SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.


Lighter, more powerful and more economical, the 2011 Audi A6 was our weapon of choice in a sprint to meet a high noon homebound 'plane.

This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a prepared course chosen to make the product look good. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get an actual test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.

Pics supplied

Engineered with a lighter touch

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday August 3, 2011

Every now and then life gets complicated and our closets fill with clutter. The feng shui fails to flow, so it's time to clear decks and start over. The outgoing Audi A6 range consisted of six models with six completely different engines, six mechanical personalities and a six-pack of a headache to remember. Briefly, it was a bean counter's nightmare.

The new lineup will offer five models spread over just two nominal engine sizes - two litres or three; petrol or diesel. First to be introduced to the motoring press at George airport recently was a trio of three-litre cars; two diesels and a supercharged petrol burner. The 'basic' 3.0 TDI with eight-speed multitronic transmission develops 150 kW between 3750 and 4500 rpm, with maximum torque of 400 Nm coming in between 1250 and 3500 rpm. It shares a specification level with the 2.0 litre cars due for release in October.

A more powerful version of the same engine produces 180 kW/500 Nm and boasts not only a wider range of toys but Quattro awd as well. The optional 2995 cc TFSI petrol motor makes 220 kW between 5250- and 6500 rpm with 440 Nm of torque available between 2900- and 4500 rpm. It shares specifications and Quattro with the 180 kW diesel. Despite being more powerful than the engines they replace, fuel economy is up to nineteen percent better.

Basic equipment for two-litre cars and the front-driving 3.0 includes Audi Drive Select with efficiency mode, Milano leather seat trim, parking distance control front and rear, four-spoke multi-function leather steering wheel with shift paddles, two zone Climatronic air conditioner, MMI radio Plus with active speakers and pop-up display, Audi Music Interface, tyre pressure indicator, interior lighting package, cruise control, Bluetooth cellphone preparation, automatically dimming interior mirror, light and rain sensor, child seat anchor on front passenger seat and a spacesaver spare wheel. With this goes standard suspension, eight-speed multitronic gearbox, electrically adjustable heated exterior mirrors and 17”cast aluminium wheels with 225/55 R17 tyres.

The pair of quad-drivers gain Ash grain natural brown inlays, electronically adjustable front seats with memory function for the driver’s chair, electrical lumbar support control, driver information system in colour with efficiency program, electrically adjustable steering column, three-spoke leather multifunction steering wheel with shift paddles and parking distance control with rear view camera. The Quattro drive uses a self-locking crown gear differential and drives through a seven-speed Stronic gearbox.  Eighteen-inch cast aluminium wheels are shod with 245/45 R18 tyres.

The nuts and bolts of the car include composite steel and aluminium construction, making it about fifteen percent lighter than an all-steel body would have been. In practical terms, this means it's 80 kg less chubby than its predecessor and weighs at least 50 kg less than its three main class competitors. It measures 4,93 metres on a 2,91-metre wheelbase, is 1,87 metres wide and 1,46 metres high.  In other words, it's a few millimetres shorter and lower, has a longer wheelbase and 80 mm less front overhang. The signature Audi one-third to two-thirds, greenhouse to metal, proportions remain untouched.

A light and expansive inner space features elegant sweeps and sporty lines, with redesigned ergonomic seats. Innovative foam inlays provide varying degrees of softness and firmness depending on the requirements of each zone. Options include Audi pre sense and adaptive cruise control, ventilated comfort seats with massage function, touch-screen satnav with eight-inch display, Bang and Olufsen sound kit, lane assist, side assist, night vision assistance and programmable heads-up display.

Extended familiarisation drives gave journalists opportunities to try all three derivatives, so we and our KZN driving partner plumped for the 150 kW multitronic diesel for the first leg from George airport to the overnight stop at a bush lodge deep in elephant country. This gearbox is a CVT unit developed by Audi in partnership with LuK, the clutch kit people, in 1999. It uses a link-plate chain drive and an oil-cooled multi-plate clutch. Performance and economy is similar to, and in some cases better than, equivalent five-speed manual gearboxes and superior to traditional automatic transmissions. Bluntly, it's one of the CVTs that actually works, proof that a big enough chequebook can overcome almost any problem.

For the second leg, we snagged a TFSI petrol-driven car with Quattro. Just a dumb luck chance actually - how were we to know that section included the delicious Nature's Valley Pass, he grins evilly? Let's simply say it was the correct choice. Our co-pilot had been there before, so didn't mind not having the drive at that point. Owing to scheduling problems, we had to skip the planned third leg and hightail it for an early homeward flight from Port Elizabeth.

The diesel Quattro had the optional satnav fitted, so it was simply a case of dialling in the instructions and banging the hammer down to cover 108 km in the hour remaining before check-in. Sounds easy, but let us never forget the snail-slow bumper-to-bumper traffic that conspires to thwart quick dashes at the end of any journey.

The numbers

Prices:
3.0 TDI multitronic R520 500
3.0 TDI Quattro Stronic R645 000
3.0T FSI Quattro Stronic R665 000
Engines: See text
Sprint times and average fuel consumption:
TDI 150 kW - 7,2 seconds/5,2 l/100 km
TDI 180 kW - 6,1 seconds/6,0 l/100 km
TFSI 220 kW - 5,5 seconds/8,2 l/100 km
Tank: 65 litres
Boot: 530 litres
Warranty and maintenance plan: 5 years/100 000 km



What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

My articles appear every Wednesday in the motoring pages of The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles most months of the year (press cars are withdrawn over the festive season - wonder why?) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police. Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so I do actually exist.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax.
So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously.