Test drive Audi S6 1999 - 2004 sedan

The secret of the letter "S"

It has been produced since 1999. Feyslift in 2001. Audi A6 sports version.
Only all -wheel drive, a five -speed automatic gearbox, a V8 gasoline engine.
The body is a sedan or a station wagon.
The price in Russia is 82 thousand euros.

The powerful modifications of business class sedans have always been on the verge between sports ambitions and comfort. Unlike representative machines, where power is exclusively an element of prestige, they are designed for the ability to dispose of every additional force.
For initiates
So, we look and consider the differences from the usual Audi A6. Extended wheeled arches, 17-inch wheels with low-profile tires, reduced road clearance, altered bumers and a pair of small red nameplates S6. They say modesty decorates. And the truth: the cars in this class do not have anti -winged the size of a table and other hinged pseudo -aches tinsel - the most powerful versions of business departments should be accurately identified only by fans of the brand. For the rest of the public, they do not stand out from the general model range - such wolves in sheep skins.
But inside it is quite possible to give free rein to sports addictions. Instead of wooden strips - Kevlar's cage, instead of standard seats, white sports recar with electric adjustment and heating. The sides of the seats are leather, and the pillow and back from Alcantara are not the most practical combination, but impeccable comfort, the clutch with the seat and a light landing, the ease is guaranteed. However, with an eye on the Bavarian origin of the car. The spinning driver of the back and pillows will not help the thin driver - they are designed for a complexion of 100 kg or more. But there are practically no restrictions on the growth of restrictions - both a meter with a cap, and a two -meter guardsman will find an optimal landing. Although tall, it is better to do without a hatch in the roof. In the back seat, two passengers are freely higher than average height. The third will be ... an armrest. You can sit down and the three of them, but the shape of the seat pillow says: the third is superfluous, and only two heating.
Any pace is for the power
The automatic gearbox immediately removes the responsibility for the correct use of the engine potential. If the motor is powerful and tracted, at a speed of 50 km/h you can go both in the first and higher gear. The V-shaped eight accepts the load immediately from idle speeds, does not object to revolve to 7000 rpm and at the same time has a pleasant, well-set voice. This character of the engine allows you to completely trust the machine gun - the motor smooths out small flaws and some thoughtfulness of the transmission. Therefore, in the city you perform any restructuring by licking the toe of the gas pedal. The car is a reasonable speed range (we limit the limits of reasonable two hundred kilometers per hour) it does not require complete mobilization of the engineering herd. Even taking into account the reaction of the transmission, acceleration from 60 to 100 km/h takes less than 4 seconds. Do you still want to pull the pen? Try the tiptronics - it allows you to keep the desired gear, for example, to pass the turns or before intense overtaking. But this is rather a game of a rider than a real need.
And yet, despite the outstanding dynamics, the Audi S6 is not a racing car. The start of the place is indicative: thanks to a complete drive and a powerful 17-inch tires of the continental-sport control, 255 mm wide, it seems not leisurely. In essence, it is - cars with such power supply and drive to one axis are accelerated from a place faster. But only on dry asphalt ... By the way, winter shoes S6 are much smaller: 215/55R16 - brake mechanisms allow you to put 16 -inch wheels.
With an increase in speed, the apparent leisure of the Audi S6 disappears, and it turns into exactly the car you expect - dynamic, for which any pace is for strength. However, the pace determines not only the motor, but also the suspension. Its ability to cope with the wavy relief of Russian roads at high speed, damping and energy intensity may be decisive. Here the S6 does not graze - this is not a racing bone, but there is no mention of rabbits on bumps. But still you have to pay - at high speeds, the car meticulously copies the profile of the road and holds the driver in suspense, requiring accurate and quick actions by the steering wheel to keep on the course. However, everything is normal on a flat road: the sensitivity of the steering is not so great, although from the stop to the stop there is only 2.5 turnover.
Sprinter or Styer?
Powerful and high -speed cars can be conditionally divided into sprinters and styers. It is unlikely that you need to explain in detail: 1000 km on our roads driving Mini Cooper S or Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution/›Mitsubishi Lancer Evolyushn exhaust anyone, although they are great at short distances. And the same thousand at the wheel of a powerful representative sedan will seem to be a walk, although on a ring racing highway it will look like a cow under the saddle. The Audi S6 is just in the middle - I have not yet lost the proper comfort for many hours of distillation, but it is already well sharpened for narrow and winding paths. I wonder what requirements does this car present to the driver?
To the question helps to answer the mountain road of the auto policy. With the ESP system turned on, control of more than a 300-horsepower machine will not cause problems even in an inexperienced driver. Electronics very effectively sticks the car into a turn, regardless of the qualifications of who is driving. But its possibilities are not infinite. With disconnected ESP Audi S6 remains a completely understandable car, but the requirements for the driver are increasing. At the entrance to the turn with the discarded gas, the audi slides out, when adding gas, it easily falls into the drift with all the wheels, allowing you to pass in a rally style - of course, with our own experience. Here, a sharp and accurate steering wheel becomes a necessity, because it is the only way to correct the error.
Everything is in moderation
At a price of 82 thousand euros Audi S6, it is difficult to call cheap. The customer of such a car has the right to be picky. After all, his attention will be distracted by both more expensive A8 A8s with a 4.2 liter engine, and Audi RS6, under the hood of which 450 liters. p., and more affordable S4 with the same as the S6, a motor and a mechanical gearbox, and just Audi A6 4.2, under the hood of which is only 300 horses, but complete with more modest tires, a comfortable suspension and a long main pair (2.73 instead of 3.55). Such a car is 16 thousand euros cheaper. This is not to mention competitors of other companies. Nevertheless, as a compromise between a sports car and an all-weather business, Audi S6 deserves attention. Everything is good in moderation, right?

Sports notes - Kevlar, Aluminum, Alcantara.

The first eight with all -wheel drive appeared at Audi 15 years ago.

If the third is extra, why a headrest?

LEDs faster than bulbs.

SUMMARY
Excellent dynamics, coordinated engine and gearbox, energy intensity of the suspension, steering on even roads.
High consumption of gasoline, nervous steering wheel on an uneven road, restrictions on the adjustment of the seats.

Anatoly Fomin. Photo: George Sadkov

Source: The magazine "Driving"