Quick though it may be, Ray Leathern is finding it hard to make an emotional connection to the supercharged Audi A6 Quattro.

I’d have thought the motor industry would’ve had the good sense to discard the antiquated, mid-sized luxury sedan by now. Not only are vehicles in this segment expensive, uneconomical, environmentally challenging, not always rewarding to drive and famously bad at holding their resale value, but every year it seems, new models are just forged from thin air with a view to killing them off.

Think over the last decade: the SUV, the Soft Roader SUV, the Four Door Coupe, the Crossover, BMW’s Sports Activity Vehicle, and now the even smaller hatchback, urban, crossover thing that is the Nissan Juke. All have been concocted to give sedan buyers something else to think about, as if the manufacturers themselves are getting bored of churning out the same old thing. Yet these sedans survive.

From this we can infer that restraint plays an inherent part in their justification. Compelling, I believe, the most conservative designers and engineers to work on these projects. I’ll admit, I’ve always thought the Audi A6 was one of the blandest of the lot, but this new supercharged one might be showing me the errors of my preconceptions.

The A6’s DNA traces back to 1997 when Ferdinand Piech took up his new position as head of the VW Group and started instigating his “few platforms, many shared components” strategy in building models right across the VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat range. The cross pollination idea took form for the first time in the Audi A6 and VW Passat. Voila! Those of you who bemoan platform sharing (and I am one of them) now know which model to hang your hat. You will recall the first A6 by its large ocean liner rear-end and Bauhaus / Art Deco inspired symmetry, a-la Audi TT. Never meant to be a technological showcase, Audi at least used inspired design to discern the A6 from the humble VW Passat. Have things followed suit in 2011?

First impressions on the styling from the A6 3.0T FSI are that the conservativeness is entrenched in the A6. Audi’s bespoke LED running lights come in a mad strip of craziness, like an acne addled teenager designed them, which speaks to me of overcompensation. The A6 was always meant to be discreet, but with those headlights it’s now all of a sudden drawing quite a lot of attention to itself. I much preferred the plain strip on the old A6.

There is extensive use of soft leather and aluminium inlays in the interior and the latest generation Audi Multi Media Interface (MMI) offers 3D Sat-Nav and all the usual executive bells and whistles. On the whole, the interior is better to behold than the exterior I feel. It’s a bit of button fest and loads of information is being communicated to you constantly on the dash or centre console, but it captures a sporty, executive luxuriousness that investment bankers and start-up millionaires cannot do without.

Although the 3.0-litre V6 engine, which produces 220 kW and 440 Nm of torque, uses the TFSI nomenclature, it is in fact a supercharged motor. It’s a bit less powerful than the S4 and S5 engines, but it has the same torque figure so it is a very eager motor, supplying its torque from anywhere in the range thanks to said supercharger. Audibly, it is toned down though, not giving any supercharger whine atop its V6 drone, which is disappointing as the sound would be an exciting caveat to its bat out of hell grunt… 0 – 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds and a governed top speed of 250 km/h. That’s not brilliantly fast, but it feels more urgent than it sounds and it loves to hurl itself towards the horizon. That is due to its Quattro all-wheel-drive solidity of course and the fact that it’s made out of pieces of aluminium (not a space frame though, as Audi were once famous for), which is meant to keep the weight low and lower down to the ground for efficiency and dynamism.

In terms of handling and driving enjoyment, it certainly pulls off the ‘two-faced’ attitude you’d expect from a fast, luxurious Audi. It can dawdle around the financial districts of the world slowly and effortlessly, but when it comes time to make a quick getaway with all the bearer bonds in the boot, it shunts up the side of a mountain with mature gusto. It’s not an S or an RS Audi so it’s not razor sharp and so low its scraping its nose on the ground, but it easily gets the heart pumping and the adrenaline gushing when you put the hammer down. The 7-speed S-Tronic transmission does a great job of managing expectations between those two dualities, being sporty when needed and silky smooth the rest of the time.

Overall though, I’m struggling to love this Audi A6. I don’t know why really. I guess it’s just not the type of car you form an attachment with and that gets to me. It does everything as it should, it’s fast, luxurious, discreet (except for the headlights), filled to the brim with technology and well made, but I think it needs slightly more ‘surprise and delight,’ as designers with fashionable, black rimmed glassed would say; to win me over. Another thing is, I’m not entirely convinced it’s better than an E-Class or a 5-Series. In fact I’m almost certain it isn’t. The newest car arriving into a segment should be the best in that segment, at least until the others bring out a new or facelifted model down the line. The Audi A6 falls a bit short of what’s already out there, and that’s just not good enough.

What we like…

• The sure footed high speed handling.
• Six cylinder engine delivers great, pulverising torque.
• Comfortable and hi-tech interior with more buttons than you’ll ever need.
• It’s pretty well priced and specified to start with, although you will want more from the options list

What we would like…

• The stylists at Audi to kick it up a gear. Ingolstadt influences are getting a bit dreary these days.
• A sprinkle of fairy dust, just to give it that bit of zing that big Audi’s lack.

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Ray Leathern has been test driving and critiquing cars for four years now. He is South Africa’s 2010 Motoring Journalist of the Year in the magazine category, as well as a member of SA’s 2011 Car of the Year jury. What Ray writes, we read, and we suggest you do too.

Let’s get one thing straight shall we. No one thing is better than another thing these days. Your favorite weekend breakfast joint is no better than my favorite weekend breakfast joint. Your favorite holiday destination is no better than my favorite holiday destination. The home made shortbread you get from your local, organic market is no better than the basil pesto I get from mine. Vodacom is no better than MTN. No one product, place or thing is demonstrably better than another anymore.

The same can be said for cars. But driving a car is so much more than picking up a phone and jumping onto your carrier’s network. It has a sound, a smell, it shakes and quivers, it can dump adrenaline into your veins and be razor sharp to keep you out of danger in an emergency. All cars kind of are the same, just like everything else these days, but in just as many other ways… they aren’t.

The brand new Audi A6 for instance: it’s Audi’s seventh generation, luxury C-segment sedan and it’s not a facelifted model, it’s all new from Ingolstadt. As with all luxury sedans from Germany; the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes Benz E-Class among them, it’s made from more light weight materials, so it’s said to be more efficient, more powerful, more agile, more comfortable and safer than before.

The styling of the A6 mimics Audi’s idea of ‘visual representation of progress’ to a tee. It’s a moulded, smoothed over looking design; it exudes power, solidity, wealth, technology and yet quite a lot of restraint at the same time. It’s still the epitome of a big Audi sedan with its two thirds metal, one third glasshouse cross section, but more flamboyant front headlight and rear taillight clusters drizzle it with necessary visual drama.

Its not made with an aluminium space frame ala A8 and R8, but the array of clever engineering solutions contained in it include use of light weight aluminium panels for the doors, boot and bonnet; as well as in key structural parts of the car. Limiting the use of heavy steel increases structural rigidity without increasing weight. This has meant further improvements to the A6’s weight distribution, a familiar bugbear of old A6’s. It’s now 55:45 between front and rear and Audi have reduced the front overhang, pushing the heavy engine further towards the cabin on the platform, improving the aerodynamics and driving dynamics. Audi say these weight reduction measures have made the A6 roughly 100 kg’s lighter than their Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5-Series counterparts.

From launch, engines and models in the new A6 range will include the front wheel drive 3.0-litre TDI (150 kW & 400 Nm) with multi-tronic transmission; a 3.0-litre TDI (180 kW & 500 Nm) with Quattro all wheel drive and double clutch S-tronic transmission; and the supercharged 3.0-litre T FSI (220 kW & 440 N.m.) with Quattro all-wheel drive and double clutch S-tronic transmission. A four-cylinder, 2.0-litre TDI and 2.0-litre TFSI that will arrive later in the third quarter, for which pricing will be announced closer to the time. Audi’s Drive Select System is standard across the whole A6 range with a new ‘efficiency mode’ added that has a stop/start engine function and goes as far as tempering the power steering pump, air conditioning and the interiors thermodynamics for between a 5 – 10% fuel economy improvement.

Working our way up through the available range I climbed into the entry level, front wheel drive 3.0-litre TDI first. There’s no other word for it, the cabin, even in this entry level model, is ‘sumptuous.’ The smell of leather assails your nostrils, the soft, supportive seats grip you in place, the razor sharp red and white dials focus the eye, and the silk touch steering wheel tickles the palms.

The performance of the front wheel drive TDI is a bit yawn inducing perhaps, and it only makes do with the entry level 17-inch wheels and metal inlays in the interior. But its party piece is a return of 137 g/km CO2 and an average consumption of 5.2 L/100km thanks to the new efficiency mode and 8-speed multi-tronic transmission. Staggering stuff. With this TDI model striking such a fine balance between power and efficiency, we can’t see how the four cylinder diesel will be any more efficient when it does eventually arrive. This is our pick of the Audi A6 bunch if your main consideration is value for money.

The more powerful 180 kW TDI with Quattro comes with some more enticing goodies inside and out; alluding to its larger price tag. Great looking, 18-inch V-spoke wheels, wood inlays around the cabin, rear view parking camera and two zone climate control. It, however, didn’t make as strong a case for its extra torque and all wheel drive traction advantage, as we were hoping it would. The diesel motor, while revving cleanly to the 5 000 r/min redline, felt just as urgent as the 150 kW iteration, and quick down changes on the paddle shifters didn’t respond with the athletic change and throttle blip one might’ve expected from the sportier, S-tronic transmission. As a result it isn’t our favorite pairing of drivetrain and transmission in the new A6.

The supercharged 3.0T FSI Quattro, however, with it’s unyielding, supercharged power delivery and high revving sound track, is the one that leaves a tingle in your buttocks. It’s fast, with a 5.5 second, 0 – 100 km/h sprint time and 250 km/h limited top speed. But most notably it’s the vehicle that makes the most of the new Audi A6’s lightened philosophies and technology. The others are merely facsimiles of its potential. Its enhanced agility, surging grunt and feelsome, throttle blipping, down changes (when set in ‘dynamic’ mode of course) are all realised to their full potential in this A6 petrol model. The sense of total speed, comfort and control is all there. A kind of red mist forms around you, if you’re not careful, in a car like this; a sense that speed restrictions and other motorists are mere obstacles between bringing you and the horizon together; with a flex of your right toe.

In the case of C-segment sedans then, as we now know of everything in the world. No one car is demonstrably better than the other. The Mercedes Benz E-Class and BMW 5-Series are both great cars. And I believe the same can be said for the Audi A6… the admirable, diesel models especially. Their figures and performance are on par with their German brethren.

The supercharged, petrol powered A6, however, has a trump card up its sleeve. In that to find a comparable performing BMW or Mercedes-Benz you need to look at spending more money for a BMW 535i, that is 0.6 of a second slower to 100 km/h. Or a massive R861 000 for a Mercedes Benz E500 with two extra cylinders and all the burden that that brings to economy and dynamics.

I’ll leave you with this final parting shot – by telling you my favorite piece of trivia about the Audi A6. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in the United States rates the Audi A6 as the safest car in the world right now. In its latest findings, from 2005 to present, it doesn’t have one recorded driver death in an all wheel drive Audi A6. Quite an impressive recommendation, perhaps some things are better than others after all?

Pricing includes a 1-year/Unlimited km warranty.

Ray Leathern has been test driving and critiquing cars for four years now. You’ll find his work at autocirca.com, the Mail & Guardian and of course, right here on SACarFan.