2015 Audi A6 TDI Quattro

Diesel is huge in Europe accounting for over 50% of car sales… why?.…. because all, diesel-engined cars are 20 to 40 percent more efficient. It’s hard to persuade the average American though, who typically thinks diesel cars are clunky noisy beasts with black smoke coming out of the tailpipe. So when Audi delivered a 2015 Audi A6 TDI Quattro, I looked to convert a few folks in the office who were anti-diesel, especially in a luxury car.
Diesel cars are typically more expensive to buy and if you don’t do high mileages they don’t work out to be a better deal if you could simply use the extra money to buy gas. In my case I like diesel and I especially like this Audi. Not only is it quicker than it’s gas 3.0T brother but it is extremely easy to drive fast, slow or at any pace.

The TDI produces a modest 240 hp from the V-6, which doesn’t sound like a lot and is certainly less than the 310 hp the gas car offers………but wait, it produces a stonking 428 lb-ft @ 1750 rpm, more than 100 lb ft than the 3.0T.

Engine and Transmission

Mated to an 8-speed Tiptronic with manual shifting mode makes for very smooth progress, with very little need to mash your right foot into the carpet, instead it simply rides around on a wave of torque. That said, it takes a bit of getting used to the power delivery as revs are not a diesel’s best friend. Which brings me to a small complaint. The transmission has a Sport mode which holds the revs to the peak of nearly 4,600 rpm, which is way past the power peak and certainly peak torque. Keep it in D and it stays in its preferred rev range. S does work but back off a little to let the transmission change up and hit those fat torque reserves. That torque can easily send you North of license losing speeds as we found out on a couple of occasions, cruising along the freeway at 70 mph, a quick dab of throttle and woosh you’re suddenly at a ton. Luckily the Audi comes with some pretty impressive stoppers all round and we found them relatively fade free during our near 800 mile test.

Our Route

After some acceleration runs, where we coaxed the Audi to a 0-60 time of 5.3 seconds, we decided to head for the hills, specifically the Angeles Crest Hwy (Highway 2) in the Angeles National Forest. It gave us a chance to drive the TDI on freeways, in traffic, but unfortunately not in the hills. More on that later. The A6 is superbly composed (we were in Dynamic mode most of the time) on most road surfaces and cruises effortlessly at almost any speed. Once we hit traffic, which is so typical in the LA and surrounding areas, we decided we were extremely hungry and so we headed to an exceptional dumpling  place, Din Tai Fung, in Arcadia. The second piece of bad news, and the reason we never made it to Highway 2, was appalling traffic on the 210. Not to worry because in order to reduce foot fatigue we engaged Audi’s adaptive cruise control, with stop and go. Simply set the speed and it stops and go’s without hitting the car in front. The manual says it won’t stop you hitting a tree, as it locks on to the moving vehicle in front, so driver involvement is still required.

After lunch we returned to San Diego, and attacked some 2 lane highways to test the car on some twisty bits. The TDI handles extremely well and the Quattro system bites hard into corners. It all feels very safe and secure. We did feel the steering was a tad vague in comfort mode, but this is easily remedied by hastily switching back to Dynamic.

Overall fuel economy was remarkable for such a fast car. We tried really hard to use up fuel and the TDI stubbornly refused. Our overall consumption was an exceptional 28.4 mpg.

Interior

The TDI Quattro starts at $58,700, $2400 more than an identically equipped gas model. Our test car was loaded with the $2800 Driver Assistance package that includes adaptive cruise control, active lane keeping, and automatic emergency braking. Another $2800 went to the Prestige package, which adds S line exterior trim, four-zone climate control, a Bose audio system, ventilated front seats, a top view camera, which kept us exactly between the lines in parking spots and a heads up display, which did annoy us after a while.  Add all those goodies up and it totals a heady $67,975.

Our interior came bathed in a nougat brown leather, and the seats were supportive and comfortable throughout the 800+ miles we drove. The only complaints we have, and this may be user error, is, if you plug a phone into the cable provided in the armrest, you can’t play media. Also the navigation was unable to find Big Tujunga Canyon Road so we had to resort to a cellphone for navigation. Moot point as we never made it anyway, but could get slightly frustrating if other roads are not available.

Verdict

We had never really considered the A6, either Gas or Diesel, but having driven it, it grew on us to the point that I wouldn’t have an issue paying the premium over the gas model. It wowed us over the course of a week, was fast where it needed to be, comfortable in all conditions and is a truly great car. If you are in the market and have $68K, go buy one, you won’t regret it.

Specifications – 2015 Audi A6 TDI Quattro

Gallery

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Photography by Mai Krakauer and Jimmy Wu