Audi RS 6 Avant (2020-2026) Review

The Audi RS 6 is in its fourth generation, this iteration of Audi’s rapid estate car being introduced late in 2019 and available in the UK from early 2020. It follows a now familiar brief, taking the Audi A6 Avant (that’s estate in Audi speak) and shoehorning a massive power engine into it. Is it good, does it work? We'll find out in this review.

Needless to say Audi doesn’t just stop there, the fitment of a 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 with 630PS and 850Nm of torque - up from 600PS and 800Nm at launch - does mean that they’ve also been very busy thoroughly revising the suspension, brakes and everything else to manage that prodigious output.

It looks a good bit more muscular than its A6 Avant relations, but not so wild that to many it’s little more than a handsome, big estate car. It’s all that, and more, as the mighty output means this is an estate that can carry four in real comfort (five at a push) with a boot load of luggage, and at a pace you’d usually need a supercar for. 

That power, and the masses of torque, a quattro four-wheel drive transmission, and an eight-speed automatic gearbox allow the RS 6 to launch to 62mph in just 3.6 seconds. That’s just half a second slower than a Ferrari 488 GTB, and the same as a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S. The RS 6 is quite ridiculously accelerative for something so big, and useful. 

Keep the accelerator buried in the floor and, so long as you’re in its German homeland on an unrestricted autobahn, you’ll be able to keep those exotic cars honest chasing ever bigger numbers. Audi electronically limited its top speed to 155mph, but you could pay to have that raised to 174mph, or, indeed, completely removed. Now, all RS 6s comes with a default top speed of 174mph. Do that and the laws of physics will eventually rein in the acceleration at 1mph shy of 190mph, all this in a car that’s got a boot which, with those rear seats folded, has a maximum capacity of 1680 litres. 

It’s a very capable, rounded car, then, with the everyday practicality of a big estate car, combined with the outrageous pace of sports and supercars. 

There are a few compromises because of this - that big engine will burn though plenty of fuel, and all other associated running costs will be higher, too. Given it effectively combines all the cars you could ever want or need in one package, you can make a strong argument that it’s actually a very sensible proposition, saving you buying a Ferrari, Porsche or even an Audi R8 to park alongside one of the RS 6’s more sensibly powered A6 Avant relations. 

It retains all the A6’s qualities too, so the cabin is spacious and well designed. Audi is head and shoulders the class leader when it comes to the quality of its interiors too. A supercar you can actually justify, not just as an indulgence either, as the RS6 is a car that can be used and enjoyed everyday, doing everything from the mad to the mundane, and everything in between.  

For most buyers, the regular Audi RS 6 Avant performance is the sweet spot. It already has the full 630PS powertrain, the 174mph top speed, four-wheel steering, quattro permanent all-wheel drive and the dramatic bodywork that make the car feel special.

Carbon Black is worth a look if you like the darker styling and want a bit more visual menace, but it's not fundamentally a different car. Carbon Vorsprung is lavishly equipped and undeniably tempting, though it tends to push the price even deeper into territory where you could start looking at more exotic machinery.

In simple terms, the base Audi RS 6 Avant performance model with the right options is usually all the RS 6 anyone really needs.

Used Audi RS 6 Avant prices now start from around £70,000 for earlier examples with sensible mileage, while later performance cars and higher-spec Carbon Vorsprung versions sit well above that.

The reason values stay strong is not hard to understand. The Audi RS 6 Avant has a loyal following, there's nothing else quite like it and it now has the extra cachet of no longer being available to order new. That all helps keep prices firmer than you might expect.

Specification still matters. Packs, wheel choices, seat trims, audio and assistance tech all affect how convincing the car feels, and because this is an expensive RS Audi, the gap between a merely good car and a really desirable one can be significant.

The BMW M5 Touring is the most obvious alternative if you want a similarly huge level of pace in an estate body, while the Mercedes-AMG E 63 S Estate remains the wildest and most extrovert of the old-school super-estate trio.

The Alpina B5 Touring offers a more discreet and long-legged take on the same idea, while the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo sits slightly to one side as a sleeker, less overtly load-focused option. All have their merits, but the Audi RS 6 Avant’s blend of image, pace and everyday polish remains unusually hard to beat.

This is still one of the cleverest parts of the Audi RS 6 Avant concept. It's very easy to get carried away by the V8 and the performance numbers, but the real reason the car makes sense is that it retains the usefulness of the A6 Avant underneath.

Up front there's loads of space and a strong driving position, even with the heavily bolstered RS sports seats. Rear-seat space is properly adult-friendly too, which is not always the case in lesser performance estates.

The boot is exactly as useful as an Audi RS 6 buyer would hope. With the rear seats in place, capacity stands at 565 litres, rising to 1,680 litres with them folded. The shape is good, the opening is wide and the 40:20:40 split rear bench adds genuine flexibility.

That means the Audi RS 6 Avant is not merely fast for an estate. It's also still a very convincing estate. A Mercedes-AMG E 63 Estate offers even more outright luggage space, but the Audi remains comfortably practical enough to justify itself as a real do-everything car rather than a novelty.

The Audi RS 6 Avant measures 4,995mm long, 1,951mm wide and 1,487mm high.

That gives it real road presence, but it doesn't feel as unwieldy as the width figures might suggest once you’re behind the wheel. Standard four-wheel steering helps here, particularly around town and when parking.

The Audi RS 6 Avant uses Audi’s familiar dual-screen setup, with a 10.1-inch upper touchscreen for infotainment and navigation, an 8.6-inch lower screen for climate and convenience functions, and a 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit digital driver display ahead of the driver.

It still looks slick and suitably premium, and the RS-specific displays help lift it above the ordinary A6 experience. The main drawback is that the lower climate screen is fussier to use than proper physical controls would be.

Later cars also benefited from improved standard equipment, including Bang & Olufsen audio and a 360-degree camera, so it's worth paying attention to year and specification when buying used.

Material quality is excellent throughout. This is an area where Audi has long been hard to fault, and the Audi RS 6 Avant only reinforces that reputation.

Everything feels dense, carefully assembled and expensive in the way buyers at this level will expect. Better still, it's the sort of interior that tends to wear well, which matters on a car that many owners will actually use properly.

There's really only one story here, and it's a very good one. Power comes from a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, paired with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and quattro permanent all-wheel drive.

At launch, the Audi RS 6 Avant delivered 600PS and 800Nm, enough for 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds. Later Audi RS 6 Avant performance models raised that to 630PS and 850Nm, trimming the sprint time to 3.4 seconds and making the car even more absurdly accelerative.

That later performance spec is the one that now defines the range. It also brought a default top speed of 174mph for UK cars, which matters because earlier versions required optional packs to go beyond the old 155mph limiter.

The V8 is the star of the show. It's muscular, flexible and brutally effective, with enough torque to make the Audi RS 6 Avant feel almost casual in the way it gathers speed. The eight-speed automatic isn’t the last word in snappy paddleshifting, but it suits the car’s broader nature well because it's smooth at lower speeds and never feels awkward in daily use.

The Audi RS 6 Avant is ferociously fast in the sort of effortless, all-weather way that has long defined RS Audis. There's huge traction, huge punch and an almost absurd ability to demolish ground regardless of conditions.

What's most impressive is the way the Audi RS 6 Avant combines that pace with genuine composure. Rear-wheel steering helps it feel more agile than a car of this size and weight has any right to, while the sport differential and quattro system mean the Audi RS 6 Avant feels more rear-biased and more adjustable than some older generations did.

Even so, it's still better understood as a devastatingly effective fast car than a genuinely playful and entertaining one. A BMW M5 Touring or Mercedes-AMG E 63 S gets closer to delivering that extra layer of interaction, but the Audi counters by feeling relentlessly secure, usable and composed, which is exactly what many Audi RS 6 Avant buyers will want.

There's useful chassis choice within the used market too. Cars with the standard RS air suspension tend to make the most convincing all-rounders, because they preserve a surprisingly supple low-speed ride despite the huge wheels and serious performance potential. Dynamic Ride Control-equipped cars are a touch more focused and better tied down when pushed hard, but they also lean further towards the Audi RS 6 Avant’s more uncompromising side.

The steering feel is’nt exactly overflowing with old-school texture, but it's accurately weighted and the responses are clean enough that the Audi RS 6 Avant never feels clumsy. The big surprise is how well it disguises its size once the road starts to flow. It doesn't shrink around you in the way a smaller performance car might, but it does feel far more wieldy and alert than a two-tonne estate really ought to.

Ride quality is impressive given the standard 22-inch wheels. There's still the odd thump on poor surfaces, because physics eventually wins, but the Audi RS 6 Avant remains more comfortable and more rounded than a 630PS estate has any right to be. Long-distance refinement is another major strength. Settle into a cruise and the V8 fades into the background, road and wind noise are well suppressed and the whole car becomes a hugely capable high-speed tourer.

That breadth is what really defines the driving experience. The Audi RS 6 Avant is not a delicate, highly strung thing that needs the right road and the right mood. It's a relentlessly accomplished all-weather performance estate that can feel as happy covering a bleak motorway slog as it does flattening a B-road.

The Audi RS 6 Avant was not separately assessed by independent safety organisation Euro NCAP, but it shares the same core structure as the A6, which achieved a maximum five-star rating.

It also comes with a broad spread of safety kit, though some of the more advanced driver-assistance features depended on packs and trim. That means used buyers should check the exact specification rather than assuming every Audi RS 6 Avant has everything fitted.

Fuel economy is exactly what common sense says it will be. Officially, later performance cars are rated at 23.0mpg, while earlier 600PS cars sat at 22.8mpg.

In reality, the number that matters is how you use it. Driven gently, the Audi RS 6 Avant can be less ruinous than you might fear. Used properly, the MPG figure will head quickly into the teens.

The mild-hybrid system and cylinder-on-demand tech help at the margins, but this is still a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 estate weighing considerably north of two tonnes. Nobody buys an Audi RS 6 Avant for economy.

When new, the Audi RS 6 Avant came with Audi’s standard new-car warranty of up to three years or 60,000 miles, whichever came first. That's useful context when looking at earlier cars, because the oldest examples are now well beyond that original factory cover.

Any remaining manufacturer warranty on later cars will depend on age, but Audi Approved Used remains 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. On a car as complex and expensive as an Audi RS 6 Avant, that extra reassurance can be very useful.

Servicing and consumables will be costly, and tyres, brakes and fuel won’t be kind to your bank balance either. The important thing is to buy on condition and history rather than simply chasing the cheapest car. A well-kept Audi RS 6 Avant with the right maintenance record is worth paying more for.

There's no soft entry point here. The Audi RS 6 Avant sits in group 50, as you would expect of a 600PS-plus super-estate.

That's not unusual for this sort of car, but it's still worth checking quotes carefully because some rivals can differ more than you might expect.

The standard annual Vehicle Excise Duty (VED or road tax) rate is £200, but because every Audi RS 6 Avant cost more than £40,000 when new, it's also liable for the Expensive Car Supplement for five years from the second year of registration. That takes the annual bill to £640 during that period.