By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(March 4, 2018) You have to wonder about the priorities of a company that builds sports/luxury vehicles, but whose press kit for the latest version of their mid-sized sedan, the A6, starts with a look at its new infotainment interface, connectivity solutions, and shifts to driver assistance systems before getting to the nuts and bolts of the mechanical parts that make this product a car, not a rolling WiFi hotspot.

So we’ll reverse the order (and skip over some of the techno mumbo jumbo), and start with what’s under the hood.

European buyers will have a choice of two engines at launch; a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 gas motor with 335 horsepower and 368 lb.-ft. of torque, and a 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel that produces 282 hp and 457 lb.-ft. of torque. Each is mated to an automatic transmission; a seven-speed S-tronic for the gasoline engine, and an eight-speed tiptronic for the diesel. (U.S. buyers won’t be able to order the diesel, but will be offered a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine mated to the dual-clutch S-tronic automatic.)

Quattro all-wheel drive also is standard, though the S-tronic transmission uses Audi’s more efficient quattro ultra system that decouples drive to the rear axle during cruising for greater fuel efficiency. The tiptronic, on the other hand, uses a self-locking center differential that provides continuous power to the rear wheels, and is offered with the option of a torque vectoring rear sport differential that — along with the available all-wheel steering, electronically controlled damping, and adaptive air suspension — is integrated into the Audi drive select system.

In addition to using automatic transmissions across the engine lineup, all of the engines offered in the 2019 A6 will feature mild hybrid technology. Which means the addition of a belt alternator starter and lithium-ion battery that can recover up to 12 kW of energy under braking, and predictively controls the stop-start function. This means the engine is restarted when the vehicle ahead begins to move, and is shut off at speeds of 13 mph and less.

Despite the fact that the A6’s launch is just days away, Audi is being stingy with the information. We know that there are four different suspension options — standard with steel coil springs, sport, one with electronically controlled dampers, and an adaptive air suspension with electronic dampers — but nothing about the layout.

Suffice it to say that it will probably be a new version of the current dual-pivot front/multilink independent rear setup. One new feature is rear-wheel steering that uses strain wave gearing at the front (whatever that is), and a spindle located on the rear axle that can add up to five degrees of in-phase or out-of-phase steering.



Driver assistance systems, the building blocks for autonomous travel, also are available. They include parking pilot and garage pilot, settings that allow the car to maneuver itself into and out of a parking space or garage. They allow the driver to get out of the car and monitor its progress via the Audi app on their smartphone, but require that the driver holds down the relevant function key while doing so.

In addition, the City assist package features crossing assistance, and the Tour package offers adaptive cruise assist. It adds gentle steering inputs to keep the vehicle in its lane while the adaptive cruise control is in use.

And now, the infotainment nonsense. There are two display units located in the center stack, a lower 8.6-in. unit that is used for climate control, convenience functions and text input, and the upper unit (a standard 8.8 in. or 10.1 in. if the optional MMI navigation plus upgrade is ordered) that handles everything else. In addition, Audi’s 12.3-in. Virtual Cockpit instrumentation unit is available as an option, as is a full-color head-up display.

The latest MMI touch response system provides haptic and acoustic feedback to inputs, has a flat menu structure, and a configurable favorites button. Up to seven drivers can store their preferred settings in individual profiles that control up to 400 parameters. Central vehicle functions can be moved via drag-and-drop, and the natural-language voice control answers questions by accessing onboard data or, with the MMI navigation plus system, using the onboard LTE Advanced hotspot to reach out to the cloud.

The navigation system has a self-learning function to generate suggestions based on commonly driven routes. In Europe, service provider HERE uploads online route guidance that takes into account traffic situations in the entire region. If the data flow is interrupted, online route guidance that runs in parallel is used.

The MMI plus unit provides car-to-X services, traffic sign and hazard information that uses “swarm intelligence” from the Audi fleet, and network the vehicle with its environment. It is unknown when, or if, this will make its way to North America. In addition, the Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System is the second of two optional sound systems, and delivers 3D audio.

And, if that’s not enough (and in terms of technical details it’s not), the optional Audi connect key replaces the physical vehicle key with an app you add to your Android smartphone. It can lock, unlock and start the engine, and uses near-field communications to transfer data to the car.

This access data can be passed to five people or smartphones, though why you’d want to is a mystery.

The Virtual Driver