2018 S6 driving impressions
04-11-2018, 08:30 AM
#1
2018 S6 driving impressions
Having recently replaced by 2014 S6 with a 2018, here are some initial impressions. I'm going to focus more on changes/improvements
Background: My 2014 S6 developed an intermittent stalling problem about a year ago. This happened 7 times in the last 12 months. Our local Audi dealer spent a lot of effort trying to figure out the issue, a total absence of diagnostic error codes made this impossible. To cut a long story short, this was escalated to Audi corporate and I was made an offer to trade in the car for another Audi.
My 2018 S6 is what Audi optimistically calls Glacier White, the interior is black with diamond stitched seats. Key options on the car: Prestige package, driver assist, heads up display, B&O stereo. It's missing the heated rear seats & steering wheel that was on the previous car.
The mid-cycle upgrade changes the exterior of the car slightly, one has to be an Audi fanatic to notice the changes.
The biggest change to me was the steering, engine, transmission and suspension. The 2014 was difficult to drive smoothly in Comfort or Auto mode, with jerky shifting and sudden downshifts being fairly common (my car's transmission SW was updated during the debug of the stalling problems, but that didn't help much). I found that the car shifted much better in sport mode. On the 2018, shifting is much improved, perhaps this is partially a side effect of the extra 30 HP. Downshifts under throttle is more controlled, and in sport mode the car does beautiful rev-matched downshifts with nice exhaust burbles. The extra HP is very noticeable in everyday driving, especially with the car set to Auto mode. The 2018 suspension seems to have less impact harshness without affecting handling. The 2014 had very high handling limits but there was very little road feel thru either the steering wheel - driving fast on rural roads I would be able to hear the tires losing grip as opposed to feeling it. I haven't had the opportunity to wring this car out on some back roads, but my initial impression is good. The 2014 S6 steering felt completely artificial and numb, Audi seems to have fixed that. Steering feel is close to our A4 Allroad which has hydraulic steering. The engine continues to sound great and delivers excellent power smoothly.
Changes to the driver assist system: the system now works at higher speeds (the 2014 front radar cuts out at 85 or 90 mph). The heads up display now incorporates the radar-based cruise and the collision alert lights along with the speedometer. The following distance also seems to be a bit tighter than the previous system.
Dashboard continues to be classic Audi. I've driven the new A4 with the digital dash and I'm not sure if I like dials and displays that grow and shrink, it feels unnatural at first. I also prefer the traditional shifter instead of the new style that's in the A8 and the new A4. Apple Carplay has been added and this is very useful. I find it useful to connect my phone and put it out of the way in the armrest, this removes all opportunity to peek at emails during traffic lights. I've used the system to send voice activated text and whatsapp, that works well. It also reads back texts that come in while driving. The Apple Carplay voice activation is much better than Audi's built in voice activation. The system supports Amazon Unlimited Music, which seems to work after an initial lag (I used to have an echo dot in the last car, that is no longer needed). My 2014 had a 3G hot-spot with T-Mobile sim card. That sim card works fine in the 2018 once I programmed my audiconnect account, and it's pulling in LTE.
The two buttons on the trunk lid for power close and close+lock are a welcome addition.
That's about it over 600 miles of driving.
Background: My 2014 S6 developed an intermittent stalling problem about a year ago. This happened 7 times in the last 12 months. Our local Audi dealer spent a lot of effort trying to figure out the issue, a total absence of diagnostic error codes made this impossible. To cut a long story short, this was escalated to Audi corporate and I was made an offer to trade in the car for another Audi.
My 2018 S6 is what Audi optimistically calls Glacier White, the interior is black with diamond stitched seats. Key options on the car: Prestige package, driver assist, heads up display, B&O stereo. It's missing the heated rear seats & steering wheel that was on the previous car.
The mid-cycle upgrade changes the exterior of the car slightly, one has to be an Audi fanatic to notice the changes.
The biggest change to me was the steering, engine, transmission and suspension. The 2014 was difficult to drive smoothly in Comfort or Auto mode, with jerky shifting and sudden downshifts being fairly common (my car's transmission SW was updated during the debug of the stalling problems, but that didn't help much). I found that the car shifted much better in sport mode. On the 2018, shifting is much improved, perhaps this is partially a side effect of the extra 30 HP. Downshifts under throttle is more controlled, and in sport mode the car does beautiful rev-matched downshifts with nice exhaust burbles. The extra HP is very noticeable in everyday driving, especially with the car set to Auto mode. The 2018 suspension seems to have less impact harshness without affecting handling. The 2014 had very high handling limits but there was very little road feel thru either the steering wheel - driving fast on rural roads I would be able to hear the tires losing grip as opposed to feeling it. I haven't had the opportunity to wring this car out on some back roads, but my initial impression is good. The 2014 S6 steering felt completely artificial and numb, Audi seems to have fixed that. Steering feel is close to our A4 Allroad which has hydraulic steering. The engine continues to sound great and delivers excellent power smoothly.
Changes to the driver assist system: the system now works at higher speeds (the 2014 front radar cuts out at 85 or 90 mph). The heads up display now incorporates the radar-based cruise and the collision alert lights along with the speedometer. The following distance also seems to be a bit tighter than the previous system.
Dashboard continues to be classic Audi. I've driven the new A4 with the digital dash and I'm not sure if I like dials and displays that grow and shrink, it feels unnatural at first. I also prefer the traditional shifter instead of the new style that's in the A8 and the new A4. Apple Carplay has been added and this is very useful. I find it useful to connect my phone and put it out of the way in the armrest, this removes all opportunity to peek at emails during traffic lights. I've used the system to send voice activated text and whatsapp, that works well. It also reads back texts that come in while driving. The Apple Carplay voice activation is much better than Audi's built in voice activation. The system supports Amazon Unlimited Music, which seems to work after an initial lag (I used to have an echo dot in the last car, that is no longer needed). My 2014 had a 3G hot-spot with T-Mobile sim card. That sim card works fine in the 2018 once I programmed my audiconnect account, and it's pulling in LTE.
The two buttons on the trunk lid for power close and close+lock are a welcome addition.
That's about it over 600 miles of driving.
Last edited by bluestraveller; 04-11-2018 at 08:32 AM.
04-17-2018, 07:36 AM
#2
AudiWorld Junior Member
Seems like a solid review, I agree with everything you wrote. I am glad that you were able to get a course of action out of the old car, sucks that you couldn't get the cold weather package again. I have that in mine and I will never give that up.
04-23-2018, 02:38 PM
#4
Some more driving impressions:
1) Engine: I've already mentioned that the 2014 (pre-mid-cycle update, 420 HP) seemed to drive best in Sport mode. In Comfort or Auto mode, anything other than very gentle throttle would cause a momentary hesitation until the turbos spooled up (in this behavior it was very like my old Volvo 850T, and very unlike the 2.0 Turbos in our previous A3 and current A4 Allroad that seems to have little or no turbo lag). Audi seems to have fixed this in the 2018, the turbos seem to be always on the boil, no hesitation at all. Sport mode just dials up the urgency of events, this is exactly how it should be
2) Steering feel - much nicer than the 2014, Audi has managed to bring back some level of road feedback thru the steering.
3) Sport differential - under low speed turns (parking for example) I could previously hear (and feel) some grinding in the sport diff (a couple of car magazines have mentioned this as well). This behavior has been exorcised.
4) Car is distinctly thirstier than the 2014. I'd noticed that the EPA city number was 3 MPG lower than my 2014. I'm getting 15 MPG in the city, exactly what the EPA number predicts.
5) First wash after purchase - hand wash at home. Cleaning a white car requires much more attention
1) Engine: I've already mentioned that the 2014 (pre-mid-cycle update, 420 HP) seemed to drive best in Sport mode. In Comfort or Auto mode, anything other than very gentle throttle would cause a momentary hesitation until the turbos spooled up (in this behavior it was very like my old Volvo 850T, and very unlike the 2.0 Turbos in our previous A3 and current A4 Allroad that seems to have little or no turbo lag). Audi seems to have fixed this in the 2018, the turbos seem to be always on the boil, no hesitation at all. Sport mode just dials up the urgency of events, this is exactly how it should be
2) Steering feel - much nicer than the 2014, Audi has managed to bring back some level of road feedback thru the steering.
3) Sport differential - under low speed turns (parking for example) I could previously hear (and feel) some grinding in the sport diff (a couple of car magazines have mentioned this as well). This behavior has been exorcised.
4) Car is distinctly thirstier than the 2014. I'd noticed that the EPA city number was 3 MPG lower than my 2014. I'm getting 15 MPG in the city, exactly what the EPA number predicts.
5) First wash after purchase - hand wash at home. Cleaning a white car requires much more attention
04-23-2018, 05:17 PM
#5
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Bluestraveler,
Thanks for your compare and contrast, as I'm upgrading from a 2016PP to a 2018Pres and have been really interested in seeing what differences there are in the trim upgrade, etc. I just picked up my car this afternoon, and have not really had time to get all Audi-nut crazy on what I discover.
I would like to share something though, about the HP increase from the 2014 to the 2018 (C7 to a C7.5) Speculation has been that the 30HP increase was just a reporting adjustment as to get closer to what the car actually produces. I'm not claiming to be a HP/TQ expert here, but it's probably safe to say that you might "feel" a snappier throttle response, rather than the HP increase (Which again, there really was not an increase) Also I have not seen any Dyno results on the C7's but the C7.5's actually Dyno at 489 HP with 93 Octane. For what ever reason Audi has underreported actual HP, which as I understand it they do often to most of their vehicles.
Thanks for your compare and contrast, as I'm upgrading from a 2016PP to a 2018Pres and have been really interested in seeing what differences there are in the trim upgrade, etc. I just picked up my car this afternoon, and have not really had time to get all Audi-nut crazy on what I discover.
I would like to share something though, about the HP increase from the 2014 to the 2018 (C7 to a C7.5) Speculation has been that the 30HP increase was just a reporting adjustment as to get closer to what the car actually produces. I'm not claiming to be a HP/TQ expert here, but it's probably safe to say that you might "feel" a snappier throttle response, rather than the HP increase (Which again, there really was not an increase) Also I have not seen any Dyno results on the C7's but the C7.5's actually Dyno at 489 HP with 93 Octane. For what ever reason Audi has underreported actual HP, which as I understand it they do often to most of their vehicles.
04-25-2018, 06:23 AM
#6
Hi Mike,
The engine feels different at lower revs, there's definitely more torque. The engine also takes more time to cool down after a run - I've noticed the cooling fans seem to run for several more minutes. Audi has definitely tuned the engine for more torque in the lower RPMs, and eliminated turbo lag.
Having said that, it's quite possible that the peak power is the same and it's a 'reporting change'. I don't have any measurements but 0-80 bursts don't seem any faster. My last S6 was able to keep up with RS7s in impromptu stop light drag races, there's supposedly a 100HP difference between the two engines
The engine feels different at lower revs, there's definitely more torque. The engine also takes more time to cool down after a run - I've noticed the cooling fans seem to run for several more minutes. Audi has definitely tuned the engine for more torque in the lower RPMs, and eliminated turbo lag.
Having said that, it's quite possible that the peak power is the same and it's a 'reporting change'. I don't have any measurements but 0-80 bursts don't seem any faster. My last S6 was able to keep up with RS7s in impromptu stop light drag races, there's supposedly a 100HP difference between the two engines
04-26-2018, 07:43 PM
#7
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Hi Mike,
The engine feels different at lower revs, there's definitely more torque. The engine also takes more time to cool down after a run - I've noticed the cooling fans seem to run for several more minutes. Audi has definitely tuned the engine for more torque in the lower RPMs, and eliminated turbo lag.
Having said that, it's quite possible that the peak power is the same and it's a 'reporting change'. I don't have any measurements but 0-80 bursts don't seem any faster. My last S6 was able to keep up with RS7s in impromptu stop light drag races, there's supposedly a 100HP difference between the two engines
The engine feels different at lower revs, there's definitely more torque. The engine also takes more time to cool down after a run - I've noticed the cooling fans seem to run for several more minutes. Audi has definitely tuned the engine for more torque in the lower RPMs, and eliminated turbo lag.
Having said that, it's quite possible that the peak power is the same and it's a 'reporting change'. I don't have any measurements but 0-80 bursts don't seem any faster. My last S6 was able to keep up with RS7s in impromptu stop light drag races, there's supposedly a 100HP difference between the two engines
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04-30-2018, 06:41 AM
#8