RS 6 Avant vs. its rivals

Until BMW starts building an M5 Touring or Jaguar decides to offer an XFR-S Sportbrake, the new Audi RS 6 Avant faces just two real rivals in the ultra-fast large estate car segment: the Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG and the Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon.

Admittedly for UK buyers the CTS-V might not be a practical proposition, because it’s left-hand drive and there’s only one authorised dealer. Those things aren’t going to be issues for many other markets, though.

Audi RS 6 Avant (2013) Front
2013 Audi RS 6 Avant. Scroll down for more images.

The most significant technical change for the 2013 RS 6 is that it has ditched the previous model’s 5.0 litre V10 engine in favour of a 4.0 litre V8 TFSI unit, which comes equipped with two twin-scroll turbochargers.

So, two cylinders and a litre of displacement are missing, but nevertheless Audi reckons that the newer car is quicker. Fuel efficiency has improved too, thanks to the adoption of various devices including a stop-start system and ‘cylinder on demand’ technology that shuts down four cylinders under light to moderate throttle loads.

The majority of buyers are probably going to be more interested in outright performance however and, in a game of Top Trumps, the RS 6 would certainly beat its opponents on acceleration. Top speed is more of a blurred subject, as in standard specification the limiter kicks in at 155 mph (250 km/h). To increase that figure to 174 mph (280 km/h) or 189 mph (304 km/h) requires the optional Dynamic or Dynamic Plus packages respectively.

Manufacturer Audi Cadillac Mercedes-Benz
Model RS 6 Avant CTS-V Sport Wagon E 63 AMG Estate
UK price £77,000* £69,880 £76,710
Engine 4.0 V8 6.2 V8 5.5 V8
Induction Twin turbo Supercharger Twin turbo
Power 552 bhp (412 kW / 560 PS) 556 bhp (415 kW / 564 PS) 517 bhp (386 kW / 525 PS)
Torque 700 Nm (516 lb/ft) 747 Nm (550 lb/ft) 700 Nm (516 lb/ft)
Transmission 8-speed Tiptronic 6-speed manual^ 7-speed auto
Drive All-wheel Rear Rear
0-62 mph (100 km/h) 3.9 secs 4.1 secs 4.4 secs
Top speed 155 mph (250 km/h)** 191 mph (308 km/h) 155 mph (250 km/h)**
Economy*** 28.8 mpg (9.8 l/100km) 18.0 mpg (15.7 l/100km) 28.3 mpg (9.9 l/100km)
CO2 TBA 370 g/km 234 g/km
* Approximate
** Electronically limited
*** EU combined cycle
^ 6-speed auto optional: 0-62 mph 4.1 secs; top speed 175 mph (282 km/h); economy 19.4 mpg (14.5 l/100km); CO2 343 g/km

Audi RS 6 Avant (2013) Rear SideAudi RS 6 Avant (2013) Dashboard

Audi RS 6 Avant (2013) InteriorAudi RS 6 Avant (2013) Front Side

Related posts:
Jaguar XFR-S vs. its rivals
Audi Black Editions
831 PS Audi RS 6 Avant

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