ajoe

Gave it a test ride for about 20 miles in the rain and on wet road conditions on Friday. I feel like a hypocrite since I did so much *****in re AOA, rightly so, but I decided to go ahead with the purchase mainly because my E55 won't be delivered till the first quarter of 04. I've also test driven the E55 and I'm not saying its a better car and I may decide to stay with the RS6. These two cars are different in some significant ways. First, and most important to me is the fact that the RS6 is significantly more fun to drive. This is due to the exhaust note and the way it accelerates and most importantly - throttle response. In the E55 the acceleration is much faster, but you don't feel it. Only the speedometer and other visual clues let you know how really fast you're going. IMO the throttle response is significantly better than the E55 even with a tiny bit of turbo lag and the shifting of the tiptronic is excellent. The RS6 does have a spare tire and back up sensors standard, the E55 doesn't. Handling - long sweepers RS6 very good, E55 good. As the radius of turns decreased I'd have to say that neither car is outstanding- too much weight and understeer. Quick lane changes i.e. slalom manuvers - bring a second pair of underwear - these are not sport cars. The biggest surprise to me was that the RS6 overall felt much more like the E55 (heavy and solid ride) than an M5. Where it felt more like the M5 was the area that's important to me and that's acceleration and throttle response. The pull of the engine and resultant feel of the acceleration is the fun factor. The interior of the RS6 is the main downside at this price. The seats are mediocre with no side bolster adjustment, no multi-function steering wheel, sound system average with weak woofer, no auto headlights, and generally feature poor relative to competition. On drives over an hour I would say the E55 would be my clear choice because of the comfort factor. On shorter drives in familiar territory I think you could "play" more with the RS6. I wouldn't consider either car "tossable". The price of the RS6 is articficially bloated by AOA in order to gain credibility into the upper tier (MB and BMW). Both cars are great and it boils down to personal preference.

Mr.PS

Im with you on that. I like all three of those cars E55,M5,RS6. I cant wait for the 2004-2005 RS6 to come out its going to look similar to the new A8 L which is top notch inside and out. Its the cars first year so you know there is always room for improvement.

Kain

Yup, the next Audi RS 6 will have a Lamborghini V10 engine.

ajoe

Alledgedly because of higher emission standards for 04 (calif.) Audi will not deliver any more RS6's for USA after Dec 31 03. The total delivered will be around 1000 units. The next iteration of the RS6 might have a v10 but it's all blue sky as to if and when this will ever happen. It seems that many European owners are chipping this car to over 500hp, but I have my doubts as to how much more this transmission could handle. Personally, I'd love to see an E65 with more direct steering in the future. This competition is great for us car *****.

bimmerlover

said it before and ill say it again, i'd take the rs6 over all the rest, but i agree the interior of the mercedes is the pinnacle.

but a chipped rs6 really has no equal, well not until the new m5 is released

stephens

ajoe
Have you been able to take both cars for an extended test drive in dry conditions yet?
The RS6 sounds like an awesome car, I had a quick test drive myself, but didn't like the interior, nor the lack of power compared to the E55.
How did you find the steering in the RS6? Most testers complain about a complete lack of feel, but I didn't think it was that bad.

I know the RS6 can be chipped, but it appears fairly easy to get additional power out of the E55 as well.

It's a tough life when you have to settle with a mere RS6 while you wait for your '04 E55 to arrive. :p

Do you intend to do anything to the car, or just run it standard.

I'm waiting for the much hyped E60 M5 to rear its UGLY head. If only half of the rumours turn out to be true, it will be an awesome ride.

amg55

Nice summary, ajoe.
I appreciate reading balanced, relatively objective assessments like yours rather than diatribes which sound more like someone trying to convince himself that what he wants to believe is in fact true.

I TOTALLY agree with you about the interiors of the RS6 vs E55.
As for the Quattro, if you live in an area with weather, it's a major asset (having had an A8 in the recent past...it was better than my wife's SUV in slush and ice) though the extra torque on the RS6 may tax it.

There's no perfect car for everyone.
Sounds like you've reached a fair compromise.
Hope it turns out to be everything you want it to be.

ajoe

I found the steering in the RS6 to be adequate. Why they don't put more direct steering (ala viper) into these performance cars is beyond me unless it's a potential liability issue. I like your idea of adding inflation to the front tires. Re mods to RS6. I've got more miles logged on tow trucks than some people have on their primary rides. Supra's, firebirds, etc all over 500 hp. Great rides till something goes wrong. The idea of simply chipping sounds great, but not until a bunch of other beta testers prove that the engine and transmission are chip worthy. I have my deposits down on the E60 M5 and the M6. I'm leaning toward the M6. If there's anything I've learned over the several BMW's I've owned is that if you buy a first year model you are in a very high risk reliability category. I love the build quality and reliability of the 03 MB. I still can't seem to get over the fact the everything actually works and works the way it was designed to. With my BMW's it was always something and as long as it wasn't a drivability issue I'd just let the list build up till an oil change servicing.

Archi

Something one should keep in mind about the power/acceleration feel of the RS6 is the car has been pre-programmed to not have full boost until the break-in is complete (+/- 1200 miles). I havn't had the opportunity to ride/drive in one past this point but will in the next month or so.

JLBMERC

I agree, a very nice summary and fair observations. I would add--something --aside from performance commentary---the issue of potential resale.

This factor was one of the more important reasons why I went with the E55 vs the RS6. I had both cars on order for sometime. Knowing that I would not keep both cars---I offered both for sale---knowing that I would keep one of them----interestingly---I got tens and tens of calls for the E55---and 2 calls on the RS6---this is not scientific, and maybe after the RS6's are out and around it will change---but the lack of interest was enough to make me think twice about keeping the RS6.

Both are great cars---just my humble opinion and experience.

kaneman

PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

amg55

Scientific, no.
But I would bet my last dollar that your sample is representative of general interest profiles.
It is no secret that Audi is the stepchild of German car manufacturers---Porsche has its own niche, and BMW and MB battle for bragging rights on the other pinnacle, which Audi seems to be forever climbing.

That will have everything to do with resale.

Audi has been trying to subsidize their leases more lately to try to offset the damaging effect Audi's poor resale values have on their ability to lure BMW and MB devotees to their side of the tracks.

Pierre32///AMG

here is the H&S Chip, as an example 500hp & 480 lbf :



http://www.hs-elektronik.com/datenbl...0ps-560nm.html

Ciao!

Sleestack

Nice choice. I have a 2002 A6 4.2 as my beater car. Quattro is fantastic and the overall build quality of Audis is much better than I expected. My only complaint is with the styling. I occasionally feel like the A6 looks a bit like an enormous jelly bean from the side. Nevertheless, I like the front and rear view. My only other concern is wheter Audi builds enough redundancy into their components for those that venture into tuning. MB builds a significant amount of redundancy into their components which is great for power upgrades. Having spent the last year on the Audi forums and also having made some mods to my A6, Audi seems to use transmissions and turbos that have a tendency to fail when subjected to significant increases in power. Not always the case, but often enough that it should be a consideration if you are looking to heavily modify your car.