A6 3.0 Running Costs

[isleaiw]

I think you would be pretty similar. I have a few trips down to Sheffield every year and average 45mpg worked out on fills. I set cruise at 76/78 and get those figures. At 70 you should get better. ( I set mine after getting the speed from a separate GPS and have never been flashed)

I do mainly motorway miles in mine (generally M1 fro J29 to J8) and normally cruise at 76 indicated, getting about 44 to 47mpg indicated depending on traffic. Mine is a 218ps quattro saloon.

I dont think there will be much difference between the three engines in that sort of driving - the difference will come if you start using the horses available more. I was more interested in the refinement of the six pot rather than any massive performance increase so took the lower powered version as it does what I need. I suspect that insurance on higher powered versions will be more and costs of tyres are significant - so I avoided 20" rims, again as I wanted comfort and refinement as well as cheaper replacements.

Other than that it is probably about finding the best car for your budget. I love mine - coming from Merc, BMW and Volvo I am enjoying the Audi experience so far....

[Splash]

I've been using Cargly since I got the car a couple of years ago. It's telling me that diesel is now costing me 11-12p/ mile at an average cost of £1.178 over the same period (£1.084 over the last 12 months). Averaging about 7 litres per 100km.

I'm not entirely convinced by the accuracy of Cargly's graphs and bar charts as the data shows a mismatch versus the calculated figures and I suspect its to do with one or the other still using US Gallon conversions. Much like the DIS though it's the trend rather than the absolute accuracy that is more important. It also doesn't smooth out the costs very well as the bar chart shows no cost one August although I undoubtedly did some miles and must have filled up immediately before and after that month. Must have been a great holiday as I can't remember that missing month...

[Lyons]

Mrs Lyons usually gets 510ish miles to a tank in her 245hp model. I saw high 40's when I brought it home, but it usually averages around 37mpg. Mostly short journeys though.

[A6S]

The 3.0 204bhp should be better on fuel as its lighter and not having to drag the 4wd system.
I've got the 272 and I can just squeeze 600miles per tank out of it. That's a mix of motorway and fast back road driving

[LeeU]

I do mainly motorway miles in mine (generally M1 fro J29 to J8) and normally cruise at 76 indicated, getting about 44 to 47mpg indicated depending on traffic. Mine is a 218ps quattro saloon.

I dont think there will be much difference between the three engines in that sort of driving - the difference will come if you start using the horses available more. I was more interested in the refinement of the six pot rather than any massive performance increase so took the lower powered version as it does what I need. I suspect that insurance on higher powered versions will be more and costs of tyres are significant - so I avoided 20" rims, again as I wanted comfort and refinement as well as cheaper replacements.

Other than that it is probably about finding the best car for your budget. I love mine - coming from Merc, BMW and Volvo I am enjoying the Audi experience so far....

Much like yourself, and I don't live to far from you from the sound of it, I opted for the 3.0 Vectra for the refinement and lazy torque of the V6 diesel, I'd had a couple of 1.9 Vectras as company cars and found them to be very course, I also find that the larger engines aren't stressed as much on long motorway runs. I'm not a speed freak but at times I do give the car a good Italian tune up.
I like the 5 blade rotor allows but am dubious due to the cost of replacement tyres maybe the 18inch wheels would be better.
I have considered the E350 and the XF but am settling more to the Bi TDI A6 Avant, whatever I get will need to last me at least 5-6 years, I'm not fussy about residual value to be honest, by the time I come to get something else, it could be touching 130k miles but the car won't owe me anything.

[isleaiw]

Smaller wheels also improve ride comfort. Then you have to think about standard or sport suspension - complicated by the fact that you can spec an s line with standard suspension!

I had a 2012 E class estate - only the 220. I prefer pretty much everything about the Audi, except its a saloon and due to an unexpected change in circumstances I really now need to be able to get 2 spaniels in the car on a regular basis - in a pen as they do tend to get quite muddy!!

[LeeU]

I always stuck with the standard 17" SRI wheels on the Vectra where everyone else I knew was going to the 19" VXR wheels, there is a set of A6 18" wheels on eBay for £450, I'm going to see the bi-TDI today on may way from Chesterfield to Cardiff so once test driven etc I'll see what kind of wiggle room they have on the price.
Thanks for all the replies.

[Scott K]

The biturbo has tiptronic box, I think the others are s tronic. The tiptronic has 8 gears. Opinion is mixed on which is best but they are both good. They do suffer from lag when coming to junctions but just bang it into s and helps a lot.
I took my car with 18s and then bought a set of 19s and use the 18s for winter.

[Whippy53]

If I was speccing now? I would go s line on se suspension with 18's.

[AllotmentChap]

I've had mine about 9 months now, and done around 4k mileage. Trip comp reckons I've averaged 38mpg since I got it. A lot of my driving is reasonably relaxed in comfort mode, but I do hoon it about it a bit when I'm on my own in the car. On the motorway, it easily averages 45mpg+ cruising at 70-80mph....