AUDI is only offering its seventh-generation Audi A6 wagon (or Avant if you speak Audish) with four-cylinder engines and front-wheel drive, which is a sign of the times if nothing else.
The A6 Avant has a small but loyal following in Australia and is expected to remain a niche product here, contributing less than 10 per cent of A6 sales.
A lightweight design with no unnecessary added bulk or all-wheel-drive systems, the A6 Avant provides an antithesis to the now-ubiquitous hulking SUV, but does the Audi compete with its German rivals beyond its attractive price?
A6 Avant five-door wagon
Released: July 2005
Ended: February 2009
Family Tree: A6AUDI sold the standard previous-generation A6 Avant for a couple of years before it was discontinued in favour of the madcap V10-powered RS6 Avant and jacked-up, diesel-only Allroad quasi-SUV.
The Avant was offered in front-drive entry-level form with a 130kW/230Nm 2.4-litre petrol engine matched to a Multitronic continuously variable transmission (CVT).
A second, top-spec variant used a 188kW/330Nm 3.2-litre direct-injection petrol V6 with Quattro all-wheel drive and a six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission.
Standard equipment included Audi’s Multi Media Interface (MMI) infotainment system, electric parking brake, automatic Xenon headlights, rain-sensing wipers, dual-zone climate-control, speed-adaptive steering, electronic stability control, front foglights and 16-inch alloys with a full-size spare.
Audi says the Avant attracted a small but loyal following.
Get the full story: Audi's bigger, more powerful fifth-generation A6 Avant mounts a serious challenge
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