Petrol Heads’ Corner David O’Neill*
I was given plenty of warning about this review before it was carried out and made a few enquiries around the traps about what would be the most suitable vehicle to take on my usual test route. Unfortunately, Covid and the government stepped in and ruined everything. I had a car set up to take over to the beach, but then I caught the dreaded lurgy and was isolating for seven days. The idea of getting into someone else’s car went down the gurgler along with something fresh and exciting, so you will just have to be patient and wait until next time. I even had one of those eco-friendly things jacked up. The Audi RS GT e-tron which, believe it or not, was situated in the Tron (sorry about that – couldn’t resist). However, I couldn’t get hold of said e-tron, so I am going to resort to a, sort of, review. I am fortunate enough to have been able to lay my hands on a near-new 2021 Audi RS6. So I thought I would undertake a comparison of three cars which are the same model, but manufactured some years apart. I have previously reviewed a 2015 RS6 and a 2017 RS6 Performance, and so I will compare these to the latest iteration, the 2021 RS6.
The specs (Petrolhead bits) for each vehicle are as follows: 2015 RS6
2017 RS6 2021 RS6 performance
Engine
4L V8 Twin Turbo
4L V8 Twin Turbo
4L V8 Twin Turbo
Power
412 kw
445 kw
441 kw
Weight
1935 kgs
1950 kgs
2250 kgs
Torque
700 nm
750 nm
800 nm
Gearbox
8 speed automatic
Acceleration
0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
0-100 km/h 3.7 seconds
0-100 km/h 3.5 seconds
Fuel economy
Appalling
9.6L/100 kms 10.6L/100kms (not too bad)
Even though the 2021 car is heavier, you can see why the acceleration is better. The torque it delivers is exceptional, and it is noticeable – a lot actually. To put it another way – they all go like stink.
Looks This is something you can make up your own mind about. The cars look as follows: 2015
They are all the same vehicle. You know, hated by the Greens and Labour, loved by petrolheads and you have to sell your first born to go in and fill it up. The Germans, by the way, call them an Avant. We call them station wagons. However, it is not uber-cool to call them station wagons. One must call them Avant. I mean Audi station wagon or Audi Avant? Pretty simple really – Avant! The Italians would just say “Avanti!” and throw the rear vision mirror out the window because nobody is going to catch them………. This is a car that you can:
2017
a. Take a load of rubbish to the dump. b. Pick up Grandma and Grandad, load their Zimmer frames into the back and cart them around somewhere for afternoon tea. c. Deposit them back at the rest home and then take it out onto the track and give the Aston Martins and a few others a good thrashing.
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APRIL / MAY 2022
