Audi RS6 Avant Review & Prices

With the world evermore eco-conscious, big and noisy engines are becoming a rare thing. However, while the rest of Audi’s performance models have had their engines downsized or switched to diesel, the RS6 has so far carried on untouched.

In fact, late 2022 saw the RS6 Avant updated. Rather than tone things down, the RS6 Avant got a Performance badge that increased power from the already ballistic 600hp, as well as some styling tweaks and improved standard kit.

Yes, it still has that sledgehammer V8 engine beneath its bonnet – now with 630hp, a 30hp increase on before – that will propel five people and their luggage to 62mph in 3.4 seconds and on to 155mph. Which is lucky, because its main competition – the Mercedes E63 S Estate and BMW M5 – have thumping V8 engines too.

So, much like the commuter who pops into Starbucks for a daily cup of tea while all around them order skinny this and mocha that, the RS6 Avant and its competition are an ode to all that’s good about the past.

Watch: Audi RS6 Avant v BMW M3 Touring drag race

Setting the RS6 apart from the Mercedes and the BMW, however, is the way it looks. Audi’s designers should, frankly, be knighted immediately for their work – the RS6 looks low, wide and extremely mean in the rear-view mirror, which is exactly as it should be. Paired with gloss black accents against bold colours and huge alloy wheels, there are few angrier cars on sale.

Like most Audis, the RS6’s interior also helps it stand out. Quality is superb, and there are some tasty extras to let you know this is a sporting model, including a sports steering wheel and gear selector, sports seats and plenty of RS6 badges. Upgraded seats and red or grey design packs can be added as options to personalise things further.

Three screens are included as standard, with a set of superbly crisp and customisable digital dials ahead of the driver, plus two stacked touchscreens on the dashboard. The upper screen deals with your classic infotainment systems, while the lower looks after the climate controls. They’re easy enough to use and have a handy haptic feedback feature that’s almost like pressing real buttons. However, BMW and Mercedes’ systems are even easier to control while driving.

There’s no estate version of the BMW M5, so the RS6 Avant is instantly more spacious and practical, but Mercedes’ E 63 S Estate has a bigger boot. Still, you’ll have no issues seating four adults inside the RS6 and truth be told its boot is easily big enough to cope with a couple of large suitcases plus extra carry-on bags or soft holdalls. Golf clubs and pushchairs are no problem.

Which is all the more impressive when you consider how the RS6 drives. It has that monumental V8 engine, a wider stance, lower, stiffer suspension and aggressive all-wheel steering over the standard A6 Avant, all helping it feel hugely fast yet also massive fun on twisty country roads. You can even add very expensive optional carbon-ceramic brakes to ensure it stops as well as it goes.

But when you’ve had enough of all that, the RS6 will also do the comfy cruiser thing. Air suspension is standard or adaptive steel springs are optional (standard on Vorsprung), but with either fitted the RS6 is comfortable at all speeds. It’s also very quiet on the motorway, where it simply eats up the miles on a long journey.

Of course, the RS6 Avant does not come cheap, and you’ll be faced with all the big bills that are associated with driving one of Audi’s flagship performance models. If you’ve got the cash, though, you’ll be buying one of the most complete practical performance cars on sale.

If that’s you, head on over to our Audi RS6 Avant deals pages to make sure you’re getting the very best prices, or browse the latest used RS6 Avants from our network of trusted dealers. You can also take a look at other used Audi models, and if it’s time to sell your current car, carwow can sort that, too.

You won’t be at all shocked to hear this, given the 630hp V8 and high-tech interior, but the Audi RS6 Avant is a very expensive car. How expensive? Well, you’re looking at a starting price in excess of £110,000, which is about £20,000 more than when this car first went on sale in 2019.

There are three trim levels, with the Carbon Black and Vorsprung sitting above the ‘regular’ RS6, if there is such a thing. At the top of the range, prices start above £125,000.

While that’s obviously a lot of money, it’s on par for this segment, being a little more than you’d pay for a Mercedes E63 S Estate but very similar to the price of the BMW M5 saloon.

The Audi RS6 Avant is as fast as a supercar yet can also be quiet and comfortable. It’s annoying adaptive cruise control isn’t standard at this price, though

In town

One of the Audi RS6’s cleverest tricks is that when you’re not out to make the most of all that power, it actually settles down to be a very comfortable estate with decent visibility all around. In fact, if you didn’t have all the sporty extras inside, you could easily mistake it for a regular A6 – until you press the throttle too much and the V8 barks at you, of course.

You get some basic driver assistance as standard, which can help brake if the car anticipates a collision, but you’ll need to get the Vorsprung model for the full safety suite (or pay extra for the City Assist Pack on entry-level models).

On top of this you get a system that can park the car for you on top of your usual reversing sensors, so if you’re nervous about fitting this big estate in a tight spot the car can give you a helping hand.

On the motorway

Again, the RS6 has an air of A6 about it when it comes to motorway driving. When you put it in its comfort mode, it will simply chew through miles and waft along without making a fuss. You will notice a bit more road noise because of the big alloy wheels that need big tyres, but it’s nothing to worry about.

Cruise control is included as standard, but you’ll have to stump up for the Vorsprung (or optional Tour Pack) to get adaptive cruise control, which is disappointing on a car that’s comfortably into six figures.

The faster you go, the better the suspension gets. While it’s not too stiff at slow speed, there are a few reminders you’re in a sporty car, but once you’re up to motorway speeds it settles into a smooth flow.

Oh, and the 630hp V8 is also pretty useful for getting you up to 70mph or pulling off swift overtakes.

On a twisty road

Where the RS6 sheds its A6 heritage is when you point it at a twisty road. This is a big car, but it feels smaller and more nimble than you’d think when you’re pushing on.

It’s helped by the rear wheel steering, which makes it more agile in corners but also more stable when speeds increase. Couple this with the all-wheel drive system, and you can really push on in corners, confident that you can really make the most of all that power as you catapult out the other side.

The Audi RS6 Avant is impressively practical, but the Mercedes-AMG E63 S Estate has an even bigger boot

The Audi RS6 really benefits from its A6 beginnings when it comes to interior space, because that car is a fantastically spacious executive car. There’s loads of adjustability in the driver’s seat and steering wheel so you should be able to get comfortable however tall you might be.

As for storage, you can fit massive water bottles in the door bins, while the cup holders in the centre are usefully deep and the glovebox can hold more than just gloves.

Space in the back seats

Rear seat space is where the Audi RS6 earns its reputation as the supercar for the family, because there’s loads of headroom and kneeroom to carry even the tallest of passengers in comfort. They’ll get reminders they’re in an RS model thanks to red stitching here and there… as well as the feeling of their organs being rearranged when you floor the throttle, of course.

You could happily carry three adults in the back actually, though the person in the middle seat will be rather perched above the others and will therefore be a bit less comfortable.

Much like the front, there are good-sized door bins in the back for chunky water bottles, while top-spec Vorsprung models get a couple of USB-C charging slots, which will be useful for keeping devices topped up on long journeys.

Boot space

The Audi RS6 has a really good boot, with a useful 565 litres of space, meaning you can carry loads of shopping, suitcases or even a big dog. If you have an even bigger dog, though, you might want to look at the Mercedes-AMG E63 S Estate, which has an extra 75 litres at 640 litres.

The BMW M5, being a saloon, has the smallest boot of the trio, but not by as much as you might think. At 530 litres it’s not too far behind the Audi, but the RS6’s squarer shape and estate boot opening means it’s much easier to fit large items.

You’re left in no doubt to the RS6’s intentions inside. It has lashings of Alcantara, sporty seats and red stitching galore. BMW and Mercedes’ infotainment systems are easier to use, mind

Like most Audis, the RS6’s interior helps it stand out. Quality is superb, and there are some tasty extras to let you know this is a sporting model, including a sports steering wheel and gear selector, sports seats and plenty of RS6 badges.

You can upgrade the RS6’s standard front sport seats to an even racier RS set that have an integrated headrest and are more bucket seat in style. They’re lovely things, although they do tend to block the view of passengers behind.

Then there are a couple of RS Design packs you can choose between – Red or Grey. With this option ticked, the steering wheel, gear lever gaiter and knee pads are in Alcantara with contrasting stitching. Then there are belt straps with colour edging and RS floor mats. Inlays in carbon, wood natural, grey-brown, or matt aluminium are all available.

You get no less than three infotainment screens as standard – a set of superbly crisp and customisable drivers digital dials, plus two stacked touch screens on the dashboard.

Through the upper dash display, you’ll control the standard satellite navigation and smartphone mirroring functions using Audi’s slick MMI interface. This comes with bright, bold menus that are dead easy to read. Only the lack of a physical rotary dial to help you scroll through settings when you’re driving (like you get in a 5 Series) lets it down.

Helping the Audi RS6 claw back some points, however, is the high-resolution Virtual Cockpit system. This 12.0-inch display is standard and replaces conventional analogue dials with a high-resolution screen that you can configure using buttons on the steering wheel. This’ll let you choose from colourful widescreen maps, a set of digital dials or a combination of the two to make it especially easy to follow sat nav directions.

Speaking of sat nav, Audi’s built-in system is easy to program and delivers concise, easy-to-follow directions. If you prefer to use your phone’s navigation apps instead, you can use Android Auto or Apple CarPlay to beam your phone’s display onto the Audi A6’s built-in screens as standard. These systems turn off the screen’s haptic feedback system, however, which makes them a little tricky to use on the move and you can’t display your phone’s navigation apps and instructions on the optional Virtual Cockpit system, either.

These smartphone mirroring features do let you play music from streaming services such as Spotify through the car’s stereo – a reasonably punchy system that’s easily loud enough to embarrass kids on the school run. For sheer ear-popping volume, however, you’ll want to upgrade to the optional Bang & Olufsen system that comes as part of the Comfort and Sound pack (or as standard on Vorsprung models).

The good thing about a 630hp V8 is that when you want to travel quickly it will allow you to do so rather effectively. The downside is that it will go through fuel like it’s going out of fashion.

Official figures put the RS6 Avant at 23mpg in mixed driving. That’s admittedly not too bad, but remember that this will only be achievable if you’re doing your best impression of an A6, taking it easy and enjoying the RS6’s impressive comfort. Make the most of the performance on offer and that will drop significantly.

It’s also worth noting that the emissions of up to 288g/km are very high, and will mean you’re paying the highest first-year road tax possible. On top of this, you’ll also have to pay a little extra in years two to six because the RS6 costs more than £40,000. (A lot more…)

Although the Audi RS6 Avant has not been safety tested by Euro NCAP itself, the A6 received the full five stars when it was tested in 2018. Its adult occupant protection score of 93% is mighty impressive, while 85% for child occupant protection is still commendable.

Standard driver assistance kit includes an automatic emergency braking system that can prepare the car if it senses a crash is about to take place in order to mitigate the outcome. Go for the Vorsprung model and you get more advanced kit to sense incidents all around the car.

These top-spec models also get some of the optional safety packs included as standard, which includes systems like adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist.

As a niche model, the Audi RS6 Avant sells in relatively low numbers, so it’s not easy to build a good picture of how often it goes wrong. However, all the signs point to it being fairly reliable, and it’s based on many parts shared across the Volkswagen Group that are tried and tested.

That being said, there will be a lot of high-performance parts that are not quite so common, so if something does go wrong you can expect repairs to be fairly pricey.

Every new Audi comes with a two-year unlimited mileage warranty, followed by a third year with a limit of 60,000 miles. This can be increased to four or five years for a fee.