The New Audi A6 Avant Is Here With Petrol Or Diesel Power

This, despite what we thought until just a few weeks ago, is not the new Audi A7. Thanks to Audi’s decision to reverse course on its new naming system, it’s the newest generation of the Audi A6, a petrol- or diesel-powered mid-sized executive car to sit alongside Audi’s similarly-sized EV, which is also called… the Audi A6.

The two cars, though, sit on totally different architectures. Sitting on the same scalable Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) underpinnings as the latest Q5 and A5, the new A6 has so far only been unveiled in capacious Avant form.

Here in the UK, there are only two powertrain choices at launch, both of them four-cylinders. There’s a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol that drives the front wheels, offering up 201bhp and 251lb ft of torque, good for 0-62mph in 8.3 seconds and a 149mph top speed.

Then, there’s a 2.0-litre mild-hybrid turbodiesel with a 48V starter-generator. This also serves up 201bhp but a meatier 295lb ft, and paired with Quattro all-wheel drive. It'll hit 62mph in 7.0 seconds and top out at 148mph. Your only gearbox choice with either engine is a seven-speed dual-clutch auto.

Over in Europe, you can also get the new A6 with a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 making 362bhp, but the UK is denied that rather lovely-sounding option for now. Sad face.

Underneath, you get a choice of three suspension setups, all anchored around a five-link design at both ends. Standard is the, erm, standard setup, while S Line and Edition 1 cars get Sports suspension, which lowers them by 20mm. Finally, there’s a range-wide option of adaptive air suspension, which adjusts itself on the fly depending on drive mode and speed.

Handling seems to have been a real consideration, with the new A6 getting brake torque vectoring, standard variable steering, a stiffer mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels and, on Quattro-equipped cars, up to 70 per cent of the power going to the rear during cornering.

On the inside, you get the same barrage of screens seen on the new A5: an 11.9-inch digital Virtual Cockpit, a 14.5-inch infotainment screen, and, on Edition 1 cars, a separate screen for the front passenger to play with. Contained within them are all the goodies you’ve come to expect from a fairly posh car in 2025, including the obligatory AI-powered voice assistant.

Because this is the estate, you’ll want to know about boot space. That’ll be 503 litres with the rear seats up, and 1534 litres with them down. This is slightly less than a BMW 5 Series Touring, and quite a lot less than a Mercedes E-Class Estate.

Going on sale on 1 April, and with the first UK deliveries set for June, pricing kicks off at £52,510, which gets you a petrol version in the basic Sport trim. A posher S-Line costs from £55,310, while the kitted-out Edition 1 launch version starts at £60,210. The diesel follows the same trim structure, with prices starting at £56,780, £59,580 and £64,480, respectively.

Oh, and we know what you’re wondering, and yes, it looks like there will be an RS6. A prototype has been spotted hammering around the Nürburgring several times, and there’s a good chance it’ll be a plug-in hybrid, much like the new BMW M5. A saloon is likely on the way too, and for the first time since the V10-powered C6 generation, it looks like that’ll get the RS treatment too.