Audi A6 facelift revealed

What's new?
Audi has given its A6 saloon and Avant models a bit of a midlife nip and tuck. No really, it has. Yes we know it looks much the same as before, that is just the Audi way, but most of the changes are under the bonnet rather than in the sheet metal.

Outside
According to Audi it has "carefully honed" the A6 as part of its model refresh with changes made to the 'Singleframe' grille, the headlights, air inlets, bumpers, side sills, rear lights and tailpipes. One big change is the fact that you can order your A6 with either LED or Matrix LED headlights now, the latter of which debuted on the range topping Audi A8.

Inside
Technology updates are the biggest news inside the cabin with a host of infotainment and driver assistance systems starring. The new MMI navigation plus system features an Nvidia Tegra 30 graphics chip for the retractable eight-inch monitor, which should ensure smooth movement and blistering fast transition between pages of the menu system.

Order your A6 with the Audi Connect system and you also get an LTE/4G connection that gives access to Audi's standard suite of online services plus a host of media streaming apps such as Spotify and TuneIn radio. And while you are listening to your favourite radio station you can engage the adaptive cruise control with stop and go function to take the edge off your long drive.

Audi side assist, with its bank of radar sensors that look over your shoulder while changing lanes, is now tied in with the active lane assist system, which prevents unintended lane changes and should keep you on the straight and narrow if you doze off or are caught up in the music. Audi pre sense, which pre tenses the seat belts when an imminent collision is detected, is now standard fitment, while the night vision assistant has had more features added to its arsenal.

Under the bonnet
New for the facelifted A6 are a range of Euro 6 compliant engines that includes three petrol TFSI units and five TDI diesel ones. Despite power outputs ranging from 190- to 333hp (for petrol) and 150- to 326hp (for diesel) Audi says the CO₂ emissions have dropped by as much as 22 per cent. An example of this is the 150hp 2.0-litre TDI model (now labelled Ultra), which is said to use 4.2 litres/100km with emissions of just 109g/km. Audi's BiTurbo diesel engine is paired to an eight-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission, but all other variants are available with a new six-speed manual unit or a seven-speed S Tronic automatic gearbox. Multitronic (CVT) is being phased out with all front-wheel drive models getting a redeveloped dual-clutch unit in its place, while four-wheel drive quattro models can be had with the sport differential to shuffle power around the back axle.

And there's more...
Of course the Audi A6 family is more than just the regular saloon and Avant models. There is also the A6 allroad quattro, the S6, S6 Avant and RS 6 Avant derivatives, all of which receive the same cosmetic upgrades. The A6 family is scheduled to arrive in showrooms towards the end of this year and prices for the facelifted models will be announced later this month, just before their world debut at the Paris Motor Show.

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