Audi A6 review

Audi does interiors very well indeed. The design and layout of the A6’s cabin is more or less identical to the A8 and A7’s, and while it’s cheaper to buy, for the most part the materials feel just as solid.

All models get a version of the ‘MMI Touch’ interface that debuted on the A8, and has since been fitted to the A7, Q7, Q8 (and, would you believe, the Lamborghini Urus). In its ultimate form it mates two touchscreens – one of 10.1 and the other of 8.6 inches – with the tried-and-tested 12.3 inch ‘Virtual Cockpit’ instrument cluster. The top touchscreen does infotainment and navigation, while the bottom takes care of the air conditioning.

Haptic feedback is supposed to make the system easier to use while driving, but with Virtual Cockpit you can (and should) do most of the important stuff using the click-wheels and buttons on the steering wheel. It’s certainly a far better system than what Jaguar fits to its cars, but whether you prefer it to Mercedes’ ‘Command’ interface or BMW’s iDrive is, we reckon, entirely personal preference. They all do much the same thing nowadays, after all.

The seats are excellent, if not quite as plush as an expensive 5 Series’, and the driving position well-judged. But what impresses most about the A6 is how quiet it is. Whatever speed you’re doing, whatever surface you’re driving over, you need never speak to your passengers in anything more than a delicate whisper. 

As for space – the A6 is physically bigger than the car it replaces, so naturally the interior is too. The 12mm longer wheelbase gives 21mm more legroom – trust us, you’ll be fine in the back – and at 530-litres the boot is as big as the BMW’s (and old A6’s) and only 10-litres shy of the Merc’s.