The Audi A6 has all the time been a superb luxurious sedan, however in recent times, it has been an simply forgettable one. The BMW 5 Collection takes up lots of the oxygen within the midsize luxurious sedan market with its track-car-dressed-for-a-meeting perspective. The Mercedes-Benz E-Class will get all of the factors for legacy and, with its rear-wheel steering, makes the BMW nervous.
The A6, in the meantime, does practically every little thing properly. However, as Kelley Blue Ebook professional check driver Colin Ryan says, it “can typically sneak below the radar.”
Audi has an all-new A6 prepared for 2026, set to compete for the highlight.
Pricing is difficult to foretell as tariffs have modified the maths for each automaker. The 2025 A6 begins at $59,395, together with supply charges. However Audi builds the A6 in Europe, which suggests they’ll be topic to the complete 25% tariff so long as it lasts. Audi says the 2026 A6 is ready to reach within the U.S. within the second half of this yr.
Streamlined Inside and Out
Audi has a signature look and may’t range from it wildly with out alienating followers. However designers have executed an amazing job remixing it into one thing new for the 2026 A6. It cribs a number of traces from the electrical A6 Sportback e-tron, however retains sufficient distinctive parts for the gas-powered mannequin to establish this as a separate species.
Large grilles are all the trend now, and the A6 will get one, wider than the one within the outgoing 2025 mannequin. A deep set of indented hood strakes is new and offers the design some sense of movement. Skinny LED headlights give it a grimace of effort.
An equally skinny dashed line of taillights retains the again glossy and fashionable. S Line variations get black trim instead of chrome.
Nonetheless, the time period “streamlined” could also be higher utilized to the cabin.
Audi’s 2025 designs are heavy on screens – many embrace a driver’s instrument display, a central touchscreen for leisure, a canted display beneath it for local weather management, and typically a passenger display. Most controls have analog duplicates, giving the cabins a high-tech-but-busy look.
Audi has determined to restrain itself for 2026. The brand new A6 will get a a lot less complicated therapy. The motive force’s instrument display (11.9 inches) and central touchscreen (14.5 inches) are mounted collectively to seem like one large display. The decrease display for local weather features is gone. The non-compulsory passenger display (10.9 inches) continues to be obtainable.
A panoramic glass roof turns opaque with the contact of a button. To keep away from seeming too tech-forward, Audi says smooth textiles — you possibly can select fake leather-based, fabric, or Dinamica microsuede — cowl a lot of the sprint and door panels.
Sound insulation makes the cabin 30% quieter than final yr’s mannequin, Audi says. If it’s too quiet, audio system selections embrace 16- and 20-speaker setups, the latter with headrest audio system.
362 HP, and of Course, Quattro
The 2026 A6 makes use of a 3.0-liter V6 engine making 362 horsepower and a 7-speed dual-clutch automated transmission. Audi calls this powerplant “the logical evolution of the engine that has been in sequence manufacturing since 2015,” with newly reshaped turbochargers and “modifications to the gasoline injection system.”
Energy goes to all 4 wheels by Audi’s venerable quattro all-wheel-drive (AWD) system.
Non-compulsory adaptive air suspension and all-wheel steering techniques ought to give it the dealing with to threaten the 5 Collection and E-Class.
“In comparison with its predecessor, the complete path from the steering wheel to the wheels is designed to be stiffer,” Audi says, so as to add sport to the driving expertise.
Driver help techniques embrace “cruise management, a velocity limiter that responds to site visitors indicators, site visitors signal recognition, a rearview digicam, and park help plus.”
Few midsize luxurious sedans have flaws that ought to concern you. Selecting one is basically a matter of style. However the A6 has fallen behind its rivals in gross sales in recent times. These upgrades might repair that, making it each bit the equal of the opposite German luxurious sedans.
