Review of the new Audi A6 - Brand & Image

As a motoring journalist it's surprisingly easy to get a little detached from the real world. Read any magazine group test and character, styling and performance often win out over more practical concerns like value for money, safety and space. Therefore, it's always useful to get a thorough grounding in exactly what the car buying public want, how they spend their money and why. Our long term Audi A6 3.2 FSI frequently provokes a frenzied scramble for its keys come Friday afternoon but how does the A6 really fare when pitted against rivals such as the BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes E Class? Audi was only too keen to assist us in our research and provided some candid answers to some tough questions.

The key thing to consider when looking at any car is the market it competes in and the A6's native environment, the so-called premium C-segment, is on the wane. With an increasing tax burden on company car users, many are downsizing to cars like the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class and the German manufacturers have responded quickly with top end models to accommodate this influx of custom.

While the pool may be evaporating, there's still plenty of action for the A6 to compete over and it's doing very well. Audi identify their two German competitors, plus the Lexus GS series, the Jaguar S-TYPE and the Volvo S80, as their key rivals and can boast more impressive growth figures than any of these brands. A6 sales were up by 17 per cent last year, despite the fact that that the sector is down 6 per cent in sales year on year. Contrast that with the BMW 5 Series which dropped by 1 per cent and the Mercedes E-Class which was aging during this period, hence a sales slump that saw its sales figures sliding down by 17 per cent last year. Lexus nudged up microscopically, registering another 51 cars compared to the year before.

In terms of real volumes, that still makes the 5 Series the big cheese with 5,387 sales compared to 4,342 Audi A6s and 3,746 Mercedes E Classes. Extrapolating the trends suggests that the Audi will almost pip the BMW for total sales next year and overtake it the year after although it's not clear how many sales Audi converted at the expense of the ageing E-Class.

"The A6 is a car that has quietly been bending the premium market to its own will. Drive one and you'll understand why.."

While petrolheads may get excited by cars like the Audi S6 with its Lamborghini-derived V10 engine, the real money in this market comes from the bottom end of the Range. Audi reckons that fully 48 per cent of all A6 sales are accounted for by one engine - the base 2.0-litre TDI diesel. The rest of the V6 models accounted for 51 per cent of sales, leaving the 4.2-litre V8s making up the remaining 1 per cent. So much for the halo effect. If the S6 is a success, it could well plump up sales of the premium models as Audi glance enviously at BMW, whose £64,000 M5 V10 accounts for fully 4 per cent of all 5 Series sales.

Getting the product mix right is a tough assignment and it's one of the areas where good domestic product managers can make a real difference. With the A6, part of the challenge was to defy the market, in effect boosting sales of more expensive models. In order to do so, Audi introduced a sporting S line Range for the A6 and have tried to make it as attractive as possible, getting customers to trade up out of SE and Sport variants. It seems they're having some success too, with S line models accounting for 16 per cent of A6 sales last year and 39 per cent this year. The net effect is that the A6 is perceived by the public at large as a better looking, more dynamic model and residuals are kept plump.

So what is the typical A6 owner, if such thing exists? Audi's market research data suggests that it's most likely to be a he (by an overwhelming 95 per cent), will have a net household income of over £70,000, will be married with children and will probably be educated to degree standard. The A6 will be one of at least two vehicles in the household and will be used to pursue an active lifestyle that includes interests such as football, rugby, golf, travel and gardening. All of those trips to the garden centre must help to swell sales of the Avant estate versions which account for 45 per cent of A6 sales. Compare that to the 30 per cent of BMW 5 Series' that are Touring models and it's easy to see why Audi has long been proud of its estate variants.

Very few A6s leave dealerships in base specification, most customers choosing to delve into Audi's long options list. The most popular choice has been the Luxury Pack which adds leather seats with heating elements for the front pair, acoustic parking sensors and light pack for £1,250, usually about the price of the leather trim alone. Other frequently chosen options include the ubiquitous satellite navigation and mobile phone preparation kits.

With the latest Allroad model now being badged an A6 to differentiate it from the Q7 and the forthcoming Q5 4x4s., Audi now has three body styles in which to offer the A6 and in the Allroad version, has a car that should particularly appeal to the private buyer. Although fleet customers make up around 55 per cent of all A6 sales, the importance of private buyers cannot be overlooked. The cynic in me suggests that this is because they often pay full list price rather than muscle in on a group purchasing discount but it's important for a prestige car not to become too closely associated with grubby company hacks.

The A6 is a car that has quietly been bending the premium market to its own will. Drive one and you'll understand why. With more space, a less brash image and keener 'whole life' pricing than you might realise, the secret of its success isn't so hard to fathom.

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