Maverick61

And hated it.

had my A6 in for its 15,000 service - was given a 2014 TDI premium plus as a loaner. Damn, it made me appreciate my 3.0T SO MUCH MORE.

Sorry for all the diesel fans, but to me it is quite sluggish. So slow off the line. Add in the Bose stereo which is weak IMO and I needless to say I was very happy to pick up my 3.0T when it was done at the end of the day

qqq1970

I had a test drive with TDI. Yes not the same in power delivery but I am pleased the new TDI does not have the idle clatter typically associated with Diesel engines.

Silent Drone

I had the same reaction.

A6buyer

Has been explained to me that it is the torque in the diesel that the transmission can't quite handle so when you ask it to shift it might take a moment to spin down the engine into a range that's safe. To me that was a deal breaker and I ordered the 3.0.

DSL_PWR

I've had my 3.0T for 18 months and it's in the shop for repairs as well and I was given a Prestige TDI to drive. I disagree with the above statements. This car is powerful and fast off the line as well as cruising with ease and powering through traffic with no problem. It's not sluggish at all. Driving a diesel is about the torque and knowing where it is in the powerband.

I've been driving it for a week now and in all the shifting it has never hesitated or spun down to shift. It's been clean and flawless the entire time.

It is a different type of power but I'd take it and the fuel mileage over the 3.0T for sure. Considering a trade right now.

MCRN

Would def jump on it now, Audi is throwing an unusual (for Audi) amount of incentives right now on the A6 and the TDI adds a bit more:

3k loyalty
1k Premium Plus Discount
700 bose/side assist allowance

Add that to the 3-4k you can easily negotiate on a '14 since the '15 are already coming in and you are at almost 9k off sticker without breaking a sweat.

I just traded in for the TDI and couldn't be happier. I prefer the power band/power delivery of the TDI over the 3.0T in my everyday driving on the interstate. 3.0T is a phenomenal engine, but I prefer my power without having to wind out the engine. Now if I lived somewhere I could track every so often or enjoy some real 2 lane open road visceral motoring I would probably pick the 3.0T, but I don't so TDI it is for me. Never dipping below 30 MPG is a plus too, drove 130 miles before the first tick even comes off the gas gauge.

DasA6

Sorry, but when I read this I said "Would diesel exhaust fluid jump on it?"

A6buyer

Interesting the different driving experience. I noticed it most when I was using the paddle shifters and pushing things during my test drive. Where in the 3.0 I would click the paddle and the car would have shifted before I could release, on the TDI I noticed as much as a 3/4 second delay. IIRC it was in the 3rd to 4th gear transition that was the worst.

Maybe it could be mitigated with practice and choosing different shift points. I must admit it was my first diesel experience in 15 years or more.

Off the line I did find the torque equivalent. But I do enough highway merging that I wanted the midrange acceleration to be as quick as possible and hence my alternate choice based on my experience from the test drive.

perlfather

Hmmm. A surprise. The acceleration to 60mph has been measured repeatedly by US car magazines and AUDI to be 0.1sec slower for the TDI vs. the TFSI. The German car magazine reviews often indicate a faster mid-range acceleration due to the higher torque at lower RPM as well so .... a bit surprised.
Most people that do not like the TDI complain that "it runs out of power" at the high RPMs as the max RPM is lower for TDI and thus understandable if you like high RPMs and drive frequently between 4000 and 6000 RPM.
TDIs are not for everyone. Happy you like your choice.
Put the TDI in S mode, keeping the RPMs between 2000 and 3000 RPM and you never ever feel like taking it out of Automatic (with the 8 speed)!

A6buyer

Good discussion. I've learned something. I was pushng the car in the high 4xxx to maybe 5xxx range and using paddle shifters to keep it in that range. I naively thought that would have better acceleration in that range but from what you've just said that was a mistake. And perhaps pushing it into that range is why it had the shift lag. Would be an interesting experiment if I ever drive one again to keep it between 2000 and 3000 and see how it behaved.

Thanks for the info