Avant-garde: the new Audi A6 Avant

• Striking design, spacious interior and excellent adaptability
• Powerful engines with mild hybrid system
• Suspension options from comfortable to agile, dynamic all-wheel steering optional
• Navigation, infotainment and driver assistance systems – fully connected

The new Audi A6 Avant combines dynamic design with superb everyday utility and excellent adaptability. The rear has a striking design, yet offers a flexible luggage compartment concept with 565 to 1,680 liters (20.0 – 59.3 cu ft) of capacity. The drive and suspension are designed with comfort and sportiness in mind. The standard mild hybrid system boosts efficiency while the dynamic all-wheel steering enhances maneuverability and agility. With its intuitive operation, the fully digital MMI touch response operating system offers a high level of convenience for driver and passengers.

Aesthetics and functionality – the exterior design

Attractive station wagons go by the name of Avant – the new A6 Avant continues this aspiration of the Audi brand. With sharp lines, large surfaces and the distinctive low-profile rear window, the exterior design reflects new design language of the brand. The A6 Avant exudes elegance, sportiness and sophistication with the long front end and gently sloping roofline.

A wide, low Singleframe grille dominates the front, while the elongated silhouette and trapezoidal window surfaces dominate the side view. Distinctively shaped blisters, which visually emphasize the quattro drive, extend over the wheel housings. The muscular roofline flows into the low-profile D-pillar. The roof edge spoiler extends the silhouette and underlines the sporty look of the A6 Avant. At the rear, a decorative trim provides a link between the lights. In addition to the twelve paint colors, customers can choose from the optional sport and design exterior equipment lines as well as the S line exterior package.

Inviting – body, spaciousness and luggage compartment

The new Audi A6 Avant is 4.94 meters (16.2 ft) long, 1.89 meters (6.2 ft) wide and 1.47 meters (4.8 ft) high. Its interior is even larger than on the predecessor model. It beats the competition with front and rear elbow room as well as with knee room in the rear seat area.

Despite the sporty lines, the new A6 Avant retains the spacious luggage compartment capacity of its predecessor. The luggage compartment provides a loading width of 1,050 millimeters (3.5 ft) and a capacity 565 liters (20.0 cu ft) in the basic configuration, increasing to 1,680 liters (59.3 cu ft) with the backrests folded down.

Safety first – lighting technology and driver assistance systems

The A6 Avant comes with a comprehensive package of safety systems, including lighting technology, assistance systems and passive safety. LED headlights are standard on the new Audi A6 Avant. Three versions are available, with the HD Matrix LED headlights with high-resolution high beam as the top-of-the-line version. The dynamic turn signal and the pulsating coming-home and leaving-home sequences emphasize the distinctive character of the A6 family. The optional contour ambient lighting package brings the interior design specifically to life.

With frequent drivers and commuters in mind, the A6 Avant provides an extensive range of driver assistance systems, divided into the “City” and “Tour” packages. In addition to the standard emergency braking assist Audi pre sense front, the driver assistance systems also include adaptive cruise assist with narrowed road assist. It supports longitudinal and lateral control in stop-and-go traffic right down to a standstill and at driving speeds up to 250 kilometers/hour (155.3 mph) and supports the driver by accelerating and braking.

For the additional efficiency assistant function, the adaptive cruise assist predictively factors in speed limits, bends, roundabouts and – if route guidance is active – also turnings as part of the cruise control function. Besides the predictive information in the instrument cluster, the efficiency assistant also provides haptic feedback via the active gas pedal. Together with the MHEV system, these assistance functions can help promote fuel economy.

Emergency assist enhances safety by recognizing when the driver fails to act, and providing a visual, acoustic or haptic warning. If the driver fails to respond, the system takes over, turns on the hazard warning lights and automatically brings the A6 to a stop in its own lane.

Efficient and powerful – all engines with mild hybrid technology

All engines are fitted as standard with a mild hybrid system, which further increases comfort and efficiency and can reduce fuel consumption in real-world driving. The belt alternator starter, the heart of the MHEV system, recovers up to 12 kW with the 48 V system during braking and feeds the electricity into a separate lithium-ion battery. With the engine switched off, the new Audi A6 Avant can coast between 55 and 160 km/h (34.2 – 99.4 mph); the start-stop already kicks in at 22 km/h (13.7 mph).

Comfortable and agile like never before – the suspension

The suspension on the new A6 Avant offers an even larger spread between dynamics and comfort than its predecessor. The standard progressive steering is highly comfortable to use. With an already sporty steering ratio, it becomes increasingly direct with increasing steering angle. Audi offers the dynamic all-wheel steering as an option, which makes the A6 Avant highly maneuverable. At speeds up to 60 km/h (37.3 mph), the rear wheels turn as much as five degrees in the opposite direction. This reduces the turning circle by up to one meter (3.3 ft) to 11.1 meters (36.4 ft). Whether parking, maneuvering or driving in urban traffic – you do not notice the size of the A6 Avant in everyday situations.

Customers have a choice of four suspension variants: the standard steel-spring suspension, the sport suspension, the suspension with shock absorber control and the adaptive air suspension, also with controlled shock absorbers. In addition to the shock absorbers and the air springs, the electronic chassis platform (ECP) also controls the dynamic all-wheel steering and the updated sport differential, which actively distributes the drive torque as needed between the rear wheels during fast cornering.

House beautiful – interior and equipment

The interior of the new Audi A6 Avant features stylish, minimalist architecture which fuses harmoniously with the operating concept. A black panel surface with the embedded top MMI touch response display dominates the sleek instrument panel. Just like the bottom display on the center tunnel console, it is angled slightly toward the driver. Depending on the customer’s wishes, the interior of the new Audi A6 Avant can take on entirely different personalities. In addition to the basic version, four equipment lines are available, each with its own color concept: sport, design, design selection and the S line sport package. The S line exterior package is also available for all equipment lines.

Intuitive and logical – the MMI touch response operating system

The driver executes nearly all functions on two large displays in the MMI touch response operating concept of the new Audi A6 Avant. The driver manages infotainment and navigation on the top display with its 10.1-inch screen diagonal – if MMI navigation plus is fitted.

The 8.6-inch display below is used for climate control, comfort functions and text input. The driver’s wrist can rest comfortably on the selector lever while operating the functions. Thanks to its haptic and acoustic feedback, the MMI touch response technology is fast and reliable. The MMI menu structure is logical and flat, just like a smartphone.

MMI navigation plus also includes the fully digital Audi virtual cockpit with its 12.3-inch screen diagonal, which is operated with the multifunction buttons on the steering wheel. The optional head-up display projects information onto the windshield. The natural language voice control turns the new A6 Avant into an intelligent dialog partner. It replies to commands and questions in two ways: with data stored onboard and knowledge from the cloud. The standard personalization offers up to seven individual profiles, allowing several drivers to store up to 400 settings.

Attentive and accommodating – navigation and Audi connect

The optional MMI navigation plus is the top-of-the-line component in the infotainment range for the new Audi A6 Avant. Its data transfer module supports the LTE Advanced standard and incorporates a WiFi hotspot. The navigation system recognizes the driver’s preferences based on previous journeys and generates intelligent suggestions from this information. The Audi connect portfolio offers numerous online services, including Car-to-X services. The optional Audi connect key locks and unlocks the new A6 Avant via an Android smartphone. The myAudi app connects the car with the owner’s smartphone.