Audi currently sells no wagons in the U.S.A.—zero,
zilch, not a one. Sure, there's the A4 Allroad but it carries
unattractive plastic cladding and SUV-like lifted suspension. So, you
can understand why I nearly fell off my chair when Audi recently
announced that the batshit crazy, near-600-hp new RS6 Avant
is coming to America. It's such big news that the company's press
release was titled in all capital letters and ended with three
exclamation points: "ALL-NEW AUDI RS6 AVANT IS COMING TO AMERICA!!!" How
very un-German. But before getting too excited about an RS6 Avant
heading to our shores, it's important to dissect this new go-fast wagon
and see if it warrants such a headline.
It's
certainly a good-looking wagon, although I'm not nuts about the silver
exterior detailing, especially the swoopy tacked-on bit affixed to the
rear bumper. But Audi will thankfully offer other trim color options,
including black and carbon fiber. Or you could choose an RS6 Avant in
matching silver paint. Moving back to the positive, the extroverted
fender flares are 1.6 inches wider compared to the standard A6 wagon's
sheetmetal in Europe and are particularly cool. In fact, every panel
except the front doors, rear hatch and roof are unique to the RS6 Avant.
Overall, it's a very aggressive yet elegant design. I like it.
Inside the RS6, as with its RS7 mechanical twin,
it's pretty much your normal modern high-end Audi, which is generally a
good thing. Only the dual touchscreens put me off. I much prefer
intuitive hard buttons to distracting fingerprint magnets. But the
interior is cohesive and appears high quality, and there looks to be
plenty of space for people and stuff. That said, you can't fit quite as
much shopping as you can in a Mercedes E-Class wagon. Lucky, there's much more to the RS6 Avant than just practicality.
It's
no doubt a fast Audi. The zero-to-60-mph sprint should fall in the
low-three-second range courtesy of standard all-wheel drive, launch
control, and a powerful twin-turbo V8. The 4.0-liter engine is aided by a
48-volt mild-hybrid system and cylinder deactivation, though,
strangely, the U.S. release makes no mention of the fuel-saving
features. The sole transmission is a torque converter eight-speed
automatic. Top speed sits at 155 mph but, at least on the other side of
the Atlantic, maximum velocity can be bumped to 174 mph if you spec the
optional Dynamic package, or 190 mph with the Dynamic Plus package. No
word on if we'll get those two extra-cost features. We better, though,
because the Mercedes-AMG E63 S wagon can hit an impressive 180 mph as
standard. And that Benz is a key competitive vehicle.
Late last year, we gathered an E63 S wagon and the latest Audi RS5 as part of the Automobile Magazine 2019 All-Stars competition.
The Mercedes impressed while the Audi flew the decent-but-quite-there
flag. The bigger and heavier AMG handled better on both the road and the
track. And it rewarded the driver on a much higher level than the RS5
coupe. Audi will have to work some magic with this new RS6 Avant if it's
going to match the mega dynamic character of the AMG. And remember that
Mercedes offers the trick to switch the E63 to rear-wheel drive. Not so
at Audi.
Still, Audi does have an opportunity to give the RS6 Avant a slightly different character compared to the Mercedes. Despite my love for the E63 wagon,
I do find myself regularly reaching for the suspension button in the
center console in an attempt to calm the ride. Even in the dampers' most
relaxed mode, the AMG remains stiff. I tested the outgoing RS6 Avant in
England some years back and it came across as a wicked fast A6 wagon
with wicked-cool fender flares, being brilliant both in foul weather and
when trudging along on a lengthy freeway journey. But the four-ringed
wagon didn't reward when pushed. If Audi injects some of the brilliance
of the E63 into the latest RS6 but keeps the ride quality and
laugh-at-the-weather skills of the old car then it may end up as the
Goldilocks of this niche segment.
The RS6 Avant
looks to be a complicated car to order, like so many modern vehicles.
And we'll see what options we actually get in America. Over in Europe,
the wheels are 21 inchers with a 22-inch style available as an option.
Air suspension is standard, with Dynamic Ride Control available. The
latter replaces the air springs with coils and adds adjustable dampers
interconnected via hydraulic lines to help control pitch and roll.
Rear-wheel steering is offered on the RS6 Avant, and Audi's
controversial variable-ratio steering is standard. An active rear Sport
differential is also something you can pay to add. And the Audi wagon
offers optional carbon-ceramic brakes, bumping the front rotor size from
a huge 16.5 inches to a gigantic 17.3. You can also spec a sport
exhaust, which is a must-have with any V-8 wagon. We'll have to see what
chassis combination is best for the RS6 Avant and if there's a
configuration available that turns the Audi wagon into a proper AMG
wagon killer.
Either way, I'm over the moon that we're getting another go-fast wagon
in the USA. Hopefully this segment expansion convinces BMW to get in the
game. How cool would it be to have a BMW M5 Competition wagon? But I digress. There's also the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo
(read: wagon), though it's less powerful and quite a bit more expensive
than the E63 S Wagon and the RS6 Avant, assuming the Audi carries a
similar $112,745 base price to the Benz. And the Porsche is sadly more
in the realm of the last-generation RS6 Avant as far as how it rewards
the driver. So, maybe we can forget about the Panamera.
Let's hope enough Americans pull the trigger on the special order RS6
Avant to justify Audi USA's bold move to send the fast wagon across the
pond. Each and every time I see a so-called "sporty SUV" with a luxury
badge on it, I wonder why the owner didn't buy an E63 wagon. Now I'll be
able to include the Audi in that question. It's no doubt a good time to
be a performance-wagon geek in the U.S. Maybe three exclamation points
and all caps weren't enough, Audi.
