<b><u>THE VERDICT</u></b>
<b>Highs:</b> Distinctive styling, gorgeous interior, myriad modern conveniences, sporty character.
<b>Lows:</b> Stiff legs with Sport package, heavier than predecessor, some interior rattles.
<b>The Verdict:</b> Audi builds a sedan made of equal parts sport and luxury.

Some other tidbits:
Price as tested: $59,370 (yikes!)
0-30: 2.1
0-40: 3.4
0-50: 4.8
0-60: 6.3
0-70: 8.3
0-80: 10.5
0-90: 12.8
0-100: 15.5
0-110: 19.3
0-120: 23.4
0-130: 29.7
1/4: 14.8@97
Top: 132, governed
70-0: 178 feet (disappointing IMO, esp. for a car with true max. performance tires like Rossos)
Roadholding: 0.84g
EPA: 19/30 city/hwy, but 17 observed
330hp@6600
310 lb-ft@3500
6800 redline
Gearing: 3.31 final drive
1st, 4.17:1, 5.4/1000, 36@6800
2nd, 2.34:1, 9.6/1000, 65@6800
3rd, 1.52, 14.7/1000, 100@6800
4th, 1.14, 19.6/1000, 132@6700
5th, 0.87, 25.7/1000, 132@5150
6th, 0.69, 32.4/1000, 132@4050
0.29 Cd, 24.3 sq. ft frontal area
Curb weight: <b>4292 pounds</b>, some 224 pounds more than the C5 A6 4.2 (so much for all of the new light weight steel sections and weight saving BS)
56.7%/43.3% f/r weight distribution (better than the C5, but nowhere nearly enough to offset all of the extra pork)
21.1 gal. fuel tank
13.7x1.2 vented disc front brakes
13.0x0.9 vented disc rear brakes
245/40-18 Pirelli PZero Rossos on 18x8 wheels (way too skinny of a tire for a 4300 pound performance sedan IMO, and why braking distances are longer; contrast this with wider 255/40-17's on a lighter vehicle for the C5 A6 4.2 -- why the step backward on tire width with an increase in weight???)

Personally, the added heft is a killer for me. I'll pass and would pick up a lighter used S8 or barely heavier used D3 A8 4.2 for less coin than a new A6 4.2 would cost.

But Car &amp; Driver is full of **** about the weight distribution and curb weight. Weight distribution is 55/45 front/rear. Curb weight is 3,850 pounds. This is what I read in MT. Lately, MT is far more correct about Audi specifications than those bozos at C&amp;D. FWIW, the D3 A8 4.2 ranges from about $67,000 (no options) to about $80,000 (fully optioned). The C6 A6 4.2 ranges from about $51,000 (no options) to about $60,000 (fully optioned). So your statement about the D3 A8 4.2 costing less than the C6 A6 4.2 is pure bull****. Ditto on your statement about the D3 A8 4.2 (whose curb weight is 4,290 pounds) weighing marginally more than the C6 A6 4.2. I would hardly call a 440 pound weight difference marginal. Perhaps when you said D3 A8 4.2, you really meant D2 A8 4.2, which now costs much less than the C6 A6 4.2. Get your facts straight, pal. One more thing-recently, C&amp;D sucks donkey balls.

They pegged the A8 at about 400 lbs more than Audi claims. THe Porsche Cayenne also came in about 500 lbs to heavy. THere is no way that there was 400-500 lbs of extra equipment on those vehicles, power seats and sat nav do not 400 lbs make. Something is fishy here. (no pun intended)

Jerry D

Don't take this the wrong way, but after owning a Lexus LS430 and SC400, Merc CLK430 and E430, and currently an '01 A6 2.7T I've never once driven a car and said to myself "boy, that weight distribution is really nice".

Perhaps I'm driving the wrong cars, but I'd don't see the significance of 50/50 vs. 56/44 in my daily commute to work and weekend fun. Granted on a track I can see the point, but I'm not taking my car to Chicago Motor Speedway for a few hop laps.

Again not trying to have fun of the issue, but rather trying to see what all the fuss is about.

Audi claimed the weight dist would be better. It is. I've never seen a V8 engined Audi better than 58/42. 56.7/43.3 is good, and the 3.2 will be even better since the engine is two cylinders lighter - closer to 55/45. I still think in the future, they'll have to get closer to 50/50, but this is the first real weight distribution advancement in 20+ years of quattro.

Audi never claimed the car would weigh less than the C5. They talked about how there were weight saving components, but they never said the car would be lighter. I don't know where that 3850 lbs number came from. Just to show it's not a Car and Driver conspiracy, Road and Track tested a (C5) 3.0 A6 quattro recently and it weighed in at 3900 lbs. Clearly the C6 4.2 isn't qoing to weigh 50 lbs less than the outgoing V6 car. Also, an S4 with the same 4.2 engine weighs 3820lbs. The new A6 is much bigger and is constructed the same way. Audi press releases always mention really low numbers - I wonder if those are dry weights with no fuel in the tank...

The good news is, the car posts good acceleration numbers. I drove a 4.2 and thought it felt slower than the old 4.2, but obviously it's quicker. 0-60 in 6.3 is reasonable for this class. Skidpad grip at .84 is also impressive.

Finally, I wouldn't be put off by the weight. It's certainly not a deal breaker. The car accelerates, handles, feels reasonably agile, and its fuel economy is about the same as before. I do know how frustrating the weight increases are. Back when the B5 A4 and the first A8 came out, Audi claimed each new car it released in the future would be lighter than the outgoing model. They quietly dropped that promise after the launch of the C5 A6.

Perhaps it is you who should get your facts straight. Audi's own website publishes curb weights of 3957 and 4145 lbs. for the C6 3.2 and 4.2, respectively. Can you say oink, oink?

And the published weight distribution is 58/42.

So, essentially...all your 'facts' were wrong.

Also, C&amp;D doesn't estimate weights. They weigh the cars they are given to get the weights, with a full tank of gas and all fluids. I suspect the manufucturers are the ones who generally like to fluff in claiming how light their cars. Audi especially has historically stated a low curb weight for a European model and then when it is released in the US it is significantly heavier.

...granted most drivers of an A6 4.2 aren't into ever driving *that* hard on the street that it's really noticeable, but some of us do on occasion.