Audi A6 (2018-2025) Review

This generation of A6 marked a clear shift in character for Audi’s executive saloon. Earlier A6s were elegant, understated and impeccably built, but this version leant much more heavily into digital theatre. The cabin became more screen-led, the styling more assertive and the whole car took a noticeable step towards feeling like a junior A8.

That gave it a stronger identity than some earlier A6s had managed. This was no longer just the safe middle ground in the executive class. It felt more ambitious than that, with enough technology, cabin drama and road presence to stand out in a segment where the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class had long set the pace.

It also delivered on the fundamentals buyers in this class actually care about. The A6 is spacious, quiet, refined and easy to cover long distances in, while the saloon body still offers a genuinely useful boot. It never feels as though style has been allowed to interfere with substance.

Though there’s now a new A6 Saloon, this 2018-2024 generation car should still does a number of things exceptionally well: premium feel, strong technology and deeply accomplished road manners.

For most used buyers, the best option is the 40 TDI in Sport or S line trim. It offers the best balance of performance, economy and ease, and it suits the A6’s long-legged character very well.

If your mileage is lower, the 45 TFSI is the petrol to look at. It has enough performance to make the A6 feel properly effortless, and it's smoother and quieter around town than the diesel.

Trim matters here as well. Sport is the sensible place to start, while S line adds the visual attitude many buyers will want. Black Edition and Vorsprung cars can look especially tempting, but they also bring bigger wheels and extra cost.

Used Audi A6 Saloon prices now start from around £20,000 for earlier 40 TDI Sport models, with higher-spec versions, stronger engines and plug-in hybrids sitting significantly above that.

There's still plenty of choice in the used market, which means it's worth being selective. Specification, wheel size and engine choice all make a noticeable difference to how convincing the car feels.

For many buyers, the best value sits in the middle of the range with a well-specced four-cylinder diesel rather than at either extreme.

The Audi A6 has been locked in battle with its two fiercest German arch-rivals - the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class - for years, and the heat of that competition has driven all three to excel. If we were to pigeon-hole them, the BMW is the best all-rounder, with the lowest running costs and tidy handling, while the Mercedes is a comfortable cruiser, perhaps even more supple than the A6. Both come with marginally more standard equipment than the Audi, but the A6's strength is that it feels like the most overtly high-tech and contemporary choice of the lot, while still delivering the refinement buyers in this class expect.

Large four-door saloons such as the Audi A6 tend to focus on providing lots of space for passengers to stretch out in, rather than being able to stack them to the rafters with luggage. For that job you really want an estate or high-riding SUV.

Despite this limited brief though, the A6 is one of the best cars in this class when the need does arrive to shift an old item of furniture, cram in some suitcases for a two-week holiday, or drop younger kids off at nursery. 

It has a 530-litre boot, which matches the 5 Series and is a smidgen less than you get in the E-Class, but fitting stuff inside the Audi is easier, since the boot opening is such a wide, square shape. It's longer than it is deep, but you'll be able to fit a stroller, bag of golf clubs or three big suitcases without folding the rear seats down.

Pick either of the PHEVs though and things aren't nearly as rosy. You'll be getting a severely reduced boot that's 360-litre capacity is more like that of a family hatchback, so we hope eco-conscious buyers pack light.

Unlike some rivals (we're looking at you, Lexus and BMW) split-folding seats are included as standard. They tumble flat in a 40:20:40 configuration, giving you the flexibility to carry people and increase the load space. They lie flat enough to make sliding heavier stuff in a breeze, and only tall, boxy items will pose a challenge.

Audi gives you three spots to mount a child seat, with ISOFIX in the two outer chairs and the front passenger seat, plus a switch to deactivate the airbag. There's more than enough room to fit even the bulkiest varieties.

Room in the back seat is excellent, with bags of head- and legroom that makes it very comfortable for adults. While the middle spot is narrower than the others, it can carry three with less shoulder-jostling than its rivals.

There are deep pockets in all four doors, a decent glovebox and more useful loose storage under the central armrest, but if your rear passengers are of a coffee-drinking age, cupholders (and a few other bits) are a stingy option.

The Audi A6 Saloon measures 4,939mm long, 2,110mm wide and 1,457mm high, which makes it one of the larger cars in this class.

Even so, the A6 never feels unwieldy in the way some large saloons can. Good visibility, accurate steering and a generally calm nature make it easier to place than its dimensions suggest.

The A6’s tech is central to its appeal. The dual-screen dashboard gave the cabin a very contemporary look when new, and it still feels striking now.

The upper display handles infotainment and navigation, while the lower screen deals with climate and convenience functions. The system is sharp, slick and modern-looking, though it does ask more of the user than the simpler setups Audi once fitted.

An excellent sat-nav, 10-speaker audio system, DAB radio, Bluetooth, online services (with a three-year subscription), integration for Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa voice control are all baked-in to its circuits. The Technology Pack can upgrade that to a Bang & Olufsen set-up with 16 speakers.

Material quality is strong, even if the design relies more on glass and glossy surfaces than older Audis did. The cabin still feels solid, expensive and very carefully put together.

There are one or two areas lower down that do not feel quite as over-engineered as old-school Audis once did, but the overall impression remains of a premium interior that has been designed to impress.

Used buyers will mainly be choosing between the 40 TDI, 40 TFSI, 45 TFSI, 50 TDI and the 50 TFSI e, depending on age and trim. The 40 TDI is the key engine in the range and the one that makes most sense for most buyers.

It has enough torque to suit the A6’s size, feels relaxed at speed and still returns respectable fuel economy. The 45 TFSI is the smoother petrol alternative, while the 50 TFSI e plug-in hybrid makes the strongest company-car-style case if your routine suits charging.

The PHEV is worth understanding properly, though, because the figures changed over the car’s life. Early 50 TFSI e versions had an official electric range of up to 34 miles, while the more powerful 55 TFSI e managed up to 32 miles. Later 50 TFSI e models benefited from a battery upgrade and stretched to 41 to 42 miles officially, depending on trim.

That means the later plug-in hybrid is much easier to justify than the earlier one if you are specifically chasing electric running on shorter trips. Even so, it still makes most sense for buyers who can charge regularly and do not need the full-size boot.

The six-cylinder 50 TDI adds effortless punch, but for many buyers the four-cylinder 40 TDI is the better-value answer.

We really appreciate how easy the Audi A6 is to drive too, with light steering that's a little remote, and on most models, an eagerness to change direction that you don't expect to find on large, heavy and luxurious executive cars.

Audi used to be fairly democratic when it came to suspension setups. It would let you pick and choose from the three different options available, allowing you to decide how far to push the boat out in pursuit of comfort.

Now things are stricter, with the type of suspension and other mechanical upgrades that affect the handling characteristics now ring-fenced by which of the three trims you choose. Where a Vorsprung model had the all-singing adaptive air suspension and trick four-wheel steering system, the S Line and Black Edition upper trims now just have the sport suspension that sits 20mm lower and firmer than the standard set-up on the, er, Sport version.

Either way, the suspension can absorb speed humps and larger dips unfazed. Small imperfections do cause the body to shimmy with the air suspension. This can be irritating around town after a while, so urban drivers are likely to be better off with one of the conventional setups.

The trade-off for this firmness is excellent body control and consistent handling. The A6 never surprises you mid-corner, reacting faithfully to your inputs and delivering plenty of stable grip. It's not as fun as a rear-drive saloon, but it's also more planted, and with four-wheel drive, you'll have superb traction in slippery weather.

Meanwhile, the four-wheel steering effectively shortens the wheelbase, making this long, heavy car feel as nimble as an A3. It tightens up the turning circle too, perfect if you do a lot of city driving. This system also adds to the A6's (already impressive) sense of stability at higher speeds, instilling the driver with confidence.

As for refinement, everything is pretty calm behind the wheel of the Audi A6. It's a car that has been designed with long distances in mind, and that really shines through in the way it manages to isolate its driver from the usual driving hubbub. Even the four-cylinder diesel is hushed, sending little to no vibration into the cabin, and generally it minds its own business, even when you're accelerating down a motorway slip road. Road and wind noise are well suppressed by the clever 'acoustic' glass in the windscreen and side windows, although the former gets noticeably louder on high-spec models with enormous wheels and low-profile tyres.

The A6 scored the maximum five stars when tested by independent safety organisation Euro NCAP and offers a strong core safety package, with autonomous emergency braking and a broad spread of active and passive safety systems.

Higher-spec cars and those fitted with optional assistance packs add more of the clever semi-autonomous features that were a big part of the A6’s appeal when new. As always, check the exact specification of the used example you are considering.

Fuel economy is respectable across most of the range, especially if you stick to the four-cylinder diesels, some of which will top 50mpg. The 40 TDI is the sweet spot for long-distance efficiency, while the plug-in 50 TFSI e can look extremely attractive on paper if you charge regularly.

The important thing with the plug-in hybrid is to separate the official promise from the ownership reality. Later 50 TFSI e cars with the upgraded battery are much more convincing if your journeys are short enough to exploit that 41 to 42-mile official electric range, but if you rarely plug in you are just carrying extra weight and giving away a lot of boot space for very little reward.

As ever, bigger engines, quattro and wheel choice all have a real-world effect, so the official figures only tell part of the story.

Any remaining manufacturer warranty will depend on the age of the car, but Audi Approved Used examples remain the most reassuring place to start.

Audi Approved Used currently includes a minimum of a one-year Audi Warranty, one year of roadside assistance and a 30-day exchange plan, which adds useful reassurance on a used premium saloon.

Audi servicing is generally straightforward, but on used examples it's still worth checking the history carefully, particularly on plug-in hybrid cars and on models with the more complex optional chassis systems.

The Audi A6 saloon is not the cheapest executive express when it comes to finding the lowest annual premium, since the entry-level 40 TDI diesel in Sport trim falls into the Group 30 insurance band, out of a possible 50. That's on a par with its German competitors, with a good rule of thumb being that a four-cylinder model will be a thirty-something, while a V6 (petrol or diesel) or plug-in hybrid will be somewhere in mid-to-late forties, with the searingly quick S6 topping out in Group 46.

All Audi A6 Saloons attract the standard annual Vehicle Excuse Duty rate of £200, or £17.50 a month by Direct Debit.

However, if the car’s original list price was over £40,000 – and just about all of them did – it also trips the threshold for the Expensive Car Supplement for five years from the second year of registration. That takes the annual bill to £640, or £56 a month by Direct Debit.