Talk to me about Audi S6's

[geeks]

Turning 40 in a few months and have been planning on buying myself a birthday present, for various reasons I have settled on a C7.5 S6 Avant, ticks all the boxes I need from a car and Mrs geeks has finally had enough about me whinging about V8's and has relented and told me "Oh for fks sake geeks just buy what you want and shut the fk up!" so there we are, want to get my research underway so I know what I am looking for. Seems the most obvious one is ensure the recall for the oil screen is done. Anything else I should be wary of? Any must have features? Ownership experiences?

[Dr G]

Oil screen recall is fairly minor in the grand old scheme of things, and failures were fairly rare. Threat of a US class action is probably the main reason it became a recall. A well-serviced car driven with a modicum of mechanical sympathy would never had an issue. A hard-driven car or modified car with 20k old oil in may well have done.

The eat brakes. The discs are (nearly) vehicle specific and RS6 money but with almost-nothing aftermarket available. They're also even more prone to warping than the RS parts. Most will need a set by 30k miles.

Plenty of boring spec cars around.

Gearbox oil at 40k is important.

Strong car if well maintained and standard. Pleasingly old-school in the way they go about their business. Very fast and refined with very little fuss or drama.

[MisanoPayments]

Nice choice!

I would ensure the car had at least the better nav (touch pad, larger screen) and sunroof. You don't mention your budget for your C7.5 but you'll see plenty without the better nav, even up to and including 2018 models.

If I was looking for one I'd want at least the same or better spec than I had in my 2017 272 Avant:

Sunroof
HD Nav
Adaptive cruise
Rear heated seats
Self parking (ok this one wouldn't be a must have!)

Let us know how you get on. There was a very well specced sepang blue on Autotrader recently, it had all of the above and cooled front seats, electrically adjustable steering wheel, head up display and night vision, very nice!

[therams]

I’ve had one of these. Liked it a lot

Tech is old. Get one with the tech pack, which gives you 2x usb ports in arm rest. You can then pay Audi (£300 ish ) to activate CarPlay. Works as wired CarPlay only

Got tired of 16 mpg around town. It does 30 mpg on motorway but you’re cruising at 70 and not using the v8 or getting the v8 noise then

Brakes expensive as pointed out already

Seats very comfy

Gearbox a bit hesitant. If you want to “push on” you need to use the paddles. Feels like huge turbo lag if you are in auto and floor it from about 30mph

[Dr G]

I think the S6 as an application pushes the limits of what that gearbox can handle, the calibration probably prioritises durability and refinement over whipcrack response.

Box actually works very well but I too prefer to override for best response.

[therams]

yeah, I think I read that the RS6 of the same vintage has a different gearbox

but also, they released RS6 plus because the difference between the S6 and standard RS6 was so small (apart from looks) that they needed to add on another 70 odd bhp to make it significantly faster than the S6


looks like S6 models of this 2017/2018 vintage are now between £25k and £30k ish. still a lot less than an equivalent RS6.

[geeks]

Cheers gang all duly noted, to be honest I have no interest in having it mapped or anything like that so the box limits are fine and for the most part I am on major roads cruising along when out and about so the the pressing on bit is less of an issue and as has been suggested the paddles help there so again not too worried.

[Dr G]

therams said:

but also, they released RS6 plus because the difference between the S6 and standard RS6 was so small (apart from looks)

I'm not sure there's much truth in that; RS6 is a very different product and outsold the S6 considerably even before the Performance variant was offered.

[Ezra]

I had one of these about 2015 (test drove an S7 and RS7 before buying and preferred the S6). Loved it initially but I ended up changing it for a Panamera S4 after 4-5 months. Even though it had the V8, it was all a bit meh. There wasn't any real drama. Sure, it was fast, very fast, but it all happened in a way that was a bit too isolated. It had the usual Audi steering numbness and it felt like a big, heavy car on the minor roads. If you do go for one, I'd say the only real key option to have (tbh can't remember if its standard or option, but I've optioned it on other Audi's) is Bose. The standard Audi system wasn't up to scratch.

The Panamera on the other hand....! I know the old style was quite a Marmite car for some, but it was epic. Unless you're a driving god it could do 95% what a 911 can do, in total luxury with air suspension. Absolutely awesome - and that had a V8 too.

[Dr G]

I'd agree with that. A buyer wanting something more aggressive will probably lean towards an RS car. If you simply want to go fast with no drama or effort then an S6 is the ticket. Point and squirt.

One holds the cannonball record...

Edited by Dr G on Friday 2nd August 13:55

[Raptor7000r]

geeks said:

Turning 40 in a few months and have been planning on buying myself a birthday present, for various reasons I have settled on a C7.5 S6 Avant, ticks all the boxes I need from a car and Mrs geeks has finally had enough about me whinging about V8's and has relented and told me "Oh for fks sake geeks just buy what you want and shut the fk up!" so there we are, want to get my research underway so I know what I am looking for. Seems the most obvious one is ensure the recall for the oil screen is done. Anything else I should be wary of? Any must have features? Ownership experiences?

Oil screen is a free recall and should be done on most cars by now. Car sounded great although mines had a sports cat and was stage 2 which really made a difference. Stock I'd imagine their missing that extra grunt and noise but that comes down to perspective.

Maintenance mines was fine although after a few launches at stage 2 I done a front diff and the brakes were 1k for discs for the front but there are aftermarket alternatives that are better. All in all a bit thirsty, bit heavy but a great cruiser a lot of power and torque. For optional extras, bose, sunroof, HUD, carbon inside, flat bottom wheel if possible although mines was round were all great, mines had heated rear seats too.

[A14RGS]

I've owned mine for the past three+ years and 30k miles.
It's been utterly reliable and a fantastic all-rounder - a capacious, mile-munching taxi for the missus, family and dog - or a grin-inducing missile when I chose.....
It had the Milltek system when I bought it and has 560bhp available, so the V8T can make itself known, but will also return 30+mpg (of E5) on a regular run from Wiltshire to Pembrokeshire or Durham.
ACC, BOSE, F&R heated seats etc. make it a very user-friendly place to be.
A 'big' service is due imminently (plugs / gearbox / front brakes), but I've factored that in to the overall running costs. It's had two sets of tyres (at £600+ / set)

Edited by A14RGS on Monday 5th August 06:15

[therams]

Like that a lot!


When i was buying mine, there was a sepang blue car at Reading Audi which i missed out on by about 20 mins. Procrastinated about placing an online deposit. Ended up getting a grey model from Stansted Audi instead. Kind of regretted not getting the blue afterwards…..

Agree on what has been said above. There’s no drama with the S6, although it was very very fast. I’d have another one, but maybe if i was doing it again and didn’t want a drama I’d have gone for a diesel v8 panamera or something like that

[geeks]

A14RGS said:

I've owned mine for the past three+ years and 30k miles.
It's been utterly reliable and a fantastic all-rounder - a capacious, mile-munching taxi for the missus, family and dog - or a grin-inducing missile when I chose.....
It had the Milltek system when I bought it and has 560bhp available, so the V8T can make itself known, but will also return 30+mpg (of E5) on a regular run from Wiltshire to Pembrokeshire or Durham.
ACC, BOSE, F&R heated seats etc. make it a very user-friendly place to be.
A 'big' service is due imminently (plugs / gearbox / front brakes), but I've factored that in to the overall running costs. It's had two sets of tyres (at £600+ / set)

Edited by A14RGS on Monday 5th August 06:15

That looks lovely. I am thinking of one in a dark colour and black leather if I can. Also saw one the other day that had been completely de-badged as well, think i will enquire into getting that done too, also a complete Q car then as well.

[HiAsAKite]

Like that alot too.. looks like the S6 version of my S4, colour, wheels, the lot (and an extra 2cyl in yours)