Audi A6 gets a mid-life makeover in time for Paris

The new Audi A6

It might be more of a refresh than a revolution but the updates, which include a new, more striking grille, cabin enhancements, improved engines and infotainment upgrades should be enough for the A6 and Avant Estate to keep up with its closest rivals — the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes E Class.

The exterior changes make the car look slightly more aggressive and capable — as well as the reworked grille, the bumpers, exhausts, and rear light clusters have been tweaked too. The result is a good visual balance that means the car won’t look out of place parked at the golf club or lining up on the grid on a track day.

The car also gets the option of Audi’s new Matrix LED headlights that are made up of clusters of individual lights that can be individually dipped or illuminated to automatically avoid dazzling oncoming traffic and for illumination around obstacles.

Inside, Audi has increased the use of chrome accents and extended the choice of finishes for seats and surfaces while the touchscreen infotainment system has been brought bang up to date. As well as an improved navigation system, media streaming apps and better smartphone integration, the car now has a 4G/LTE hotspot.

When it comes to safety, the car can now be ordered with an optional head up display, and standard features include adaptive cruise control — for matching the car’s speed to that of the one in front, while keeping an eye on the traffic behind — plus active lane assist for keeping the car in a straight line and night vision assist for seeing clearly whatever the conditions.

Under the hood, the diesel engines have been revised to meet EU6 legislation, the pick of the bunch, from an economy perspective being a 2.0 TDI ultra offering up to 64mpg with CO2 emissions of 114g/km. As for the more potent S and RS models, Audi will continue to use 4-liter V8 engines with individual cylinder technology so that it can shut down four cylinders at lower speeds for reserving fuel and cutting emissions.

Although the new A6 won’t be making its official public debut until October at the Paris Motor Show, the company has already opened the European order book and hopes to make the first deliveries to customers before the end of the year.