Audi RS6 Avant 2020 UK review

Still, an increase in stopping power is fairly welcome when you consider the RS6 packs a 591bhp version of the now-familiar twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8. This churns out 590lb ft, which is enough to pull up several stumps, and is mated to a Tiptronic eight-speed automatic gearbox. All four wheels are driven through a Torsen four-wheel drive system that can shuffle up to 85% of the engine’s effort to the rear axle, where it's distributed through a torque-vectoring Sport differential.

Standard on all UK cars is Dynamic All-Wheel Steering, wherein the rear wheels turn the opposite way to the front wheels at low speed and the same way as you start to travel more quickly. Also fitted is air suspension that's 20mm lower than that of the standard A6 and can lowered by a further 10mm above 74mph. However, our car was fitted with RS Sports Suspension Plus, which ditches the air springs in favour of traditional coil items and adds interconnected adaptive dampers, known as Dynamic Ride Control. Our car also had winter tyres, so any true handling impressions need to be caveated against this.

Of course, you can’t just launch a near-two-tonne, 600bhp estate car on the world these days without considering its environmental impact. As a result, the RS6 has all the latest measures to boost efficiency, including cylinder-on-demand and a 48V starter-generator that allows engine-off coasting for up to 40sec, plus the ability to shut down the engine below 13mph as you’re slowing for traffic lights.

The rest of the RS6 will be fairly familiar to A6 drivers. For instance, the interior is beautifully finished and packed with wall-to-wall touchscreen and TFT displays - the latter with a bespoke, race car-style bar graph rev counter when one of the RS modes is engaged. It’s spacious, too, although the 565-litre boot is shaded for capacity by that of the cavernous Mercedes-AMG E63 S Estate.

The addition of four-wheel steering has certainly made the RS6 feel nimbler than before, and at low speeds in particular you can feel the rear swinging into line behind the fronts. Parking is also easier, hypersensitive sensors aside, helping reaffirm this car's suitability as an easy everyday companion.

There’s not much feel through the Alcantara-trimmed wheel, but the steering is quick and, in Comfort mode at least, naturally weighted. Even on winter rubber there’s decent bite, with the nose accurately tracking your chosen line.

Depending on driving mode, you can either fire true down the next straight or exit with just a smidgen of oversteer as the outside rear wheel is subtly overdriven by the trick diff. There’s no need to do anything as flamboyant as add opposite lock; simply open the steering a little and let the transmission trickery do the rest. 

Unlike the E63 and M5, which are essentially rear-wheel-drive until slip is detected, the RS6 always sends torque to its front axle (a 40/60 split is standard), so there’s never any question of a sudden sideways whoopsie as the electronics struggle to keep pace with any sudden changes in grip. 

Overall body control is good, with the RS6 feeling nicely tied down and cornering fast and flat. Yet really commit to a fast corner and any bumps can set in motion some corkscrewing as the suspension fights to retain control of 2075kg. The car always feels secure, but this is a reminder that it's a big old bus. The point is further rammed home on the UK’s tighter and twister roads, where the RS6’s near-two-metre beam means there’s little room for manoeuvre when you're pushing on; only on wide sweeping roads does it feel anything less than very large.