1998 Audi A6 2.8 Quattro Pulls Us Back In

From the November 1997 challenge of Automotive and Driver.

When Harry Cohn, the tyrannical and much-despised boss of the Columbia film studio, died virtually 40 years in the past, 1000’s attended the funeral. When requested why so many confirmed up, comic Pink Skelton mentioned, “Give folks one thing they need, and so they’ll end up.” The identical maxim applies to success within the automobile enterprise. Audi has doubled its gross sales lately with a brand new technology of first-rate vehicles which have introduced folks again to the showrooms.

The primary of those new fashions, the A4, was launched for 1996. It anchors the Audi line and has been on our 10Best listing for the previous two years. Then, in 1997, Audi hit the higher finish of the spectrum with its aluminum-bodied A8, which we referred to as “an almost flawless interpretation of what a contemporary luxurious car should be.”

In 1998, Audi hopes to maintain this momentum going with its third new automobile in three years, a redesigned A6. Audi hopes this sedan will eat the lunch of its German rivals and steal some tidbits off the plates of Lexus, Infiniti, and even Cadillac. “We need to be mainstream gamers and com­pete towards the icons within the market,” declares Gerd Klauss, head of Audi’s North American operations.

The A6 is predicted to be priced about the identical as its predecessor, $34,500, which is able to give it a gorgeous benefit over the BMW 5-series, which begins at $40,000, and the Mercedes E-class, with its base worth of $41,000. Audi hopes the A6 can even determine within the plans of patrons who may in any other case have an interest within the Mercedes C-class, the Lexus ES300, the Cadillac Catera, and the Infiniti J30.

Audi makes no sporting pretensions for the A6, declaring it to be a luxurious automobile. It qualifies for membership in that crowded membership by advantage of an ordinary­-equipment listing that features every part from pop-up headlight washers to a remote-opening decklid. Nearly all of the {hardware} that when outlined luxurious is now non-compulsory on lesser vehicles. What distinguishes the A6 from these mid-rank fashions is the standard of its components, exact meeting, and a scrupulous consideration to element. To quote only one instance, the map pockets within the entrance and rear doorways swing out on beefy hinges for higher entry and are lined on the within with materials that matches the carpet and trim. They’ve a thick and stable really feel and shut with a muted thunk. Certainly, each aperture, from the doorways to the wood-faced panel that conceals the radio, pivots with ease and shuts with a stable click on, a crisp snick, or an authorita­tive thwack.

The controls and the switches are unambiguous and simple to function and transfer frictionlessly by their arcs. The usual devices are current, augmented by an analog clock and an oil­-temperature gauge that’s really cali­brated in levels. The steering wheel tilts, telescopes, and suits the palms as comfortably because the deal with of a Louisville Slugger. Though the motive force’s seat might use extra help at its sides, it does alter each which approach and nestles the physique snugly.

The A6’s excessive beltline and physique­builder shoulder room give it a safe, encapsulated really feel. The even handed use of wooden trim contributes to an environment of opulence. Audi provides a alternative of three normal inside motifs—described cloy­ingly as Ambition, Ambiente, and Advance—advertising and marketing buzz that may have extra clearly been whittled down merely to “formal,” “informal,” and “prac­tical.” Leather-based is non-compulsory throughout the board, however the usual leatherette, or material within the Advance model, is equally enticing.

Audi has neatly shunned some con­momentary styling conventions each inside and outdoors the A6. An instrument panel that blends into the middle console is sort of a cliché lately; Audi’s segregates these components. Whereas different man­ufacturers try to flee the con­formity inherent in aerodynamic design, Audi has expanded on it.

The physique of the A6 appears to be like as stable as a block of granite that is been chiseled and chamfered to knock off the sharp edges. It could look ponderous if Audi hadn’t relieved it with a skinny, delicate roofline that arcs in a mild parabola from hood to trunk. Audi says the styling provides the A6 a coupe look, but when it wasn’t for its quick bubble of a deck, the A6 can be a fastback, and a handsome one at that. From any angle, the A6’s styling is unconventional, but it continues the Audi household look.

In images, the A6’s proportions make it look smaller than it’s. In truth, it is 4 inches longer than the BMW 5-series and virtually three inches longer than a Mercedes E-class. And with a curb weight of 3740 kilos, the A6 2.8 Quattro isn’t precisely svelte—it is about 150 kilos heavier than a 528i or E320.

Numerous that mass has been put to good use to stiffen the chassis; Audi claims a 50-percent enchancment in torsional rigidity over that of the earlier A6. Though the that means of that declare is mis­main, implying because it does that the previous A6 was as stiff as a noodle, the brand new A6 cer­tainly feels as cosy, stable, and safe as a bulletproof vest.

Sadly, no less than from an enthu­siast’s viewpoint, Audi has compro­mised a few of that really feel with a suspension tuned extra for consolation than dealing with. All A6s get a lightened model of the brand new virtual-steering-axis four-link entrance sus­pension from the A4 and A8—22 kilos have been reduce by utilizing extra aluminum and a brand new tubular metal subframe. Quattro fashions get a newly designed unequal-­size control-arm rear suspension, entrance­-wheel-drive variations use a torsion-beam rear suspension. The springs and the dampers are tuned for a experience that is softer than a BMW’s and firmer than a Buick’s.

Round city or on a freeway, the A6 glides alongside as comfortably and silently as a Zeppelin. Its rounded physique, with its low drag coefficient of 0.28, creates about as a lot wind noise as a swooping seagull. There isn’t any play within the steering, and protecting the automobile between the white strains requires solely the occasional faint nudge of the steering wheel.

However on the loops and whorls of a mountain highway, the delicate suspension considerably limits the A6’s cornering velocity. Nevertheless, this isn’t to say that driving the automobile arduous is not enjoyable. With four-wheel drive, an inde­pendent rear suspension, and full of life steering, the Quattro stays as properly balanced as a squirrel on a phone wire. Pushed arduous, it does not precisely understeer as a lot as go right into a gradual four-wheel drift that is straightforward to manage with jigs of the steering wheel and mild throttle manipulation. In fast left-right transitions, the suspension does not appear as delicate as first impressions indicated. It does not enable disagreeable physique roll, and below braking the nostril does not curtsy excessively. There aren’t any surprises, which is nice for constructing confidence however dangerous for uplifting overconfidence. It is simple to get lulled right into a false sense of safety and exceed the A6’s modest 0.75-g cor­nering restrict, nevertheless forgiving the automobile is perhaps.

Most of this sort of driving, though it is a responsible pleasure, is not what the A6 is meant for. With 200 horsepower from its 2.8-liter V-6, which has 5 valves per cylinder, the A6 can maintain its personal on the freeway, however its passage up the ability curve is deliberate relatively than swift.

Because of this, the A6 takes 9.7 seconds to succeed in 60 mph and a tepid 17.5 seconds to cowl the quarter-mile—that is one to 2 seconds slower than most vehicles within the class. Nonetheless, it is enjoyable to punch by the gears with its five-speed Tiptronic manu­matic transmission. Reaching the shift lever is as straightforward as swatting a fly off your knee. Slap the persist with the suitable, and also you’re in Tiptronic. Then all you do is faucet it for­ward to upshift, and faucet it backward to downshift. It is electronically managed to maintain the inattentive from slipping into first gear at 80 mph. Whether or not in guide or automated mode, the transmission is as easy and attractive as Julia Kid’s choco­late mousse, and it will not go away your fin­gers sticky.

Audi figures that 70 % of A6 patrons will select the Quattro choice. At about $1600, it is just about a giveaway. However there is a penalty. The {hardware} weighs an additional 231 kilos, which is the equal of carrying round an invisible George Foreman wherever you go, and prices a couple of mile per gallon in gas economic system. Nonetheless, it is price it for the added safety of twice the traction.

Entrance-wheel drive simply would not appear proper in a automobile filled with just-rights, an instance of which is the texture and placement of the pedals. One other is its Scenicruiser visi­bility. Then there’s the craftsmanlike match of the inside appointments, and so forth. If solely it have been only a bit faster, however then Audi says there is a V-8 on the horizon. That might be the ultimate just-right to com­plete an almost good bundle.