a8toa6convert
04-05-2012, 09:46 AM
Hi, this is my first post here. Thought I'd explain how I've come to be a new(-ish) A6 owner.
I had a couple of D3 A8's, a few years ago, and loved many things about them (build quality, smart but understated looks, the 3.0 and 4.2 tdi lumps) but was always slightly hacked off that the ride and steering weren't as good as they might be. For the last 2 years I've been happy driving the "family" car, a 240ps ecoboost S-Max, which is fantastic to drive considering its size and shape and the number of seats, but it's a bit tight in the 3rd row and all 4 kids are growing like crazy so it looks like that will soon have to be replaced by a bigger and less fun-to-drive MPV. Was it time to get a separate car again for non-family stuff ? Had Audi done anything about the ride and artificial steering feel issues that had made me happy to lose an A8 4.2tdi in favour of a Ford S-Max......?
So...... this week I went to my local dealer to try a couple of nearly new cars, a D4 A8 4.2tdi and a C7 A6 3.0 tdi S-line Multitronic, both at big discounts to new.
Didn't get on with the A8 at all. The 4.2tdi had immense performance and sounded great , but (i) the steering feel was all over the place: too light initially then loading up in the middle of tightening corners with no relationship to the actual forces on the front wheels (ii) I hated the "stays in the same place for P,R,N,D and S" gear lever - a classic case of over-designing something and making it harder to use (iii) it was just too big on the outside, while having shrunk on the inside (iv) it looks dull, definitely stodgier and blander than the 2009 D3 Sport that was my last A8.
But the A6..... wow, what a revelation. While the new A8 seems to have gone backwards, the new A6 is so much better than its previous generation. There was natural steering feel, there was ride comfort (on standard 18's), road noise was no worse than the A8 (admittedly that was on 20s but- hey - it's supposed to be a luxury saloon), it had almost as much room inside as the A8 while being much easier to place on the road. And it's better looking than the A8 too.
Nearly bought that A6 the same day, but a quick internet search threw up a 245ps quattro model at another dealer for similar money, so..... next Thursday that's what I'm picking up. Quite excited now and just hoping that the things I was impressed by - steering feel, smoothness and comfortable ride - are still there in the quattro version on the same springs and wheels.
I've also just picked up a bargain set of 17's off ebay (from a brand new SE model being pimped up on delivery), and will stick those on to see if they can improve even further the ride comfort and the road noise. I'm a bit obsessive about those things. Will probably be the only A6 in the country on 17s and S-Line suspension....
I had a couple of D3 A8's, a few years ago, and loved many things about them (build quality, smart but understated looks, the 3.0 and 4.2 tdi lumps) but was always slightly hacked off that the ride and steering weren't as good as they might be. For the last 2 years I've been happy driving the "family" car, a 240ps ecoboost S-Max, which is fantastic to drive considering its size and shape and the number of seats, but it's a bit tight in the 3rd row and all 4 kids are growing like crazy so it looks like that will soon have to be replaced by a bigger and less fun-to-drive MPV. Was it time to get a separate car again for non-family stuff ? Had Audi done anything about the ride and artificial steering feel issues that had made me happy to lose an A8 4.2tdi in favour of a Ford S-Max......?
So...... this week I went to my local dealer to try a couple of nearly new cars, a D4 A8 4.2tdi and a C7 A6 3.0 tdi S-line Multitronic, both at big discounts to new.
Didn't get on with the A8 at all. The 4.2tdi had immense performance and sounded great , but (i) the steering feel was all over the place: too light initially then loading up in the middle of tightening corners with no relationship to the actual forces on the front wheels (ii) I hated the "stays in the same place for P,R,N,D and S" gear lever - a classic case of over-designing something and making it harder to use (iii) it was just too big on the outside, while having shrunk on the inside (iv) it looks dull, definitely stodgier and blander than the 2009 D3 Sport that was my last A8.
But the A6..... wow, what a revelation. While the new A8 seems to have gone backwards, the new A6 is so much better than its previous generation. There was natural steering feel, there was ride comfort (on standard 18's), road noise was no worse than the A8 (admittedly that was on 20s but- hey - it's supposed to be a luxury saloon), it had almost as much room inside as the A8 while being much easier to place on the road. And it's better looking than the A8 too.
Nearly bought that A6 the same day, but a quick internet search threw up a 245ps quattro model at another dealer for similar money, so..... next Thursday that's what I'm picking up. Quite excited now and just hoping that the things I was impressed by - steering feel, smoothness and comfortable ride - are still there in the quattro version on the same springs and wheels.
I've also just picked up a bargain set of 17's off ebay (from a brand new SE model being pimped up on delivery), and will stick those on to see if they can improve even further the ride comfort and the road noise. I'm a bit obsessive about those things. Will probably be the only A6 in the country on 17s and S-Line suspension....