Used 2019 Audi A6

There’s a brand-new Audi A6 for 2019, a luxurious midsize sedan boasting a new chassis and powertrain along with an abundance of standard driver-assistance and safety technologies. Last year’s supercharged 3.0-liter V6 has been replaced by a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 with significantly better torque, which is appreciated because the 2019 Audi A6 has gained nearly 250 pounds. This new A6 is 0.2 inches longer and a half-inch wider than the outgoing model, and it rides on a wheelbase stretched by a half inch. Competitors in this class abound, but the A6’s main rivals are its fellow Germans, the BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

Audi’s 2019 A6 — with updated 5-link front suspension and torquey turbocharged V6 moved slightly rearward for better weight distribution — has become sportier, with credit also given to its well snubbed suspension, naturally weighted variable-ratio steering and 7-speed S-Tronic gearbox, which shifts exactly when you want it to. The shifts are almost unnoticeable in easy around-town driving, but they firm up nicely when the A6 is driven aggressively.

The A6 interior is handsome, quiet and comfortable, and four adults fit with ease inside the luxurious 5-seat cabin, which has a folding rear seatback that splits 40/20/40. In everyday driving this Audi sedan has an enviable level of civility, and the available 360-degree camera takes the challenge out of tight city parking lots. This is a sophisticated German sedan equally at home in the city or on the highway, where the quiet and smooth nature of the car masks its speed, making 70 mph feel like about 50.

In this wood-trimmed environment with configurable ambience lighting and lots of contrast-stitched leather, Audi’s all-new MMI Touch Response system has replaced the rotary dial and conventional infotainment controls of the previous A6. MMI, with two high-res touch displays featuring haptic feedback, works in much the same way as your smartphone. Via voice controls, if a driver says she’s cold, MMI will ask what temperature she’d like the cabin to be. There’s an 8.8-inch touch screen at the top of the center stack, plus an 8.1-inch screen directly below it to operate the climate control and serve as the pad onto which text inputs are drawn with a finger.

While it all works fine (the pad deciphers sloppy printing amazingly well), the previous A6’s rotary dial controller was much easier to use than the new A6’s haptic screens, which require more unsafe eye time away from the road. On a positive note, we appreciate the new A6’s added headroom and shoulder room, as well as its super-cool 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit with navigation from Google Maps.

The only big complaint we had about the A6’s interior related to Audi’s utter disregard for your belongings. There is very little storage to be found, anywhere. There is no convenient place for your phone, even, the wireless charging pad taking up what little space exists under the center armrest. That leaves the cup holders, the door panel bins, or making the long reach to a deep but difficult to access glove box.

The car’s trunk is small, too, measuring 13.7-cu.-ft. courtesy of the mild-hybrid system’s lithium-ion battery residing under the trunk floor. Overpackers, reconsider.

Audi says the new A6 looks high-tech and sophisticated. We’d agree. From the front, it’s clear that the 2019 A6’s grille is lower and wider than that of the previous model, and from the side it’s easy to see how the three distinct character lines serve to reduce the visual height of this attractive German sedan. Pronounced wheel arches emphasize the A6’s Quattro powertrain, while a short trunk with a nicely curved edge aids vehicle aerodynamics.

TOP-VIEW CAMERA
The A6 is available with four wide-angle cameras that create a 360-degree view of the car, allowing the driver to toggle around the vehicle (and zoom in or out) to help maneuver this midsize Audi sedan in tight city parking lots.

VEHICLE EXIT WARNING
For an added dose of occupant safety, this system, part of Audi Side Assist, won’t let the A6’s doors open (for up to two seconds) if it senses a car approaching the A6 from behind. This system also features an acoustic and an LED warning.

The 2019 Audi A6 is a well-equipped automobile, with LED lighting front and rear. For now, all U.S. models are powered by the turbo V6, and all boast S-line exterior styling featuring a dark chrome matte grille with aluminum slats. Inside, a 3-spoke steering wheel with shift paddles is standard, as are leather seat trim, a power sunroof, walnut inlays, 3-zone automatic climate control and an interior lighting package with an LED overhead console. Pre Sense City — which will apply the brakes if it detects vehicles, pedestrians or cyclists in the A6’s path — is also standard. Audi’s Virtual Cockpit is standard on the A6 Premium Plus and A6 Prestige.

One of our favorite options on the 2019 Audi A6 is Adaptive Cruise Assist, which helps the driver with acceleration and braking to maintain a correct speed and following distance in highway situations. Other notable driver-assistance features available include the top-view camera system, which provides a 360-degree view around the A6, plus neat driver-assist technologies like Intersection Assist, Traffic Sign Recognition and Audi Pre Sense Rear, along with Vehicle Exit Warning and Rear Cross Traffic Assist. Those last two items are both part of Audi Side Assist. Other notable A6 options include a sport suspension (which lowers the car 20 millimeters and is part of a 20-inch wheel package), rear-side airbags and a black cloth headliner. The top A6, the Prestige, also is available with adaptive suspension damping, all-wheel steering and a 1,820-watt Bang & Olufsen sound system with 19 speakers.

One engine is available in the new A6 — a 3.0-liter V6. Fortified by a twin-scroll turbocharger mounted in the vee of the aluminum block, this engine produces 335 horsepower at 5,000-6,400 rpm and a whopping 369 lb-ft of torque from a lowly 1,370-4,500 rpm. That power is sent to all four of the new A6’s wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and an updated Quattro system that improves A6 fuel economy by not driving the rear wheels when it’s not needed.

Here’s the deal, though: The new A6 is actually a mild hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV). The hybrid part, though, is pretty much invisible. In fact, in many ways, Audi downplays it. You can barely find any information about the new 48-volt electrical system, which is comprised of a belt-alternator starter working in conjunction with a lithium-ion battery located under the trunk. Frankly, the car is so good that perhaps Audi had too many other aspects of the car to brag about.

But let’s dwell on the hybridization of the A6 a bit longer. The car’s new 48-volt electrical system is This technology rules over the car’s electrical components and ensures that the engine’s stop-start system operates as frequently and as smoothly as is possible. Indeed, at intersections the A6 does not suffer from the typical shudder when the engine restarts and the technology is networked in a way that it can sense when the car in front of you has started accelerating, improving response.

Though it is technically a hybrid, the new Audi A6 nevertheless hauls. Audi says the midsize sedan can launch from a standstill to 60 mph in about 5.1 seconds.

3.0-liter turbocharged V6
335 horsepower @ 5,000-6,400 rpm
369 lb-ft of torque @ 1,370-4,500 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 20/29 mpg