I have suggested the petrol powered Audi A6 TFSI to many friends before and they always remarked on how good it looked and drove but still they went ahead and bought the immediate competition. They are all now wanting an Audi A6……the hybrid A6.
The Audi A6 TFSI arrived in Malaysia last year facing tough competition from the established Mercedes Benz E-Class and the BMW 5-Series. Even though it is a fully imported car with great build quality and comfort features, it was a possible 3rd choice for many executives. Now comes a hybrid powered Audi A6. Because it uses a 1984cc petrol engine, this car enjoys the hybrid tax concession which the E-Class and 5-Series miss out on. Now my friends want me to help them beat the long waiting list to buy this A6? Well……I can’t assist as the waiting list grows by the day.
Sitting inside the impeccably built cabin, one is rewarded by the usual sense of occasion that never fails to impress in any Audi cabin. Not only is material choice, fit, and finish top notch, its appearance is appropriately classy and premium. Not only the interior impresses us, the cabin features like the new MMI touchpad interface is a dream to use. The navigation hooks up with Google (of course you need an active SIM), and to input an address, you simply write out the address with your finger on a console-mounted pad. The software then finds the destination that you’re looking for.
The biggest surprise here is that the system actually works rather well. Seating comfort and luxury amenities are still class best and will not disappoint with the best combination of leather and soft touch plastics. This A6 is 4.92 meters long and 1.87 meters wide, but just 1.46 meters tall making it the sportiest sedan in its class and with the best cabin space.
Under the hood of this A6 hybrid is where the magic lies. It uses an efficient parallel hybrid concept: Its combustion engine, a 211bhp 2.0 TFSI, works together with an electric motor that delivers 45bhp and 211 Nm of torque. The electric motor sits directly behind the TFSI, occupying the space of the torque converter upstream of the modified 8-speed tiptronic. This gearbox sends torque to the front wheels. In the city the car moves along effortlessly with great cabin insulation and superb drive comfort. Find and open road and accelerate and this large sedan will accelerate like a true sports sedan. There is no hesitation from the engine and electric motor and the 8-speed gearbox swaps gears smoothly with no jerks or hesitation. Up to 160km/h and the cabin is eerily quiet as you reduce your charge up the speedometer range.
There is no tachometer and instead there is a meter to indicate batter charge, efficiency and power boost. At cruising speed, we decelerated and the charge meter went south bound to bring up the battery charge….just like a dynamo. A tap back on the accelerator pedal at legal speeds and the charging continued and the fuel usage reduced. Learn to use this to your benefit and the fuel savings will be enjoyed on highway drives more than inner city traffic commuting when you glide along in just battery mode when there is enough juice. Don’t worry, the climate control works in full even in battery mode in city traffic, but the power usage will be high and thus will need a re-charge after a couple of kilometres.
The Audi A6 hybrid can achieve speeds of up to 100km/h purely on electricity; at a constant speed of 60km/h, it has a range of 3 km. It can also operate with the combustion engine only or in hybrid mode; in the deceleration phases, it recovers power and activates both the engine and the electric motor together when accelerating quickly. Special indicators on the instrument cluster and on the MMI monitor provide of detailed display of the different driving conditions.
The Audi A6 hybrid provides the power of a V6, combined with the fuel efficiency of a four-cylinder engine. It accelerates in 7.3 seconds from zero to 100km/h, top speed is 238km/h and the average fuel consumption is only 6.2liters per 100 km, a CO2 emissions level of 142 grams per km (228.53 g/mile). All this for just RM280,000. Visit the showroom quick for a test drive and have your cheque book handy (just in case) as the waiting list is growing as you read this.
Audi A6 Hybrid Specifications
Engine: 4 Cylinder Direct Injection Turbo Hybrid
Capacity: 1984cc
Gearbox: 8-speed Tiptronic
Max power: 211bhp @ 4300-6500rpm
Max torque: 350Nm @ 1500-4200rpm
Top Speed: 240km/h as tested
0-100 km/h: 7.5secs
Selling Price: From RM280,000.00
