Over a period of six months, our long-term Audi A6 has, through performance, practicality and reliability, cemented itself in the Cars in Action memory bank. But all good things come to an end and for us this happened the day the guys from Audi came and fetched big-hearted sedan. It was a day of sadness, a day of reflection and a day of appreciation. Rumour has it that Jesse, who racked up enough speeding fines in the A6 to almost pay for it, shed a tear and was seen kissing the bonnet as the car was whisked away. It was that good a car.

Why was it so good? Well it is pretty simple — the A6 4.2 FSI quattro did everything anyone would want from a car. It ranks up there as one of the best compromises between performance, practicality and emotive driving. With this car, Audi somehow managed to seamlessly blend a sense of style, class, top detailing and finishing as well as grunty performance and an engaging driving feel. It might sound like we are blowing the Audi’s horn excessively but we can’t help it. You’ll have to go a long way to find a car this competent and so spot on.

With S-line kit, sports suspensions and some whacking great 19-inch RS 4 wheels, the exterior appearance is seriously athletic. Thankfully, this doesn’t translate into a harsh and uncomfortable ride and long trips are a pleasure. 

We’ve done a trip to the coast, the odd race meetings in Lichtenberg and Welkom, even a dash to a farm in Delareyville and of course the daily slog through the infamous Sandton traffic. In all cases, one would simply load up the monster-sized boot, get in, switch on and drive to the destination. Dual zone climate controls, a healthy sound system, navigation, electronically adjustable seats and steering columns made personalizing the interior a walk in the park. It even had a rear-facing camera for reversing.

The only downside to this effortless driving experience was that you quickly forget about speed limits and conserving the world’s natural resources, with the result that you end up spending huge amounts on the traffic department and have to stop at every petrol station you see. When driven on the quicker side of life, the 4.2-litre heart of the A6 drinks like a fish, however if you take it more leisurely it returns some acceptable numbers.

The only other gripes I found while flipping through some back issues were the odd complaint about the cost of the optional extras and a rattle that developed in the cubbyhole region. The cubbyhole rattle turned out to be a loose clip in the dash region, and Audi Johannesburg in Braamfontein quickly and effortlessly sorted this out. That’s it, six months with the Audi A6 and the sum total of all the negatives form a couple of lines, pretty impressive in anyone’s books.

We say
“Big, imposing, luxurious and fast, our A6 4.2 FSI quattro fulfilled everything we’d expect from a high-end limo and despite being on the bulky side, even showed a sporting bent, with its all-wheel drive and mammoth RS 4 rims giving it surprising grip. I liked the huge interior and the level of solidity and refinement that becomes apparent once cocooned in its cabin — build quality is as if carved from granite. On the downside, this is an expensive machine, especially when kitted out with all the options and mod cons we had on our unit."
-Jason Woosey

“It was over last December’s holiday when I was first acquainted with this car. I still remember it clear as day. The boss needed to borrow the Subaru I was driving at the time so he sent me a text at about 7.30 on a Saturday morning. "Come swap the Subaru with this A6," he said. "It’s a really cool car." I must admit I wasn’t too excited about swapping a Scoobie for an A6, but as he rolled up in this beaut, my mind was changed. 19-inch RS 4 wheels glinting in the sun and sweet S Line kit adorned. I thought the boss was a sucker that day. I was in love with this car ever since. I was also truly sorry to see it go. Whoever’s acquired it is a truly lucky person. I hope they treat it as well as it treated me."
-Jesse Adams