you mentioned is inventory and prices. We paid msrp for the q and waited two months. Generally, most models are like that.

 

You would seriously get another Mercedes which you seem so unhappy with just to save a few bucks? I can't understand that.

 

If it was a mistake the first time, due to saving a few bucks, it'll be a mistake the second time. Best to learn from mistakes and do what makes you happy in life. Money should buy you happiness when it comes to cars.

 

Pretty cool deal

 

100 bux huh?

is that desparity or what??

 

The offer is valid until 1/2/12. Invitation only.

 

Good point.

No I would not consider another similarly equipped E350. However, I would seriously consider a E350 (or E550) with a more powerful engine, non-sport package, P2, and additional options, etc., that would satisfy the majority of the issues with my current car.

Overall the MB E350/E550, Audi A6, BMW 535 (and many others) are all very nice cars, and having the luxury of choosing between them is a nice "problem" to have. I have been fairly critical of my E350 at times (justifiability) mainly because it failed to deliver on my high expectations. It's easy to get spoiled. It's fun to have the ability to upgrade every 2 years and get to choose between some of the best affordable (non-exotic) cars in automotive history.

 

Admittedly the front of the A6 is not as understated as the rest of the design, but IMO is a very nice and complimatary contrast. The LED eyeliners are very distinctive and sexy looking.


As I said before, I think the E350, 535 and A6 are all good looking cars (finally!).

 

Agreed.

I have purchased / leased dozens of nice cars over the past 2 decades. Overall I have been mostly satisfied with the majority of them. Reflecting back the cars that I fondly remember the most had a few things in common - peformance, handling, looks, lifestyle (not necessarily all together). Unfortunately the E350 just never collectively registered strongly enough on these attributes for me.

If the performance was better (more powerful V6) maybe I wouldn't be as unforgiving on the handling. If the handling was better (non-sport, not "thunking" over rough pavement) maybe I could overlook the performance.

To sum it up for me, the E350 is a very nice car and near the top of its class - unfortunatley the sum the parts never reached the point where it stirred any passion.

 

Yes, I think it's clever marketing from Audi. Many car manufacturers are doing simething similar. Cadillac sent me to a golfing clinic last year with David Leadbetter to try out their new lineup. I have heard of some very attractive incentives that some friends have received in the past.

Now I'm wating for BMW to give me a good "excuse" to give the 535xi another test drive.

 

Reasonably said, hard to argue with any of your points. I have the e550 with airmatic and have complained about it's performance over rough roads as well. This is very disappointing to me as I always felt that Mercedes built the best suspensions in the market. It never even occurred to me that I might have an issue there when I comparison shopped. I really believe that part of the problem stems from the insane move to ever bigger rims for the average driving enthusiast. This has made the job of the suspension ever more challenging. The suspensions work well on good roads but fail the real world test of New Jersey and the like. How many people really need or even want 18 inch rims on a luxury sedan? They should build the cars for 17 inch rims and make 18s an option, even for the sport version. Regards. Ned.

 

You're right. I do not want 18". I need at least 19".

That is why they make E "luxury" with 17" for people with ride priorities, E "sport" with 18" for those who don't, and AMG with 19"...well we wont go there.

A8 and S class come with 20s, 7-series with 21s. All ride great.

PS: A friend of mine in NYC tri-state area finally gave up. Last week he traded-in his beloved W212 E for new ML. He regrets the move each time he gets into his ML, but says on NY/NJ roads there is no way to drive anything else other than an SUV. Any local to that area congressman here? Could put a lot of people to work.

 

Seriously, we need some MAJOR infrastructure improvements. Very unfortunate that we have to base our car buying around how sh*tty the roads are where we live, and that people like your friend have to downgrade to an ML which doesn't give him the same warm fuzzy feelings as his E did, etc.

BTW, on the W221 Boards I remember reading LOTS of complaints of rough riding and blowouts on N.Y roads and the like on Sport Packaged S-Classes.

 

The Audi fronts is what I love the most. They have the most advanced led tech out of all the manufactures and IMO the led drl incorporated into the headlights looks better than on the bumper.

Another gripe I have with the e350 is the sport mode. On our q5, the transmission actually revs to higher rpms and you can feel the power difference. I wish the mode did something similar on the e350. Also, I'm new to mercedes, but why don't they have turbo e350's? A supercharged 3.0 will be perfect for this car.

 

Good points. Why 2 years? I thought 3 years is the most "popular" lease?

 

Same issues with the s class as with the sport e class. The move to rims that compromise ride quality for looks and machismo!! I know people with s classes and they have lots of blowouts as well. The aromatic shocks add to the problem as they don't have enough travel and cause the tires and rims to absorb too much impact as opposed to more giving suspension. Mercedes is too cheap and lazy to market the appropriate wheel, tire and suspension package by region of the country. Consumers need to be protected from themselves and/or given the proper information about the dangers of larger rims and less rubber in geographies with tough winters and thus bad roads. Most consumers who buy these cars just don't know and then become to believe that bent rims and blowouts are a fact of life. Shame on all these premium car companies. Regards. Ned.

 

We will have to agree to disagree on this point. I believe that a vast majority of Mercedes customers would want a good balance between handling, comfort and safety concerning the rim, tire and suspension. Ever larger rims and the resulting lesser rubber between you and the road result in harder rides and more difficulty with suspension design. In any area with crap roads, 17's are more than adequate to provide good handling. The e class is a luxury sedan not a sports car. The s class with it's bigger body should use 18 inch rims.
That is big enough for most drivers. I have no problem with people who want bigger rims, but let that be special order. Don't inflict the image and race track handling thing on unsuspecting drivers who feel 'embarrassed' into saying, "yeah, of course I want the sport suspension with the big rims" to make up for smaller things in their life!!! Regards. Ned.

 

PS. It always amazes me how we get off topic on so many threads!! Sorry about that Benze350. Regards. Ned.

 

This post demonstrates that most people do not understand tire sizing.

There are many things involved with ride quality that has nothing to do with wheel size.

A suspension is calibrated for a certain wheel size or a small selection of wheels - for example, a suspension my be calibrated for 17 and 18 inch wheels, but a 19 or 20 inch wheel would be out of the range.

More importantly, a suspension can be calibrated for a larger wheel if the car is designed for a different overall diameter.

Ride quality is a function of suspension design, sidewall size and and sidewall stiffness. As the sidewall gets shorter, all things being equal, it also gets stiffer, giving a more jarring ride.

Let's look at a few examples to show how manufacturers use larger wheels without making the ride unbearable.

Base BMW 335 - 18" wheel, 25 inch outside diameter. That makes a 3.5 inch sidewall

E350 - 18", 25.72 inch outside diameter - 3.86 inch sidewall

Audi A8 - 20", 28.7 inch outside diameter - 4.35 inch sidewall

Accordingly, it is obvious that even though the A8 has a larger wheel diameter, everything else being equal, the A8 will have a smoother ride because it has more sidewall.

That is not taking into consideration that a manufacturer can use a slightly more compliant suspension with a shorter sidewall to achieve the same handling results.

Ride gets harsher as you move up in wheel size on any given car because each inch of wheel size increase results in a half inch less sidewall.

 

I understand, sir, and more so than most here.

My response was to a general comment regarding 18" or larger wheels on "luxury" cars (not E specific). Your comments are correct and I know the subject very well. Just did not want to go into details myself, but knew that someone will not pass an opportunity to jump on it.

 

I agree. I like Audi's (have owned an A4 for 12 years now) but I can't get past the drop jaw front ends, though the A7 isn't that bad.