Automobile Magazine had a Four Seasons A6 when this current-generation car first came out, and I have to say that I like this version a lot better. I remember our long-term example having a brittle ride over broken pavement, for which I figured the optional eighteen-inch wheels were at least partly culpable. Well, this car rides on nineteens, and I was impressed with the suspension's ability to stoically absorb a bad-road assault and yet transmit none of the shock to the cabin. At appears that, as far as the A6 is concerned, Audi chassis engineers didn't just launch it and leave it.
Of course, the biggest mechanical difference between then and now is the supercharged V-6, which arrived last year. This engine is just so sweet, much more refined than most supercharged units. It casts a glow wherever it appears. The power almost feels like overkill, but with gas mileage this reasonable, I say "Why not?" Consider it the thinking man's alternative to the V-8 (which now has been rendered totally superfluous).
There still are a few items that I'm not totally sold on. For all the talk praising Audi interiors, I find the A6 cabin a little wanting. Yes, everything feels solidly put together, but the design is a bit . . . bland. And the variable-assist steering has light-but-alright efforts when you're moving along, but it switches to absurdly overboosted when you slow to parking-lot speeds, which is unnecessary and somewhat annoying.