Normally, if you wanted the top-level executive experience in one of Audi’s sedans, it meant shopping for an A7, which starts at $70,000, or the A8, which starts at $83,000. If those two were out of your price range, it seemed like the next bracket down was nowhere near as well equipped. For 2019, Audi is trickling down a healthy amount of tech and design from the A7 to the A6. So, if you don’t mind living a life sadly devoid of the beautifully sloped roofline of the A7 — and like the idea of having an extra $20,000 in the bank — the new A6 will be worth the wait.
Set to debut at the Geneva International Motor Show, next week, the 2019 Audi A6 may not look much different on the outside (or much different from any of the other Audi sedans), but it’s the interior and driving experience that’s going to sell this car. Tick the option box for the MMI Navigation, which comes with Virtual Cockpit, and you’ll get 10.1-inch touch screen at the top of the center console. It replaces the somewhat ungainly screen Audi sprouts out of the dash on its (lesser-equipped) cars. Below that display, there lives an 8.6-inch touchscreen for climate control, infotainment and all the rest of the standard fare. Audi placed this screen within hand’s reach of the gear selector, so you can rest your hand while using the screen. (This seems frivolous, but once you have a setup like that, it’ll be hard to live without it.)
At launch, the A6 will come with a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 engine, good for 340 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque. Similar to the A7, the A6 will utilize a semi-hybrid system, putting to work a 48-volt battery to help pull the car when coasting between 34 and 99 mph; the system also utilizes start-stop technology in traffic. Four different suspension options will be available as well, but the adaptive system is the one you want.
Pricing isn’t known yet, but the smart money says the 2019 Audi A6 won’t land far from the current base A6 price of $49,700, if not stay the same. We’ll know more next week when Audi officially presents the new executive sedan in the metal at the Geneva Motor Show.
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