2015 Audi RS6 Avant and RS7 Review: Comfort, Grunt, And Timeless Style
What’s Hot: Glorious exhaust noise, torque-laden rush, immense road presence.
What’s Not: These are heavy beasts - but hide their heft behind mountains of torque.
X-FACTOR: If the first rifle-fire gear change doesn’t hook you, the grip-at-all-costs handling will.
Price: RS 6 - $229,500, RS 7 - $242,000 (both exclude on-roads)
Engine/trans: 412kW/700Nm 4.0 litre V8 twin-turbo | 8spd auto
Fuel Economy claimed: 9.6 l/100km
OVERVIEW
When it comes to the big guns, your 400kW-plus choices usually come in two distinct flavours.
One, stuffed into a purpose-built two-door body packed with flair but low on practicality, or, two, a four-door grand touring saloon with lots of engine crammed into it.
That’s fine for some, but what if you want to think outside the box? Well, Audi might have your answer.
The Germans have opted to combine the sheer delight of a 412kW twin turbo V8, with Quattro all-wheel-drive, and surround it with the body of a station wagon for something they call the RS 6 Avant.
If that doesn’t fit your sense of style, you might like Audi’s take on the four-door coupe. The RS 7 combines the same powertrain with a sleeker five-door hatchback shape.
Neither BMW’s M5 or M6 Gran Coupe, nor Mercedes-AMG's E 63 or CLS 63 can lay claim to the added practicality or the extra grip. That hands a unique advantage to Audi.
For 2015 the RS models also gain a light update, as seen on the rest of the A6 and A7 range. The most obvious change being new-look lighting front and rear with Audi’s Matrix all-LED headlamps and new graphics for the DRLs and rear lamps.
But, what about the performance side of things? Where better to find out than at the Phillip Island racing circuit in Victoria, where Audi launched its pair of heavy hitters.