Audi A6 review: the executive sedan for someone who wants the dashboard more than the badge
4.2/5motorssouq Editorial Team
The 45 TFSI quattro is the sweet spot: enough power for confident overtaking on the highway to Saudi, standard all-wheel drive, and a cabin that still feels genuinely special after five years on sale. Choose it over a 5 Series if the twin-screen MMI and Audi's interior materials matter more to you than ultimate rear legroom, which is where the E-Class and 5 Series both have a real edge.
Pros
- Standard quattro across the GCC range copes well with wet roads
- Twin-screen MMI cabin still feels genuinely special
- 2.0-litre mild-hybrid four is smooth and quick enough for most buyers
- Strong highway manners on the causeway run
Cons
- Rear legroom trails the E-Class and 5 Series
- Standard steel suspension rides firmer than an E-Class
- Servicing costs more than either German rival
- Resale still trails the segment leaders at three years
The C8 A6 is the first Audi in this class to feel like it was designed around its screens rather than having them added afterward: two touch displays replace almost every physical control below the climate vents, with haptic click-feedback that makes the transition from buttons less jarring than in most rivals' first attempts at the same idea. It takes a week to stop hunting for a volume knob that no longer exists.
On the road
Quattro is standard across the GCC range, which matters more in Bahrain than the marketing suggests: heavy winter rain turns some of Manama's older roads genuinely slick, and the A6 shrugs off standing water in a way a rear-drive 5 Series does not. The 2.0-litre mild-hybrid four is smooth and, with the seven-speed dual-clutch box, quick enough that most owners never feel the need for the six-cylinder 55 TFSI.
Ride quality on the standard steel suspension is firmer than an E-Class on the same road, a genuine point in the Mercedes' favour for anyone who values isolation above all else; adaptive air suspension, offered as an option on higher grades, closes most of that gap.
Space, servicing and resale
Rear legroom is the honest compromise against both German rivals — adequate for adults on a short trip, tight for a tall passenger on the two-and-a-half-hour run to the Saudi border and back. Servicing at Audi's Bahrain network costs noticeably more than a Camry-class car and somewhat more than an equivalent BMW, and resale, while respectable, still trails the 5 Series and E-Class at the three-year mark. Buy it for the cabin and the tech, not for the balance sheet.