Goodwood Test: 2021 Audi RS6 Review

To a certain set of car fans, of which I am very much a part, there really is very little better than a fast estate car. While there had been plenty of quick wagons and fast-ish saloons, it is pretty undeniable that the Audi RS2 was the car that really invented the proper uber-estate. Since then there have been many pretenders to the four-rings’ crown, but few have managed to properly unseat the cars that followed that first Porsche-developed RS2. The RS6 was the third fast Audi estate to actually come along but, from its debut in 2002 – then as both saloon and estate – few cars have been able to come close to it either in terms of sheer cache or actually quantifiable ability. Want to fit a lot of stuff and your whole family into a car and cross Europe in a few hours? Step right this way.

The RS6 began life pretty subtle. The first one (the C5) wasn’t very distinguishable from an A6 unless you *taps nose* knew. Sure it had wide arches and oval pipes, but that was about it. But with each passing generation the RS6 has got more lairy. Now the C8 shouts its “RS” nature from the rooftops, refusing not to be noticed with a massive wide face, arches so flared it’s amazing they aren’t boxes and a huge bum protruding from the rear.

In detail the RS6 has been give the full treatment to push it north of the standard A6. That wide face is properly wide, with a squared-off jaw made of a pair of blown out intakes that make it a chin closer to David Coulthard than Cara Delevingne. The arches sit over alloys that look every one of their 21 inches, while the rear has received some proper lifting implants – the rear bumper sits a good three or four inches proud of the tailgate, hosting the signature oval exhaust tips inside. While I must admit I prefer the now apparently understated looks of the C7, it looks very good in the metal, purposeful as all hell.

Eight hundred Newton metres of torque. It has to be typed out longhand to really get the number across properly. The latest RS6 may stick with a venerable 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8, but there is an uplift of 50Nm over the already impressive 750Nm (553lb ft) in the C7 RS6 Performance. Power is capped at 600PS (441kW), slightly below the old Performance model’s 605PS, but significantly above the standard C7’s 560PS (411kW), and that 800Nm torque figure cannot be ignored. It is, of course, routed through a quattro system with torque vectoring to mean the RS6 can hit 62mph in just 3.6 seconds. It’ll do 155mph before the usual limiters begin to kick in, but as you expect there are ways to pay to have those electronic overlords removed.

Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way. The new RS6 has a mild-hybrid system, there to help with efficiency rather than any kind of performance advantage such as torque fill. But the RS6 is heavier than the old one, so the gains in economy are marginal at best. You can also feel that weight when you drive, but the steering is light as anything around, with a welcome added weight coming in if you bump the settings into “Dynamic”. It feels very artificial, but is a lot better than the little finger lightness of the standard mode. Feel has never been something you can really associate with an RS6’s steering, and the C8 changes that not a bit.

That’s the end of the possible driving gripes though. If you plant your foot the RS6 will absolutely warp you perceptions of what should be possible. The moment the turbochargers are fully working, all 2,000kg of the RS6 is launched at the horizon as if real horses have been spooked by a gunshot. The torque vectoring will then hunt out grip as if dogs after a fox. In the wet especially you can sometimes feel the quattro system testing every piece of tarmac for grip. Turn the car in and it might momentarily understeer, but resist the urge for a confidence lift, keep your foot balanced and you will feel the diff work and power being shifted to where the most grip is. The car feels like it tightens everything up, hauling itself into line without troubling itself to complain. The rear-wheel-steer also isn’t as obtrusive as some systems, which can make the back end feel as if on trolley wheels, instead just helping the RS6 feel more agile.

Through really tight stuff it does feel heavy, because it is, but without being scary – there’s not a lot of weight transfer here, especially if you put the suspension in its harshest setting. Instead there is just grip. Grip, grip and more grip.

Audi has followed BMW’s suit in making configurable options for the cars setup available via a button on the steering wheel. These RS Mode settings can be adjusted to suite your particular preference – we went for the weightier steering, but with the air suspension still in comfort mode, as dynamic suspension is a bit too firm to be necessary on British roads. The only issue with the system is that you have two settings and one button, meaning you have to cycle through to get to RS2 (or back to standard).

The brakes, ceramics of course, are excellent, with a decent amount of feel that was at times lacking from the C7’s middle pedal, although they remain a bit sudden at slow speeds. The gearbox is an eight-speed DSG, with shifts so lightning quick you really won’t notice them. The only annoyance might be that the system is a little too in control. If it doesn’t want to downshift, it won’t. So if you try to use a bit more engine braking by shifting down early when the car isn’t ready, be prepared to be disappointed.

What we weren’t able to try was the Performance suspension option. As standard the RS6 comes sprung by air, rather than steel, but opt for the performance pack and some traditional springs are inserted instead, apparently adding to a more sporty performance. It’s most likely more for those who wish to spend time at track days, but for us the air system was more than adequate. In fact we probably would have to think twice about sacrificing the air suspension’s breadth of ability – in comfort mode the RS6 settles into being a proper cruiser.

The cliche that Audi know how to do interiors still holds true, but the A6 and RS6’s proliferation of touchscreens might be a mistake. The interior overall is well designed, with excellent use of materials as you would expect, and is a very nice place to spend any amount of time. The theme is hexagons, with the hexagonal grille replicated on the steering wheel, vents, stitching and even the main touchscreen’s surround. There’s actually three screens, two in the centre console and one in front of you. All are incredibly well designed and easy to use. In fact, despite my well-trodden dislike of putting all the controls for everything in a screen, Audi’s haptic feedback – vibrating when you push a button – is possibly the best integration of such a system around. The vibrations from that feedback are designed to give you the feel of a proper button, indeed you push the screen as if it were a button rather than just tapping. But it still feels replicating buttons is a bit pointless when you could just have... some buttons.

If anything the interior might be a little underplayed, given the special nature of this car. The red stitching in our case is nice, but there’s few other things to tell you it’s an RS car rather than just a high-spec A6.

The RS6 is littered with it, as you would expect. Climate control, keyless go, the MMI touchscreens, DAB radio, reversing camera, automatic lights and wipers and navigation are all standard on the RS6, which starts at £92,550 in the UK. Our car came with the additional comfort and sound pack (£2,295), which brings an excellent 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, a 360-degree camera and Park Assist Plus, which will basically park the car for you in a lot of situations. For another £1,950 the Tour Pack Brings traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and Audi’s pre-sense safety system. There’s also a retractable toe hook, and RS sports exhaust. We have to admit the exhaust didn’t sound particularly special for £1,450, so owners might want to look at a trip to Miltek if they really want something to rival a C63’s roar.

The RS6 is still the king of cars that will do absolutely everything with supreme ease. While perhaps not as engaging as it’s only real rival the C63 – you’re really not going to be laying down any amount of rubber in an RS6, or deafening the locals with a full bore launch – the RS6 does everything with absolutely minimal fuss. It’s probably the more real-world car of the two, allowing you to crush your nearest “too-old-for-that-baseball-cap in a hot hatch” from the lights while still remaining cool and unflustered. The addition of customisable RS Mode buttons is a welcome one, and while the mild-hybrid system doesn’t do a massive amount, it’s noticeable when it kicks in below 13mph. Even after a week with an RS6 the sheer ability to demolish anything on the road without you breaking a sweat will not stop leaving you shaking your head as you walk away.