Wow! This one sweet ride. I think I got one of the first 4.2's in New England. I was a bimmer loyalist (540i) till I bought/drove this car. Aside from the great ride, handling, etc., this car is loaded with lots of well thought technology. I'm VERY impressed (and VERY happy with the new purchase.)

Any questions, don't hesitate.

4.2 Oyster Grey
Ebony interior
Premium sound
18" all season
Cold weather
Sunshades

Pics On Saturday....

Bill,

Congrats on the 4.2. I guess you ended up liking the Oyster Gray. I know I do!

Congrats. My wife has become a bimmer loyalist and loves her 97 528iA (until it snows here in CT when I get to drive it). I have a 99.5 A4 2.8 and both cars are really great. We test drove the A6 in 2000 and we were not impressed compared to the 5-series.

Has Audi come closer to that magic that the 5-series provides with the new A6? It is getting near the time to replace her car and we want AWD so the new A6 may be a great option.

Thanks...
Arch57

they test a Canyon red A6 4.2 and they say that this car is more luxurious than the 5 series and pretty close in the sporting department!!!
I think that you will be impressed.

Give me a day or two with the A6 before I respond in detail--

I've just completed my first morning driving the car (backroads and highway) and here are my reactions, other than I love the car! Where I can make a comparison with the 540i (have driven numerous model years 97-04 and have also test driven a 545i, tho' briefly). I can't make any comparisons with previous model A6's as I've never even sat in one.

Exterior styling: The "fishmouth" is far better integrated in person than in photos. Having said that, everybody is entitled to their opinion, and you can love it or hate it. I will say this ... it does attract alot of attention. In NH, there are tons of Audi's, everytime I parked people would pull in and get out of their Audi's to take a look. Quite a few thumbs up from Audi people next to me at a light. What isn't subjective is the fit and finish which is excellent. Yes, I think the exterior fit and finish is better on the Audi than on the BMW 540/545i

Interior: Fit and finish also excellent. Controls well laid out, good visibility of all gauges. About the same as BMW, BMW slightly more opulent (more wood), Audi slightly more sporty.

Driver's seat: Very comfortable, not as much lateral support as the 540 (I have sports pkg on BMW but not on A6). Very, very good though.

Creature comforts: MMI infinitely better on Audi. Tons of nice touches, e.g., little fold down hooks in trunk to loop grocery bags onto so that bags don't flop around. Far better interior lighting on Audi, just all around better application of technology on Audi.

DRIVING

Acceleration: BMW a tick or two faster, but the Audi is so smooooth. Less noticeable shifts under hard acceleration.

Steering: The Audi takes a bit of getting used to. VERY, VERY light at slow speeds, stiffens up considerably as speed increases. The Audi doesn't feel as nose heavy as the BMW.

Braking: Smooth, with lack of fade after numerous hard stops. Don't know the specs, my guess is that my 540 is a tad better in the braking department but not by much.

Handling: I actually think the Audi handles "flatter" in turns with less body lean. However, the Audi's ride is "flintier" (thank you April for this appropriate word) so on a bumpy road there is more "chatter" than a BMW, the BMW soaks up the bumps a little better

Growl: The Audi is a polite car when politley driven, but if you stand on it you get rewarded with an elegant growl from the exhaust.

Summary

Leaving aside the subjective elements of exterior design, the new A6 4.2 is a winner. While not precisely matching a 540/545i in all performance areas, it comes REAL close. Toss in the fit and finish, how Audi leverages technology to provide interior comfort and neat features, and it gets even closer. Finally, the reason why I bought the Audi was for the winter. The BMW is a highly predictable car in the snow IF you know what you're doing and you're driving on good snows (Nokians) but that's not saying that BMWs are good in the snow. I'll give up a tick in acceleration and maybe braking during the summer for a car that is extremely well designed and far better/safer in the snow and the long New Hampshire winters.

The Audi A6 4.2 is a worthy equal (plusses and minuses with each) to a BMW 540/545i on dry payment. In snow, I have to believe the Audi will be superb.

And yes, I like the oyster gray!

Bill