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"         For years, Audi has made the best-looking station wagons around. Their styling has evolved with time, but the day has come when customers demand something new.   This latest A6 Avant, the first under Audi&amp;#039;s chief designer Walter de Silva, is a winner. You may or may not like Audi&amp;#039;s new corporate grille, but this car, from any angle, suggests dynamism and recalls the Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon, another De Silva masterpiece. And elegance has not cost functionality: Even though the Avant is sleek and only 57.5 in. high, the luggage compartment is of average capacity for a midsize wagon.   Along with ESP, ABS, traction control, electronic differential control and six airbags, there is an electrically applied parking brake, a real help when starting on a hill with a manual gearbox.   Audi offers a choice of six engines: The three turbodiesels are a 2.0 TDI developing 140 bhp; a 2.7 TDI V-6, 180 bhp; and a 3.0 TDI V-6, 225 bhp. All have four valves per cylinder and a cast-iron cylinder block. The V-6s have a common-rail injection system. A particulate filter is an option.   The 4-valve gasoline engines all have an aluminum cylinder block. The base engine is a 2.7 common-rail 90-degree V-6 developing 177 bhp. It is a development of the recently introduced 3.2 FSI direct-injection V-6 developing 225 bhp at 6500 rpm, also part of the engine options. Top engine is the compact 4.2 liter, 5-valve V-8 of the Audi S4 developing 335 bhp, a truly potent performer.   All engines are mated to a 6-speed transmission that can be manual (except for the V-8), Tiptronic (standard on the V-8) or CVT-Multitronic. Customers can choose front-wheel drive or Quattro (awd) except with the 2.0 TDI, which is front drive only, and with the V-8, which is Quattro only. With a maximum torque rating of 248 lb.-ft., the Multitronic is compatible only with front drive and engines up to the 3.2 FSI.   As in the sedan, the front suspension is by four transverse links with virtual pivot axis to reduce torque steer, while a rear multilink system has conventional coil springs and shocks. But for the Avant only, Audi offers an optional air suspension as is standard on the A8. With the air springs, the ride height is lowered by 1/2 in. and is unaffected by the car&amp;#039;s load. The ride height is automatically further lowered by 0.6 in. if the car is driven for more than 30 seconds at over 75 mph.   The driver has the choice of three different damping programs: Sport, Comfort and Automatic where the electronically controlled damping varies according to car speed and road condition. The standard suspension offers an excellent comfort/handling compromise, but low-speed ride is improved by the air suspension, which is an advantage for users who frequently carry heavy loads.   The 4.2 Quattro is clearly the star performer of the range. But I think the mechanical noise of its V-8 is too intrusive for a car of its class. The two nicest cars of the range were the 2.7 TDI with a manual gearbox and the 3.2 FSI with the Multitronic transmission. Both engines are torquey and beautifully smooth and silent, and the Multitronic is programmed to avoid the &amp;quot;clutch slip effect&amp;quot; of most CVTs. Only if the kick-down is used do the revs soar toward redline and stay there while the CVT does its job, but this is rarely necessary. Paddle switches are provided at the back of the steering wheel spokes to override the Tiptronic and Multitronic, if required, when the gear selector is in the &amp;quot;D&amp;quot; position.   Audi has managed to eradicate most of the understeer tendency of its front-drive models and to provide good steering response when driving enterprisingly on sharply winding roads. But apart from the additional safety they provide on slippery roads, the Quattros-at least the more powerful ones-are more fun to drive because they handle more like rear-wheel-drive models.   As far as driving pleasure is concerned, the Audi Quattros have now closed the gap on their traditional competitors. Sales in the U.S. will start in the second half of 2005. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/first-drives/reviews/a10873/audi-a6-avant/>