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Old 07-25-2003, 09:28 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: England
Posts: 1,841
Audi A6 & Mercedes E-class, comparison test

I should be in bed as I write this. Being a male car enthusiast, only 2 things are likely to prevent me from doing so. One is female. The other is a rather good car. And I have just returned from a 250 mile one-night trip in one.

The other day I took my first real drive in a W210 E-class, a 2000 E240 (2.6). Maybe it was simply what I expected a newer Mercedes saloon to be. Or maybe it didn't feel like it had really moved on from a late 80's Mercedes, but it didn't really impress me much.. It had some of the good qualities of the oldies (ride, a fairly solid feel etc.), plus all the new technology they've come up with in the interim (airbags coming out of your ears, extra weight etc.), while also missing others (build, some of the class & elegance etc.). Being a manual didn't help, it doesn't suit the car and I decided pretty soon that it is not a car to drive quickly for fun, whilst the actual box and gearchange is pretty poor anyway.

Either way, it is not the car the W124 and 190E were in their days, and I cannot really see a reason for wanting one over either of these other than it's newer and safer. Okay its quieter than a 190E, but it also has precisely none of its nimbleness and enjoyment of driving quickly.

An 'OK' car in my opinion.

So, as luck has it, my Dad's garage sold a 2002 Audi A4 and a late 1997 54,000 mile Audi A6 (the new, current shape) was traded in. It's a car I have always liked the look of, but never driven much. My family has run many Audi's, but I am the first to tell people their faults and then drive one of our other cars. Our 261,000 mile 1994 A6 has and will run for ever while feeling it has done 100,000 miles, but I'd never choose to take it anywhere. The '98 A4 1.9 TDi we had was competent but dull in nearly all areas, the poor damping the most frustrating factor when attempting to drive it fast.
The only one to inspire me has been the '97/98 A8 4.2 Quattro. Excellent in all areas, but too damn big. To big to drive fast, too big to park, to big to own, and to big to fit in a warehouse. No idea has enticed me close to enough to make me want to own one.

This A6 is a 2.8 Quattro version. With a 5-speed manual. So, this afternoon, I took off to run some long distance errands with it. The below average ride experienced in some Audi's is nowhere to be seen. It's very slightly firm, blame the Quattro suspension (blame that also for the constant grounding) but also forgiving, and never crashy or anything close to unacceptable for an executive saloon. Then, you turn some corners, and I found the compliance completely at odds with the astonishingly flat cornering. There is also Zero weight transfer. I feel like I could use the white lines in the road as a slalom course all day and never worry about the rear of the car swinging some way I don't want it to. Incredibly stable through fast bends too, which I'm crediting to the Quattro drivetrain. This is all in the dry - where Quattro really excels, it is said, is in wet weather which I've yet to come across. Best of all, the whole car is complemented rather than disabled by the 5-speed manual, which happens to be rather sweet too. That said, for stop start work, I'd still prefer a good auto. I honestly didn't think a large saloon could defy physics like this seems to. Within minutes you can be close to the limits having the time of your life like you can't in any other large car I have ever driven, whilst never, even once, cursing the size and weight of the A6, or even, after a while, bothering to keep them in the back of your mind. This recalibrated my impressions of the capabilities of saloon cars. And I have driven 3 different new 3-series BMWs prior to this.

The 5 valve-per-cylinder (30-valve) 2.8 V6 is fairly lacking in torque, and thats my main problem with the car as a whole. It feels quick in the higher rev ranges though, where it is also super smooth, and it sounds great throughout, certainly a lot nicer mechanically and at the exhaust than the E240. I only averaged 21.7 MPG on my trip though (!!), though that was with hard driving I usually don't enjoy and therefore don't bother with in... any other cars I regularly use, the 190E being closest but nothing like as focused.

Anyone who has sat in a recent Audi will also already know the class and build of the interiors is miles above anything Mercedes has managed in ages. This particular car has been maintained by our garage for around 3 years and has been problem free, like most A6's tend to be.

Someone else, please back me up here with late model A6 experiences


So, how can I show I'm serious? I'm putting my money where my mouth is, and have decided to buy it, from my dad.

Attached Thumbnails
Audi A6 & Mercedes E-class, comparison test-a6_3.jpg  
__________________
190E's:
2.5-16v 1990 90,000m Astral Silver
2.0E 8v 1986 107,000m Black 2nd owner
http://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall.jpghttp://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall2.jpg
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