2026 Audi RS 6

Avant means wagon in Audi-speak, but it might as well mean awesome. The luxury hauler fits a family of five yet packs a 621-horsepower twin-turbo V8 with an adaptive air suspension and prodigious grip. Take the kids to school, then take off to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds. Few, if any, vehicles manage this amount of utility with this level of performance. Performance SUVs, from the Lamborghini Urus to the Porsche Cayenne, might outperform the timers, but the Avant’s classic wagon design is timeless.

Launched in the U.S. with the 2021 model year and with a performance upgrade in 2024, the RS 6 Avant is beginning to show its age inside compared to other six-figure flagships. The graphics and interfaces remain crisp, but some materials, such as gloss black plastic, feel dated. The V8s immense thirst for fuel is matched by Audi’s thirst for your dollars, which starts at $132,000 and doesn’t even include common driver-assist features such as adaptive cruise control. Such is the price for pleasure.

We’ve logged many hours driving and evaluating this generation of luxury wagons, including the Audi RS 6 Avant.

The 2026 Audi RS 6 Avant Performance only comes in one trim but Audi makes it easy to rack up $30,000 in options. The $1,300 gas guzzler tax is not one of them. Rivals include the heavier BMW M5 Touring plug-in hybrid wagon and the less expensive, less powerful Mercedes-AMG E53 wagon. The Porsche Panamera GTS hatchback has the performance chops, even if it lacks the wagon back.

Before buying an RS 6 Avant, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should really pay. The RS 6 Avant has an above-average resale value, according to KBB data. Recouping more money when selling a vehicle can mean a bigger down payment and lower monthly payments on the next one.

Flip it into Dynamic mode, let loose the warbling baffles on the $1,000 RS Sport Exhaust, feel the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 beat into your own heart, and mash the pedal. In less time than it took to read that sentence — 3.3 seconds, officially —  the Avant hits 60 mph. By 100 mph, you can let out a breath. It tops out at just under 190 mph, if you dare. In these days of shiftless electric powertrains and zero-to-60 times in less than 2.0 seconds, it might not seem that remarkable on paper. Even the BMW M5 Touring PHEV is quicker, at 3.1 seconds. Behind the wheel of the Avant, however, the visceral connection of driver to throttle to engine to quick-flicking 8-speed automatic to all four wheels is nothing short of sublime.

With rear-axle steering, a revised center differential that sends up to 85% of the torque to the rear axle, and an electronically locking limited-slip rear differential that apportions that torque to the wheel with the most grip, the RS 6 cuts corners in the best possible way. Its rear-axle steering rotates the rear to correct any driving that could lead to understeer. Oversteer would seem more likely, but with the rear diff and Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive (AWD) system, as well as ready power thanks to a telekinetic 8-speed automatic, only you could prevent the Avant from rocketing out of turns.

I could go on. That’s one charm of the Avant: You’ll probably exceed your own limitations before the car comes close to hitting its own.

Another is how dual-natured it is. Leave it in Comfort mode and the engine quiets and the ride softens enough to drop the kids off or take the family to church with only the red 10-piston front brake calipers and cannon-sized dual exhaust pipes giving away its true identity.

You can be a punk, you can be a parent, you can be you.

Engine & Transmission / Efficiency, Battery, & Charging

Touchscreens and tech: The interior isn’t as luxurious as the price might suggest, nor is it as screen-laden as its German counterparts. In addition to the Virtual Cockpit Plus, a 10.1-inch central touchscreen for media and nav sits above an 8.8-inch haptic touchscreen for climate controls. Those stacked screens may seem like overkill until you sit in the cockpit of newer luxury rivals.

The issue is not the screen real estate but the surrounding gloss-black plastic that feels a step behind the times and a step below the luxury palate. Chrome accents and a drive mode toggle are welcome touches, as is a standard Bang & Olufsen sound system.

Seat comfort: Leather upholstery with nicely bolstered power front seats, both heated and ventilated, is standard, as expected. The rear bench seat can fit three passengers in relative comfort, with ample head- and legroom.

Cargo area: The rear seats fold down in a 40/20/40 configuration, so you could keep the middle seat down to fit four sets of golf clubs or long items such as skis without needing a cargo carrier on the roof. Technically, there’s 30 cubic feet of cargo volume behind the second row, which comes up short of some midsize SUVs. In our testing, we dropped off four passengers with at least a rollaboard and a carry-on each without an issue. It was a full load, but that’s what family wagon fun is all about. It was even better when we left the airport, unladen.

Air suspension: The RS 6 Avant comes standard with an air-spring suspension at all four corners that adjusts the ride height to suit the mood. In Dynamic mode, the air suspension lowers 0.8 inch to get the wagon to less than 4 inches off the ground. At low speeds on bad roads, the system raises the vehicle height to protect it. It makes good on what the drive modes promise, with Comfort relaxing it into a stately though tightly tuned touring wagon rather than the twitchier performance beast in Dynamic mode.

Brakes: At $9,000, the ceramic brake package is the most expensive option available. You don’t need ceramics if you’re not hitting the track. The Avant weighs just under 5,000 pounds, so the ceramic brake package would dissipate heat better than the already significant standard setup of massive 16.5-inch ventilated steel rotors up front. The test car with ceramic brakes had a sensitive initial bite, but in everyday conditions, they were perfectly in line with the car’s character.

Virtual Cockpit Plus: Audi’s 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster remains a highlight, even as other brands go hog-wild with the screens. The white-on-black display with red performance accents highlights the key performance, driving, and even semi-autonomous driving information needed. The steering wheel controls are clearly marked and relatively intuitive. The crystal-clear navigation display, viewable between the tach and speedo, keeps your eyes in the safety zone. And if you’re setting out from or approaching a destination you can expand the map view across the cluster for greater detail.