If you're in the market for a new Audi A6 Avant, you can choose between a 4-cylinder diesel, available in two power outputs, or one plug-in hybrid.
Where the A6 saloon is available as 50 TFSIe or 55 TFSIe, the Avant is only available as a 55 TFSIe. But you do get the Competition-version,
and that's got quite a lot of features. 19-inch wheels, red brake calipers, black accents, all kinds of S-line-details, so it really looks like a souped-up A6.
And it is, because it produces 367 horsepower.
However, the highest priority of a plug-in hybrid is to use the electric motor and battery pack as much as possible.
It's got a 14,1 kWh-battery pack, which is mounted in the back. The 2.0-litre TFSI produces 252 horsepower on its own,
and the electric motor produces 143 horsepower. That's incorporated in the gearbox.
And it can easily propel the Audi forwards on its own. You really have to be careful with the throttle though, because if you press it too...
hard, the petrol engine kicks in. As you can see, I picked this car up in a terribly cold week.
And on a full charge, it was able to do 32 electrical kilometres. As opposed to the 56 kilometres that Audi promises.
It's not very far, but I recently drove a Volvo V90 T6 Recharge in the same circumstances. That's a plug-in hybrid as well with practically the...
same power output, and it also only did 32 kilometres. That's just the result of the cold weather.
The cooperation between the 4-cylinder and the electric motor is very smooth. The transitions are absolutely seemless.
And if you drive fully electrical, you can only feel the gear changes from the seven-speed DSG. Other than that, you won't feel a thing.
The transitions are incredibly smooth. Even when the 2.0-litre TFSI has to jump in, it'll remain in the background.
It's a really civilized engine. I already mentioned the 252 horsepower coming from the combustion engine and the 143 horsepower from...
the electric engine, but combined it produces a system output of 367 horsepower and 500 Nm of torque. That's more than enough.
I briefly mentioned the A6 saloon as well, which is available with the lighter plug-in hybrid drivetrain. That produces only 299 horsepower.
However, that drivetrain isn't available in the Avant.
Like every plug-in hybrid, the drivetrain is at its best when it's around the mid-range. When both engines don't have to think very hard,
the working-together feels much smoother. That makes the car much more relaxed, which fits the Audi A6 very well. I mean, the A6...
just isn't a dynamic E-segment car. The steering feels distant and the car is comfortable but it doesn't really involve you in the drive.
And that's a choice. Also, if you want a dynamic E-segment car, you could always choose the BMW 5-series. That's available as a plug-in hybrid as well.
Even better; that's available in two versions. A 530e with a four-cylinder plug-in hybrid drivetrain and a 545e with a big six-cylinder...
plug-in hybrid drivetrain. But I'll get back to that.
Other than that, an A6 has a beautiful interior. The materials are great and it really gives you a luxurious feeling. The only thing I don't like...
is the haptic touchscreen. The menu structure isn't really clear and you have to press a few times to make it do what you want it to do.
Only the Audi Drive Select-button offers direct access to a function you want. There's a small button over here that leads directly to the e-tron-mode.
In that mode, I can choose to drive fully electrically, or charge up the batteries whilst I'm driving. As a whole, I do have to conclude that...
it's just less logical to use than you'd expect. And that raises the question, what was wrong with the old MMI-system? I really liked that.
Right, the Audi A6 Avant is only available as 55 TFSIe if you want a plug-in hybrid. However, that means you're down on luggage space...
compared with the A6 Avant with just a diesel engine. In here, you can fit 405 litres, whilst a regular A6 Avant offers 565 litres. That's quite...
the difference. However, what they did do properly is mount the charging port at the back. That means you don't have to park forwards in...
tight charging stations. They've thought that through very well. And charging it up goes pretty fast as well, up to 7,4 kW.
So why has Audi scrapped all other versions? Well, that's pretty clear now if you ask me. The added taxes are so much lower for a plug-in hybrid,
which makes it much more affordable compared to other versions. This car will set you back around €84.000, but it does come with absolutely everything.
It comes with more trim than the old 55 TFSI without 'e'. However, that did have a biturbo 3.0-litre V6 producing 340 horsepower,
and quattro of course. And that's about the story. This car produces more power, emits less CO2 and it's cheaper than the old 55 TFSI.
But still, I think it's too bad that Audi doesn't offer the six-cylinder plug-in hybrid drivetrain from the Q7 and Q8 in this A6.
Even if it were next to this drivetrain. There's practically no choice now whatsoever. I mean, if you want a six-cylinder petrol in your...
A6, you'd have to get an RS6. And that's a whole other story.