Audi has pressed the refresh button on its A6 range, so the muscle-bound S6 saloon and Avant estate get the same (tiny) makeover as the regular saloon we reviewed a couple of months ago.
The grille now has twin bars running across it instead of single, thicker ones, and the headlights, bumper and air inlets have been slightly reshaped.
Don some X-ray specs and you’ll see adaptive air suspension set to 20mm lower than the standard A6, while the brake callipers are now matte black, the rear diffuser has an aluminium-look blade and the full-LED headlights are ever-so-slightly slimmer.
The wider changes to the base car have made it a better-looking platform for the S — and in 2015, the RS — development teams to deal with.
Side skirts that jut out more prominently, 19in twin-spoke alloy wheels and those flashy headlights give it the kind of window shopping appeal that half of Amsterdam could scarcely dream of.
But the S6’s civility is stuffed deep down inside its bag of tricks and there’s no getting rid of it. At first glance this could just be an S-line spec A6, and its relative understatement is one of the qualities that help it to sell so well.
In finest fast Audi tradition you can choose an estate model as well as the saloon. The wagon is a bit heavier, not that you’ll notice unless you take it on a track day, but it’s prettier and as roomy as an empty shed.
The question marks have to come further forward, in the passenger zone. With such shapely seats and high-quality leathers cocooning you like royalty, the S6 is better for luxuriating than it is for folding the seats down and throwing a load of planks into. It’s just too well-appointed for that.
Turbocharging a V8 gets you lots of things; power and speed being two. The S6 is as rapid as the people who take used plates away at all-you-can-eat buffets, and it doesn’t feel particularly like a turbocharged engine.
It pulls harder and harder with a barrel-chested bellow as the revs rise, a lot like the engines of S-car generations past.
Grip and traction are beyond what you’d ever be able to exploit on the road. It’s uncanny how it drags itself so violently but so steadily out of tight corners. G-force has never been so unthreatening.
Most roads simply aren’t big enough for the S6 to stretch its legs, but at normal speeds it’s as stable as Ayres Rock. Sure, it’s firm over bumps on its huge (optional) 21in wheels, but if history has taught us anything it’s that Audi buyers don’t tend to mind sacrificing ride quality for aesthetics.
The S6 is not a cheap car, and Audi kindly leaves a lot of the technology and luxury that you’re likely to want on the options list, so the price will tot up quicker than you think.
It’s big, hugely capable and prestigious, but smaller premium-brand cars that will do the job just as well could offer a much better-value alternative.
The S6 is a gentleman’s express; a large, powerful and long-legged car with the ability to cross continents at speed without breaking a sweat. It’s not particularly affordable or cheap to run, but it is very lovely.
If money is no problem and the new looks light your fire more than ever, this is a solid choice that won’t leave you disappointed.
This story first appeared on wheels in January 2015
