When I explained the whole Urban DINK concept a few weeks back, I forgot to mention there are two strata of DINKs out there: the upper class and lower class, meaning those who can afford an $80,000 sports sedan, like the Audi S6, and those who can’t.
My first impression of the S6 was just how cool it seemed for a sedan. Granted, underneath this sedan’s hood is a V-10 engine — borrowed from Lamborghini — that churns out a cool 435 horses, but it’s still a sedan. My first day in the S6, I had just come from a television interview, so I was dressed in a suit and tie. I’ll admit it: I felt a lot like that guy in “The Transporter.” Remember how he found the girl in the trunk of his BMW 7 Series? That was before he moved on to the Audi A8 in the sequel, but I think you could fit at least three Nicole Ritchie-sized actresses into the S6’s trunk.
With $80,000, why wouldn’t an upper-class urban DINK just move on to that A8 instead of the smaller, yet infinitely faster, S6? Because he’d look like an old man driving that A8, or, unlike the guy in the movie, a simple chauffeur. A smart S6-owning DINK would also be able to take out clients, in-laws or anyone else of importance unlike the DINK who bought a Porsche 911. Plus, did I mention the S6 has a 435-hp V-10?
Over the weekend, an arctic blast hit Chicago and I was only able to take the S6 on Costco and grocery-store runs. Yeah, we eat a lot, but it sure didn’t take long to shop and get the dry cleaning. Anyway, I finally got to do some serious driving yesterday, and the S6 is an intriguing beast. It doesn’t leap from a stop like a muscle car, even with the help of manual shift paddles. No, the power comes way up on the speed dial. You know how 55 mph feels like a crawl when you’re stuck behind a slow driver? The S6 doesn’t leave crawl mode under 75 mph.
In a regular review of a regular midsize sedan, I usually mention whether or not its passing power is adequate to navigate difficult highway situations. The S6’s passing power is ludicrous. Moving from 55 mph to pass, the V-10 sheds an undercover whisper and erupts into a raucous growl. By the time you register this delightful sound, you’re going way too fast.
Now for the nitty gritty. This is a driver’s car, even though it’s wrapped in a sedan body. There’s just one cupholder that’s easy to reach. The second one is under the center armrest, which means if the better half has her water bottle, I can’t rest my arm on anything, and neither can she. The carbon fiber trim isn’t my taste, but the race-inspired paddle shifters gleam with an attractive metal sheen. Too bad they didn’t prove as thrilling to use as they looked. I much preferred keeping the S6 in automatic mode and just letting the pedal to the floor do all the work, which it did flawlessly.
The monster of an engine is one of the car’s most unique features. It gives the car a bit more personality than a regular A6. When I started it up for the first time with my wife in the car she asked “What’s wrong with the car?” because the V-10 came to life and made the car shimmy as it sat idling. It wasn’t like the rumble of a Corvette Z06 when the car shakes, versus shimmy, it was a more refined proclamation of power. I liked that.
One other thing: The sport bucket seats are extremely comfortable — probably the finest I’ve sat in. Audi needs to offer them on non-S models, too.
Audi really should be congratulated for making the perfect upper-class urban DINK high-speed sport sedan. It will inspire “Transporter” envy everywhere.
source: cars.com
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