newmoon

It is around a 1,000 mile trip from Orlando to Pittsburgh. My car is a 2012 A6 2.0T FWD CVT Premium Plus with 18" wheels, ContiProContact tires and no sport package.

The gas mileage I calculated from two fill ups which covered the drive from Orlando to just before crossing the Appalachian mountains on I-77 in Virginia was 32 mpg. The short-term display showed 33 mpg so it was a little optimistic. This section was mostly flat in the South, but rose to around 1,000 ft in Virginia. The cruise was set for most of the time at 75 mph.

There were three passengers and a trunkful of luggage. I increased the tire pressures to the spec for max load of 35/38, but I found the ride harshness had increased quite a bit.

The next section included the mountain pass over the Appalachians up to around 3,000 ft. I have not filled up yet to calculate the mileage, but the display was showing around 30 mpg.

The car felt flat and planted enough that I was comfortable leaving the cruise on 75 mph even through all the curves. I have driven this road in an SUV before and the body roll made me want to slow down.

The 2.0T and CVT worked together beautifully on the mountain pass. The 2.0T had plenty of torque and power at low rpm to climb most grades at 75 mph at the normal 1,750 rpm. When additional power was required, the CVT would of course raise engine rpm seamlessly to 2,000-2,100 rpm without any jolt or downshift like a conventional auto.

The 2.0T engine was always smooth and quiet (barely noticeable) below 2,500 rpm. Almost all of my driving is done in this range, so the 2.0T is perfectly adequate for me. Only above 2,500 rpm does the 2.0T combined with the CVT start to sound a bit boomy.

When going downhill with the cruise on, if the car picked up too much speed, the CVT would also seamlessly increase engine rpm to increase engine braking by just the right amount, with no jolt or downshift like a conventional auto. With cruise off, it also does this when you start braking.

I set the electric power steering to comfort mode so that my arms would not have to apply as much force on the steering wheel. This helped to make me less tired and more relaxed for the 15 hour drive. It's great that we can customize this setting.

noah123

Reminds me of the good old days in GRAD SCHOOL...Boy how many times I have done this trip, and the whole way especially along the applachians is so so beautiful,,,i can never forget that..

Back in those days i had my 2003 HYUNDAI ELANTRA..good old faithful super reliable..34MPG...

I miss those golden days

newmoon

I have now made the return trip. This was the day after the snow storm so the Appalachian mountain pass looked incredible. The skies were clear, blue and sunny, and the snow was already cleared from the roads.

Being from Florida, this was my first chance ever to drive in snow but I did not have to do much. Just out of the driveway, then the roads were plowed and salted, so my FWD A6 had no problems. It was a pain to clear the snow off my car though. And the salt and dirt buildup from driving made all the cars look filthy.

Gas mileage was excellent. Calculated 32 mpg over the 2,047 miles. Cruise on 75 mph most of the way. Even the worst tank that included the mountain pass only dipped to 30.9 mpg. I never felt that I needed more power from the 2.0T. The CVT would just increase the engine speed a little to 2,100 rpm when climbing hills.

Overall, the A6 was great on the road trip. I am extremely satisfied.

The ContiProContact tires were quiet and comfortable. The (non-sport) suspension absorbed bumps very well with no float or bounce and the body felt solid. The car remained flat and stable taking interstate curves at 75 mph. The 2.0T engine was quiet and had lots of torque at low rpm. On comfort mode, the steering was nice and light to reduce arm fatigue on long highway drives.

Seats were comfortable for 10 hours per day. Climate control heated quickly, but I had to turn it down from my usual 74F to 66F, due to wearing thicker clothes and it felt hot anytime the sun was shining in. The rear window defroster did reduce gas mileage a bit so I turned it off as soon as it was clear.

The Audi Connect/T-Mobile signal strength was pretty bad on the rural interstate. Most of the time it was 2G. Download speeds were just enough for the Google Earth satellite maps and some very slow textual web browsing like AudiWorld Forums, or e-mail. You certainly would not be able to stream videos like youtube. But actually it seems to have a better antenna than my Sprint 3G phone which usually only had 1 bar and would often drop to 1x data mode (2G?).

newmoon

Light snowfall

newmoon

Does black hide dirt well? Um... No.

newmoon

Horrible brake dust. Fortunately this wheel design is easy to clean and it comes right off.

tenspeed

Glad to hear that the 2.0L performs and delivers good miles per gallon. There were a few questions about if the four banger was stout enough for the interstate highways.

The picture can serve as a paint protection application guide. The rocker panel right behind the wheel and in the center, the leading edges of both doors and the area in front of the rear wheel appear clean from the road spray washing them off.

zandym

Thanks for the info.

I would have gotten a 2.0 if there was an option to include the S-line package and full LED headlights.

newmoon

I'm not sure what you mean. Well anyway, I just detailed my car outside and inside. I do not have any clear film protection installed, but luckily I did not get any rock chips on the 2,000 mile trip either. The dealer did throw in their paint protection wax thing though, called PermaPlate. It's actually pretty durable. 3.5 months later and water still beads, snow/ice does not stick, and all that dirt/salt washed off easily with just regular car wash soap. If you want to try it, you can occasionally find it on ebay for around $20. So now my black car is nice and shiny again.

The interior is very durable and easy to clean as well. Audi did a great job!

I have the beige leather (not perforated) and some parts were going slightly gray, but it came right off with some Meguiar's leather cleaner.

Audi put good hard plastic in all the right places like the door sills, and it does not scuff easily. I just cleaned them up with some cheap Turtle Wax F21 interior cleaner.

I'm at 5,000 miles on the odometer of my FWD A6 and the ContiProContact tires on the fronts have worn down 1/32" while the rears have not worn at all, which is exactly what I expected for a FWD car. Will probably have to rotate the tires myself because the maintenance schedule/AudiCare only includes one rotation at 5,000 miles.

tenspeed

What I meant was if someone was having paint protection film applied, your pictures shows where the most water hits.