2025 Audi A6 long term review, 6,000km report

We’re big fans of sedans here at the Autocar office, so when the A6 entered our long-term fleet, its keys kept swapping hands. Nikhil had it for a while and it played family sedan, Hormazd used it as his chariot of choice through the wedding season, and Jay had a few days with it too. Luckily, I managed to hang on to it through all of December and January. Being the Christmas season, the first thing I did was decorate it. Nope, no ornaments; but, with the help of dual-zone customisable lighting, I set up the two sections of the cabin with the quintessential Christmas colours – red and green. The ambient lighting is also nicely done with the higher sections of the dash getting sharp pinstripes, while the lower sections create a diffused glow. In a sober white or light blue shade, it really looks very classy.

Speaking of which, the interiors, though quite dated, still look very classy to me. The styling is sharp and not overdone, and the leather, piano black and wood finish are all tastefully blended together. It helps immensely that material quality is top-notch, and the piano black surface is smooth and level so there are no distorted reflections, the leather and wood inlays look rich and feel nice to touch, and the light brown leather and dark wood colour scheme work well together.

The only let-down for me is the twin-screen setup in the centre console; I know folks love screens, but for me, a touchscreen with physical controls for the AC and stereo is the way to go. It’s just safer, easier to use and feels so good to the touch. The A4’s HVAC unit – dials, toggle switches and a small display screen – in my opinion, is honestly just so much better to use and to look at. 

While I’m on about things I would have preferred, I will list the music system. No, it’s not bad at all, but there should have been a better-sounding branded audio system in this segment, especially when you consider how well the A6 is otherwise specced. I was particularly impressed with the inclusion of reach and rake power adjust for the steering wheel, soft-close doors and a 4-zone climate control setup. Another bit I have to praise is the boot. There’s a standing joke in the office about how often I end up carrying loads of stuff in the boot; indeed, many of my long-term reports have a shot of a fully loaded boot. So, to avoid feeding the fire I won’t have a picture here, but let me just say that the A6 has a very large and deep boot; I did an airport run and comfortably fit three large check-in suitcases.

As I mentioned earlier, Hormazd did have himself chauffeured to a few weddings, and while its no long wheelbase E-Class or 5 Series, the rear is definitely useable. Of course, if you are mainly chauffeur-driven, the Merc and Bimmer make more sense, but if you drive a lot though, the A6 has plenty to offer. And drive is what I did, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not because I took it out of the city, but because I discovered a plus point of the A6 not going the long-wheelbase route; speed breaker clearance. On my route to work, there are about 13-14 speed breakers and some of these are Mumbai’s finest non-standard issue. With the BMW, three of these required a crab crawl, one with the E-Class, but with the A6, I could take them head-on. I did scrape one other speed breaker with the A6, but it’s very easy to clear most breakers in general. So if you drive yourself, there’s far less stress without having to worry about damaging the underside. 

Besides the wheelbase though, what also helps is the fact that the body is lifted a fair amount on its steel springs. Speaking of, the ride is really nice and supple and doesn’t have a wallowy feel or a harsh edge that’s typical of air springs. So, with good ground clearance and a supple ride, Mumbai’s permanently dug up and unlevelled roads weren’t much of a torture. The other element that adds delight to driving is the 2.0 litre TFSI engine. It’s creamy smooth and is incredibly silent at low revs. And then, as you push down on the throttle, you can hear its lovely purr. It makes an impressive 265hp, so performance is effortless and I found the Balanced drive mode to be perfect for a refined but quick enough drive. Overtaking is easy and you don’t have to second guess a gap, other than considering the car’s size, of course. This may not be a long wheelbase car, but it’s no hatchback either. I am thoroughly enjoying my time with this car; it’s not something I will happily let go off, but I suspect by the time you read this it will have already gone to someone else. I know Shapur is eyeing it and all because of that TFSI unit under the bonnet.