It's almost too crazy for words, but behind me is for almost €330.000 of cars.
In both cases, their not even the flagships of their range.
You could say it's disrespectful to call a BMW M550i a discount M5,
or that an Audi S6 is a discount RS6, but because I'm not trying to be disrespectful,
so let me rephrase myself. They're totally different cars.
These are the alternatives for people who want enormous amounts of power, but want to travel quietly and comfortably at the same time.
The best of two worlds.
The Audi A6 has been around since 2011 in its current form.
It received a small facelift in 2014, but its successor was already being seen around the world.
The funny part is that this is still such an impressive car.
It hasn't been strapped down in any way.
That's quite an achievement by Audi.
The interior still looks amazing as well. Only when you look at small details,
you can tell by some things that it's a car which has been around for a while.
The safety features aren't as rich, the connectivity isn't incredibly up to date,
things like that do make you think it's time for a new generation.
You shouldn't pay too much attention that this is an Avant, because we also have a saloon BMW.
This wasn't available as saloon today, but even though it's the Avant, it'll practically be the same.
The reasons you buy a car like this, are power and comfort.
This car has plenty of both.
Especially this air suspension. It can make the car silky smooth if you like,
but incredibly sharp at the same time as well. It's got quattro,
so if you go into a sharp corner, the car will stay surprisingly neutral.
The air suspension keeps the car level, and that makes the car incredibly sharp.
All of those things still make this car very pleasant to drive.
It's quiet as a mouse in here, if you're in the "Comfort"-mode that is.
It's got a very pleasant seven-speed automatic gearbox, it's very powerful,
and if you put your foot down, it will remain low in the revs.
It's very quiet, very comfortable, it's almost like you're buzzing around stationary when you're travelling at high speeds.
A small thing however... If you're driving in the city,
the Stop-Start system is too slow. If you want to drive off at a traffic light,
it takes some time for it to get going again. That just takes too long.
If there's still someone who dares to call this car a 'discount M5', I have some news for you.
This so called 'discount M5' is quicker than the previous real M5.
Even better, this car is the quickest BMW from 0-100 available today.
It won't last forever though, because next year the real M5 will arrive,
and that will be even quicker. Anyway, this car can do 0-100 in 4,0 seconds.
I just measured a 4,6 second time, but this is on winter tires, so I'll forgive it.
Only four seconds with a car like this, that's unimaginable.
If we compare it with the previous M550i, it's powered by a twin power V8,
which now produces 462 horsepower instead of 450. The 650 Nm's of torque are still the same,
and it's available across a very wide range.
Also, it's connected to that lovely eight-speed automatic gearbox. That combination makes this car incredibly smooth.
What's also different compared to its predecessor, xDrive is now fitted as standard.
The purists might not like that very much, but it does make the car a lot sharper.
If you can get it to break out when cornering, the front wheels will keep it tight.
That makes it incredibly safe, but still a tad more playful than the Audi.
If you look at the 5-series at a whole, the new one has moved a little towards comfort again.
With this one however, it's a other way around. Other than its predecessor, it now has a sports chassis.
That makes it a tad sharper.
Even though it's a detail, I really want to show you the car keys.
You almost need a wheelbarrow to carry it with you, but it's really cool.
It's almost a tablet. You can see everything on it.
What your range is, if you've locked your car, are the lights off,
but the best part? You can park the car from a distance.
If you've found a very tight spot, and you're worried that you can't open your door when you're in;
you get out of the car and roll it backwards with the key. Problem solved.
It is a problem for the guy parked next to you, because he won't be able to get in anymore.
But let's be honest, people who buy cars in this price range,
usually aren't the best in concerning themselves for other peoples problems.
Altruism seldom leads to wealth.
It's quite a hard decision to make, because the cars are so incredibly close to each other.
That's a confidence boost for Audi, because the S6 is already six years old while the BMW has just rolled of the design table.
Of course, you don't buy a car because it's a confidence boost for the company, it's all about quality.
If you really zoom in, you can feel that the BMW is more playful,
it's got sharper steering, the BMW is more up to date, has a better connectivity,
the engine is a tad more powerful in lower revs, so that's why I'm the BMW home tonight.
But, there's a catch. Next year, a totally new Audi will be presented to us,
and it will be better in any way. BMW should prepare themselves.
The full test with all of the performance figures, is available in the paper version of AutoWeek.