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2005 A6 Audi 3.2 quattro AT6 Review


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By Bob Gordon

SEE ALSO: New Car Buyer's Guide for Audi

What: 2005 Audi A6 3.2 quattro AT6

Where: Interstate I-95, New York City, Historic Philadelphia

When: Summer Weather: Sun and Showers, Windy

Miles Driven: 435 MSRP: $48,770

Byte Bite: The Audi A6 3.2 quattro delivers on it’s billing as a German Luxury Car

This past weekend I was fortunate to be testing a car that complemented the high hopes and good feelings of attending my old friend’s daughters wedding…a luxury car is always welcomed when my co-pilot is my soon to be dolled up and ultimately coiffed and frocked wife.

We picked up said car at BWI airport and as always the professionals at Specialty Vehicle Transport had the Audi shined up, fueled up and ready to go.

Although the wedding and its ancillary events were scheduled to take place in New York City, my opportunity to test drive an Audi A6 under actual life trip conditions, you know…stop and go, tight parking places, 7 lanes merging into 2, 18 wheelers, big wheelers, low riders and other assorted new found road buddies, was just too juicy to pass up.

The Audi performed well under the prevailing conditions:
1. It smoothed out the pot-holed roads of New Jersey
2. It was quiet and comfortable at any speed
3. It was easy to handle in the north-east corridor’s gymkhana-like road conditions
4. It was easy to parallel park in Brooklyn’s Park Slope and Philadelphia’s South Side
5. It was more than roomy enough for 5 grown-ups
6. It was solid and sway less under the onslaught of 18 wheelers
7. It was more than powerful enough for every situation
8. It made me a proud and happy owner(albeit for only 3 days)

In order to communicate exactly how I rate the Audi A6, I will use a 1 to 5 star rating system, 5 being best of course.

Comfort: 5 Stars - the climate control did what it was supposed to. The Bose System sounded great, but since the controls were integrated into the Multi-Media Interface (Driver Information System) it was a chore to operate. The 12 way power leather faced front seats were perfectly comfortable as were the steering wheel and pedal heights.

Performance: 4 Stars – the 255 HP V6 while not overpowering was more than adequate and matched well with the A6’s purpose as a luxury family sedan, it’s acceleration acceptable with it’s braking smooth and sure, the steering S and S also.

Looks: 5 Stars – it’s a looker alright, Stratos Blue Pearl Effect-was very effective, and its real wood trim along with Platinum Leather interior luxurious and very sexy.

Drivability: 5 Stars – I couldn’t wait to get back in and drive, although I wish that I could drive this car under snowy conditions to see just how sure footed this model will be.

Controls: 5 Stars for everything but the non-intuitive navigation system…ok I know you may think it’s a small thing, but my co-pilot who has a Master’s Degree in English and who actually read the navigation crib sheet still found it difficult and sometimes impossible to get this high tech gadget to do what we wanted it to do…I can’t believe that with all of Audi’s great engineering a simple intuitive interface cannot be designed and installed…we never could figure out how to make the “direction instruction lady’s volume higher, or quickly change our destination…

Price/Value: 3 no 4 no 5- Well at almost $50 grand it ain’t cheap, but when I compare it to other luxury cars that sell for almost twice as much as the Audi A6…I could say that if you are buying a top line Luxury Car the Audi A6 3.2 quattro AT6 is a bargain.

What’s Next?:Winter Driving in Vail…see you in December