IGotId

So my 2014 AMG wagon came off of CPO warranty about a month ago. I've been looking for a used or new 18 or 19 wagon for the last couple of weeks.

I recently recalled a rumor that Audi may finally be bringing a RS Avant to the States in 2020. I've always been a fan of Audi's designs, particularly their Avants.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on a AMG wagon vs an RS6 Avant! I've added pics for illustrative purposes (concept pics of course)

Dunga

Howdy!!

So I just migrated from a ‘17 Audi S7 to a ‘19 E63s wagon. Not exactly apples to apples but close. Another member here, I believe username Canuck is also a fellow Audiziner and a former RS7 owner.

A couple of things to consider. Just the fact that you’re posting here will likely yield input favoring the Benz. Sampling bias. To ensure a good cross section post on audizine and get their input, and heck if you wanna be ultra thorough ask in the M5 forums, ensuring to point out a Bimmer is not an option because you need a wagon. Otherwise they’ll flame your butt.

There! Now that that’s out of the way, the scientist nerd in me go to bed and I can talk about the Audi and the Mercedes. My S7 was a custom ordered, Audi exclusive interior, where we got to pick the leathers, stitching and woods...etc. like ordering a Bentley...almost. It was a lot of fun. The fact that we were good friends with a manager at the dealer made the buying experience even smoother. The final product was truly a one of a kind car. I truly enjoyed owning and driving for the 18 months we had her. Ultimately I wanted the extra flexibility of the wagon and jumped ship. The interior of my C7 was starting to show its age, after all it was a ‘09 design. However, I personally still prefer it to the new interior in the new C8 cars with the touch screen everything. They have done what Porsche had a couple of year prior with the new Panamera. No more physical buttons. I’m an ancient soul, and if I want to turn on the seat cooling I just want a button. I find the new interface distracting and annoying but I’m in the minority.

Engine wise, it seems the RS car will likely retain the 4.0 ttV8 with suspected new upgrades. The S cars have sadly lost that engine and will be getting a ttV6. We are all waiting to see what Audi is going to squeeze out of that unit. The last iteration of it, in an Audi made 600+ hp in the performance variant of the RS6/7.

As for the Merc, my wagon was not my build. Another customer had ordered it and walked and my dealer texted me. It was the right color inside and out and mostly the right equipment and the trade offer was too good to pass so I jumped on it. The interior doesn’t feel as space age-y as what you’ll see in the upcoming RS6, but I love the physical buttons. There’s also less plastic in the Mercedes it seems. From a driving point, the E63 feels Moreno like a sports car that’s luxurious and flexible, vs my S7 and my friends RS7 (non performance) that I had driven both felt like luxury cars that were insanely sporty.

Finally, and this is pure speculation of course, if the RS6 is coming in limited numbers dealers may start getting silly with markups and all that vs the AMG which you’d be able to have with a discount.

Good luck with whatever you choose. You probably can’t go wrong with either.

Slugsy

RS6 is my next car in 2021, in my humble opinion, the best performance estate car in the world.

If my E63 wasn’t so damn uncomfortable in town driving, it would be brilliant but at £100k it has a key deficiency compared to RS6’s I’ve driven in the past.

bobblehead

In Canada, Audi dealers have already started taking deposits for the lineup to get one. Early speculation is there will be less than 10 RS6 Avant available for each dealer per year ... and that's optimist too.

CanuckE63

Now i have to respond since i have been called-out.
Firstly, from the rumour mill it seems very likely that Audi is trying hard to bring the RS6 to NA. We should know by the fall.
The engine in the 2020 RS6 is still an unknown entity but likely a TTV8 that is also found in the Panamera with more power and perhaps some electronic assistance as well. The power level will be insane.

I've always been a fan of the merc wagon, mostly because it's a wagon but also because it is such a silly vehicle that nobody really wants except the crazy few of us out there.
When it was time to part with the RS7 after 5 years of ownership (which i loved) i really wanted to love the benz but a few things just kept me from pulling the trigger.
1. styling. it looks good, but i never really loved it. 2. ride quality. very harsh ride quality for a big wagon that i'll be using to transport my young children. especially on long car trips, i want them to nap! not ideal. even if it was just for myself, the ride firmness pushed me away. 3. noise. road noise was fairly high compared to the competition. when i want quiet, i like it quiet, when i want it beast mode, i'll open a window. personal preference.

I've since landed into a Panamera Sport Turismo and i love it. Looks amazing, handles beautifully, ride quality is superb...it just absorbs the bumps like magic with no drama. they know what they're doing over there at Porsche.
I have the 4S with only 450hp so i do miss the power of the RS cars but that will change when the RS6 lands here and my lease is up.
I'll be diving back into Audi when/if the RS6 makes it here and if i don't end up getting a used panamera turbo when my lease is up, it's just such a nice vehicle, a step above bmw/mb/audi.
Cheers, you have a difficult decision to make!

CanuckE63

lol, there will be a few eager beavers buying these right away but if mercedes and porsche can't sell them in any significant numbers, i doubt audi will have an easier time.
porsche would love the sport turismo to be 20% of the panamera sales but they are barely at 5%(i believe) so dealers are doing huge discounts on new ones to get rid of them. and the sport turismo is a gorgeous vehicle, still no-one is really buying them. get one now before they are gone for good.
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2017/09...-turismo-many/
op should consider a used panamera st turbo, you can get them pretty close to a new e63 wagon now.

24Hours

Seeing will be believing WRT the RS6 Avant coming to NA. I called AoA at least a dozen times over the years telling them to bring this, and there are many folks who did the same thing, so the winds of change have not come despite known demand. That said, Audi styling is great, though not superior to the E63 wagon in all ways, esp the most recent model. Without knowing what the coming RS6 Avant will be packing for power, I'd reserve excitement given the poor reviews the outgoing model has had for power and handling vs the AMG wagon. Audi has a long way to go to come close to E63 or M5 performance.

b0rderman

For inexplicable reasons, I’ve never been drawn to the RS6 Avant like I have the S6 avant and RS4 avant. In my head, if you want a full sized super-wagon, you gotta get the AMG.

All that said, it’s got a damn good chance of besting the E63 in nearly all categories should it come stateside.

chiromikey

I recently posted a review after I jumped ship from 3 AMGs to the Audi RS. Going from a W212 E63 to a C7.5 RS7, there is no comparison in ride quality, the Audi is strides ahead in handling and comfort. The ride control actually does something in the RS7 where the AMG just allows you to toggle 3 selections of harshness.It’s true that the newer W213 E63 is a much better handler than both but it’s even more harsh than the W212. Not what I want in a sedan or wagon that gets more than spirited weekend duty. I have the upgraded comfort seatings package in the RS7 and while they don’t look as nice as the standard sport seats, the leather, massage, and ventilation are significantly better than the E63. I tune all my cars and the RS7 once again kills the E63...kills it!! The sound of AMGs is the only thing I miss, more of an American V8 compared to a European V8 if that makes sense (if it doesn’t, it will once you drive the RS7). I’m not a big fan of the virtual cockpit that Audi is moving toward but if I have to get used to it to get into an RS6 Avant, I think I can manage. If you can swing the price increase, I can’t imagine there will be much of a comparison to a W212 that will be 2 generations behind the upcoming RS line.

IGotId

Thanks everyone for your posts/thoughts. I picked up an '18 with about 2.5 years of warranty remaining yesterday.

The thing is amazing & seemingly light years ahead of my '14 (WRT to the interior & tech). Audi is going to have to produce something exceptional to get me out of this car!