2009 Audi A6 3.0T Quattro Follow-Up Test and Video

Did the 2009 Audi A6 just get back from vacation? It looks so...refreshed.

It might look very similar to last year's A6, but after closer inspection, we notice that some minor nipping and tucking have gotten this aging Hollywood starlet prepared for another red-carpet season.

But that's not the only reason the 2009 Audi A6 is looking so perky and uplifted. Besides new headlights, it has a more efficient V6 engine with a supercharger.

A Supercharger, You Say?
Isn't that word reserved for modified American V8 dragsters? What's a supercharger doing on an upwardly mobile six-cylinder Audi sedan? The answer: providing power in a more efficient package.

Replacing last year's normally aspirated V6 that produced 255 horsepower, this new supercharged 3.0-liter V6 is capable of 300 hp, getting close to the V8's 350 hp but for $10,000 less.

Despite worldwide sales that outpace its main competitors, the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class, Audi sold only 12,000 examples of the A6 in the U.S. last year, so it hopes that this blast of power will spur some market interest. But can a midsize sedan with a supercharged V6 be relevant in these fuel-conscious times? According to the EPA, this new, efficient Audi V6 is rated at 18 mpg city and 26 mpg highway. While on paper this is only 1 mpg better than last year, it's important to remember that this new V6 is producing 50 hp more.

Back to Its Roots
Audi has a long tradition in auto racing, and now that it's celebrating its 100th anniversary, the company makes references to its famous supercharged Auto Union racing cars of the 1930s all the time. You know, supercharged power. But aside from the heritage thing, a supercharger is also a little easier to package with the 2009 Audi A6's V6 engine than a turbocharger, and this compact, Roots-type compressor easily fits inside the vee between the cylinder banks of the V6.

As with any supercharger, it's the quick response that you notice. With short intake tracts after the compressor complemented by direct fuel injection, the power builds quickly without the typical lag of a turbocharged engine.

The maximum torque of 310 pound-feet is available at a low 2,500 rpm and remains constant through 4,850 rpm, much like the broad power band of those triumphant Auto Union racers of old. And the mechanically driven compressor keeps making boost as long as the engine is spinning, so power eventually works up to 300 hp at 5,100 rpm.

Although Audi has kept the nomenclature for the A6 3.0T, the T no longer denotes turbocharged. Perhaps in the modern era it stands for "tradition" or "technology."

Behind the Wheel
Under normal driving conditions, the new 3.0T feels powerful and responsive while mated to Audi's smooth six-speed automatic transmission with its Tiptronic manual-shift feature. The supercharged V6 makes a pleasant sound, and driving the car around town is fun and comfortable.

At our test track, the 2009 Audi A6 3.0T goes from zero to 60 mph in a moderately stimulating 5.8 seconds (5.5 seconds with 1 foot of rollout like on a drag strip). We pass the quarter-mile mark in 14.0 seconds at 99.4 mph. (The use of traction and stability control makes no difference to the times.) While these numbers aren't bad, the A6 isn't going to rip the doors off a twin-turbo BMW 5 Series, but it will rub the nose of the Mercedes E-Class V6 in it. This new A6 3.0T certainly outpaces the base A6 with its V6 and continuously variable transmission, while the long-in-the-tooth A6 V8 looks irrelevant in a gas-guzzling sort of way. The A6 3.0T's top speed is electronically limited to 130 mph.

Bringing the car back down from speed proves a little inconsistent, although thankfully not exciting. The brakes earn a good rating in our instrumented testing but the stopping distances are not spectacularly short. With Continental ContiPro Contact all-season tires to work with, the A6 3.0T comes to a halt from 60 mph in 121 feet on our best run. There is no fade apparent in pedal effort and we are always confident the car will stop, yet the stopping distance did vary by 5 feet over the course of several runs.

The 3.0T proved surprisingly average in our handling evaluations as well. Through the 600-foot slalom, the A6 makes it through our orange cones at 64.6 mph. But the retuned suspension is still not well-suited to this car. This slightly sporty A6 strives for a comfortable ride and dynamic handling, but manages to be swishy and stiff-legged at the same time. Lots of body roll is disappointingly apparent through the cones and the steering is somewhat uncommunicative. The 3.0T even feels wobbly while making left turns at regular city intersections. Nice leather-wrapped steering wheel, though.

On the skid pad, the 2009 Audi A6 pulls 0.81g. With all-wheel drive and all-season tires, we get lots of understeer. We expect a more vibrant track performance from Audi, yet we have to admit that this remains a nice car when you're driving around town.

The Experience
Audi is known to whittle away at things until it gets them just right, and the '09 A6 3.0T's design tweaks include new front headlamps with daytime-running LED lights in horizontal strips, a feature inspired by the resplendent Audi R8. (When you've made the most beautiful car of the year, you might as well steal from it as much as possible.) A new front bumper and grille also have gone under the knife for a Hollywood-style fascia-lift.

Our test model came equipped with the Prestige package, which adds $5,100 worth of stuff to make you look more prestigious. How did we ever live without a trip computer that is in color? But seriously, the things that matter in this package are 18-inch wheels, navigation, rearview camera, itty-bitty shift paddles and very intelligent headlights that are adaptive and self-leveling and bend the space-time continuum around corners.

The A6's interior dimensions are unchanged, but some aluminum touches have been splashed around and some new materials have been used. The two-tone treatment in black and amaretto looks attractive on the seats but the brownish headliner makes the space seem a little claustrophobic. Any Broadway baby will tell you that head-to-toe black would be more slimming.

Complications ensue when we try to wrestle with the MMI interface, which never lets you fully have manual control. For example, we could never get the air-conditioning just the way we wanted it. We want the fan to be on level 3. It adjusts to 7. We dial it back to 3. It gives us 1. We scream and dial it back to 3. It compromises and gives us 5. We admit defeat and open the windows.

Hot and Cold
While the 2009 Audi A6 3.0T is altogether pleasant, it should be better. It just doesn't get our blood pumping. Audi's only consolation is that the BMW 5 Series seems just as lost, while the new Mercedes E-Class.... Well, you really need the V8 in that car.

These midsize luxury performance sedans are in the middle of an identity crisis. They want to be fast, they want high horsepower numbers on their window stickers, but they know a lot of people want them for status and luxury more than raciness.

So what you get here is a slick-looking commuter vehicle, a comfortable companion for road trips and the opportunity to boast about the supercharger at the office espresso machine. Since most people don't spend their weekends wringing out their daily driver at a racetrack, making a choice between sporty handling and luxurious ride comfort might not matter. Instead they're happy to compromise.

But compromises rarely result in something spectacular.

Perhaps the very mention of the word "supercharged" will be enough to make the 2009 Audi A6 3.0 T do boffo box office. But you can't count on being a starlet forever. Sooner or later you won't be ready for your close-up and you'll have to learn to tread the boards with the big boys.

The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.