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„Suddeutschland"

Ingolstadt, regency of Bavaria, an adorable town located 315 kilometers from Garmisch Parten-Kirchen. Around hundreds kilometers of highways stretching along the picturesque landscapes of southern of Germany. The Federal Republic of Germany is ruled by Helmut Kohl at the time, the land „flowing with milk and honey”, it's good. Germans, despite huge debts, live "in full swing", they remind a bit of students at a hot party before the end-of-term examinations; in my pocket it's empty, tomorrow's exam and it can be badly, but today is today so let's party hard. So they were partying, the fun lasted continuously, already in the first half of the 90s they were driving cars 250 km/h on highways resembling runways devoid of speed limits. Under the car bonnet, they "loaded" six and seven-liter motors with a power often greater than this in tank engines used by armour of countries of the Warsaw Pact, as if that was not enough they drove to the ski jumps by car with 4 wheel drive.., well with the drive.., but not just any drive because it is legenadary Quattro. The Audi Quattro was officially first serial model in which the company installed permanent four- wheel drive. The car debuted in 1980 and from that time until today the Ingolstadt group offers this type of drive in almost every model, which can be found in the showroom .., not for free of course. I decided to test one of these legends and I chose for you a car not just any because the latest Audi A6 50 TDI Quattro.

 

Audi A6 50 TDI Quattro
09 March 2019

As you probably already know, I like to talk a little more about the line creases of the bodywork, about the more beautiful or unnecessary additions, and about those more expensive or trashy, but in this case I will not do it. This car is a stylistic genius and I think that I am too "weak" for essays on form, shape, lines, etc. Once, the company was accused of building cars that were unchanged for years, similar to each other, that it does not move forward and for sure it will lose the competition with his competitors. The answer came quickly and was short and to the point, we will not change something that is almost perfect in its original form. Indeed, Audi has not lost any rivalry, and even I will say more.., it's fine. The latest Audi A6 (C8), designed by our compatriot Parys Cybulski, debuted in the first half of 2018. Visually, the new model reminds me of the previous generation, only the grill and rear lights have changed., while the rest looks like it just underwent only a few cosmetic treatments. The car has gone through the biggest breakthrough inside, everything changed and after the C7 model there is not even a trace. The interior has taken on futuristic shapes, but it is not hard to notice that designers have been digging in the past, the 70's were chosen, so they took a bit from the Audi 100 C2. Electronics settled in for good, in almost every element of the cockpit, only the mask opens mechanically, the least complicated element of the vehicle is a lighter socket (although by the end I'm not sure if there is not any Controller Area Network- Can bus). The central display in the new A6 is one, great multimedia projector, that we can freely configure depending on what information we need at the moment. On the left there is an electronic tachometer, on the opposite side the speedometer, using the View button located on the steering wheel, you can change the appearance of both these elements by enlarging or reducing them. In the case when we set the navigation mode on the central display and at the same time we will reduce the speed and rotation indication, then a map and directions to the destination will be displayed on the entire screen, great solution for two reasons; we do not take our eyes off and basically looking at the road we see the navigation, and the second advantage is the ability to use other functions on the monitor located on the center console e.g. a playlist or a phone book. Of course, these are not the only functions that we can manage on the central monitor, we can find there also the possibility of using the phone, the trip computer view with service message, radio, multimedia and telephone, view of driving mode or lane change assist. In a word, there is plenty to choose from, and we manage this entire intuitive game with the help of four buttons and knob on the left side of the steering wheel, easy? Easy. The monitor handling on the center console is a little more complicated and is higher math. The functions are clear and obvious, but there are just a lot of them. As in Q8 (although the A6 is less developed) dealing with everything while driving tires me personally, you just have to stop and look at what is this all about. From the level of the monitor on the center console, we can manage the external and internal lighting, driving modes, driver assistance (which includes an adaptive driving assistant, Audi pre sense system, lane departure warning, speed and distance warning), the central lock, sound system, the monitor brightness, telephone, navigation, air conditioning, car seats.., finally you know why you have to stop now?? :) I have mentioned maybe half of the configuration options. Below the main monitor there is another TV set controlling the air conditioning functions (intensity of ventilation, of the zone, temperature, seat heating). Of course, everything tactile and operating very smoothly, well done. Unfortunately, the fingerprints on the screen cause that with the sunroof open in full sun, screens become less readable, and the attempt to rub them with a dry cloth will end in disaster, you can't see anything. My dear, I hope that Audi will be adding customers for free, set consisting of a screen cleaner and a soft cloth, of course for free as part of service packages. I will not discuss the matching of elements and their quality, I just got off Land Rover so everything else, even Polonez will look properly. Excuse me, a drear joke. Of course, in Audi, nothing creaks, nothing irritates, quality inside the top class job! The equipment version of my copy is S-Line trim, so both inside and outside is sporty style, comfortable seats, equipped with various pumps, electric footrest and adjustments, everyone will find something for yourself. The seat upholstery is made of fabric, sewn on the sides with leather, just the only right combination!!! First of all, we do not sweat in a place of contact with material, where some parts are touching the seat, secondly, the same body part does not freeze in winter and third and most important, and I am not joking, to make a fully leather upholstery in a luxurious car, an average of 6 young cows must be killed, and for that reason, if I am ordering a car, I will not choose a leather upholstery. It's enough from the cockpit of the plane.

 

"Welcome in the future"

Marking on the tailgate 50 TDI suggests something completely different than it actually is. Let me talk about a bit more. In my opinion, somewhere in a Bavarian tavern at the foot of the beautiful Alps, ”Three musketers” sat together one day, that is, the carmakers of VW, Mercedes and BMW.., and they started deliberations. They came to the conclusion that they do not want to spend money, so they will not build dozen models of different engines, only building three, and will put them whereever they can, and the subconsciousness of clients will be influenced by the letters on the tailgate. Good !, and cheaper. The first one who ran in the morning to work was the carmaker of VW and ordered to build 2.0 TFSI, 2.0 TDI and 3.0 TDI. The 2.0 TFSI / TSI engine has found its place in VW Golf R, Seat Leon Cupra, Audi TTS, Audi S3 and probably in Skoda something would be found, in a word, the same engine in different power variants in many car models. The 2.0 TDI engines are as iconic as the Aldi stores in Germany, you'll find them everywhere; while in Audi it looks like 40 TDI is nothing but a hidden 2.0 TDI of 204 horsepower, 45 TDI is not more than a four-liter unit with only three-liter diesel of 231 housepower, while 50 TDI is not 5 liters capacity but again the same three-liter TDI, but in the 286 horsepower variant. The BMW carmaker went a step further and even two steps, because he ordered to build one three-liter diesel engine, he packed turbines in it, he produced badges for the back of the car and it looks more or less like this: model 730d, 740d, 750d are the same three-liter diesel with the difference that each has a different power, the number of turbocharges and of course different accessories. In the BMW 5 series, the same diesel is again under the hood, but it has markings on the flap 530d, 540d and M50d, similarly, the situation looks in BMW X5 and X6. For this reason, when you come to the car showroom, just say that you're looking for a BMW 320-horsepower diesel, you can be sure you'll get a car equipped with this one and unique three-liter diesel! In the Mercedes, it's not different, this fashion even went to the department of AMG, whose child is even if A45 AMG. Looking at the rear flap we associate the symbol for 4.5 liter engine and this is double-liter :) with a big turbo like the head of a horse, C43 AMG also does not have 4,3 liters in the papers but three of them biturbo and so on and on. If I've done something wrong I'm sorry, but even the engineers in the factories themselves don't get it, they just take the engine off the shelf and put it, where it fits, and what is written on the tailgate does not matter at all, it's the same engine all the time. We are coming back to the topic A6, the engine of our Audi is working great, on slow speed it reminds me of a very muffled sound of a precise sewing machine, V6 is not overly strained for those times, so it should last a long time. There are five driving modes to choose from; Efficient, Comfort, Automatic, Individual, and Sporty. As usual, I choose Comfort and I am on my way. Rolling slowly, I can lift the suspension by two degrees, great!, but unfortunately, the moment I drive faster the car automatically is lowering by the same amount (we can lift the suspension only when we drive, for example, under a high curb). The gearbox has a delay, I wonder if only BMW can build sensible gearboxes? Mercedes has already listened to the reason and, for example, in the new S400d, after setting the suspension in comfort mode and the engine in auto sport mode, it really does not just wait, it starts sharply. In previous S-class versions it was necessary to catch the wind in the sails first to leave the traffic lights. After waiting this ”sad” moment of hesitation, the car quickly gains speed and the gearbox ”hits” the next gear smoothly up to the eighth including, unfortunately, the sport mode does not eliminate fully delayed reaction on pressing the gas pedal. The car is run very confidently regardless of the driving mode we currently have, I did not feel anything disturbing even with the rapid acceleration in the bend. I was tempted all the time to try this modern Quattro, I remember that once in an abandoned airport we drove an old Audi 80 B4 Coupe 2.3, with four-wheel drive. This car could not be put into an uncontrolled slip and the end of our competition was the broken tire that fell from the rim while driving around, with gas pressed firmly into the floor. For obvious reasons, the new Audi I would not treat it that way but I managed to find an unfrequented section of the road with an even surface and quite a sharp bend. The car resembles a rail vehicle that goes into loops, goes perfeclty in the track and will not slip in any direction for a moment. Rather the driver cannot stand overloads than Audi will say enough. The new Quattro is like an Old Testament, the readers change, but the content remains the same for ages. The six-piston brakes, well Gentlemen, congratulations, the savings have gone to the background, when it comes to safety you went to the full, well done. The combustion with dynamic driving oscillates within 12 liters, so it's not bad, I think that a skilled, economical driver will fit in 8.5/9.0 ltr/ 100 in the city. Now a few words for a good night, the summary.

Would I buy a new Audi A6? YES. The look of this car is amazing. The swag evaluation? 8.9 points out of 10, great driveability, really cool engine, an average gearbox. Audi is trying to overtake its era by building cars that are basically prepared for an autonomous driving, it is an issue of changing the software and introducing several improvements, proper configuration and we can sit in the rear seat and the car will take us to our destination. This is certainly the direction of modern motoring, „adavantage thanks to technology”, the term is true and fits perfectly with this brand and this car. I am scared only by something else, imagine that the car warranty is over and your LED or laser spotlight breaks down, you cannot go to petrol station telling „Good morning, can I ask for a LED lamp for Audi” and the man from the gas station will answer you „Good morning, I just have one on the shelf, please pay 3,000 Euro, should I pack wheter you will put it on the spot? „In the second variant the monitor on the central console will turn off from air-conditioning supply, and then what? Will you drive in the winter without supply?, after all no one can replace it or fix it in a roadside workshop, all you have to do is visit the Dealership, which will gladly remove the defect, but „not for free”, and „these are expensive things”. And now I am saying goodbye on that „unhappy” note and as usual I leave you with a purchase decision. If you want to drive this car, get ready for an expense of around 75,000 Euro, and if you are fancy while configuring, 75,000 my not be enough ;)

Artur Rojewski

"The sewing machine"

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