2009 Audi S6
- Used Audi S6
Audi S6 - What the Auto Press Says
The 2009 Audi S6 is large, luxurious, and powerful. Still, it falls short of the competition in terms of sports performance.
Model Overview
The S6 is a performance-tuned variant of Audi's A6 luxury sedan.
Though the S6 features a powerful Lamborghini-built 435-horspower V10 engine, auto critics find that its performance doesn't quite measure up to its BMW and Mercedes counterparts. In fact, test drivers take issue with just about every one of its performance components. Still, some critics assert that drivers looking for both a powerful and luxurious ride will do just fine with the S6 -- granted they're not too concerned with sports handling.
The S6 is only available in one trim. With the exception of some exterior revisions, it enters the 2009 model year unchanged.
- "It's hard not to chuckle at the basic concept of the 2009 Audi S6. It's like the guys at 'Pimp My Ride' got tired of installing 20-foot-tall inflatable movie screens in broken-down economy cars and said to themselves, 'What's the most ridiculous thing we could do with an Audi A6?' The answer, of course, is stuff a version of the Lamborghini Gallardo's 5.2-liter V10 under the hood. And that's precisely what Audi did in the course of creating the S6 supersedan. Unfortunately, this concept is considerably more appealing in theory than in practice." -- Edmunds
- "If you like the seemingly incongruent concept of a lot of performance but with more gentlemanly behavior, the 2009 Audi S6 will blow you away with its manners." -- Kelley Blue Book
The Bottom Line
The 2009 Audi S6 is fast and luxurious, but costs nearly $30K more than the base A6 and still can't keep pace with competitors like the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG. Those cars, however, start at about $10K more. If performance is a deal-breaker and you've got the extra cash, forgo the S6 for a more capable machine. If not, the S6 is still a pleasing, albeit unexceptional, high-performance sedan.
Performance Dynamics
Test drivers report that the S6 performs well for a heavy sedan, but can't keep pace with more capable competitors, like the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG.
The Audi S6 features a Lamborghini-sourced 5.2-liter V10 engine that produces 435-horsepower at 6,800 rpm and 398 pound-feet of torque at 3,000 - 4,000 rpm. A six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission, which allows for both manual and automatic shifting based on custom settings, is standard. According to Audi, the S6 has a top speed of 155 mph and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds.
The EPA reports that the S6 nets a city/highway fuel economy of 14/19 mpg.
Standard performance components include a rack-and-pinion steering with Servtronic speed-dependent power assist, a sport-tuned independent suspension system, an Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) and Electronic Brake pressure Distribution (EBD). What's more, Audi's Quattro permanent all-wheel drive system is standard, and provides a 40/60 power split between the front and rear tires.
- "Audi claims S6 does 0-60 mph in 5.1 seconds. It's not explosive off the line, but it's plenty strong once underway." -- Consumer Guide
- "Purists will bemoan the lack of a true manual transmission, and some may decry the fact that the S6 has been passed over for the Formula-1-style R-tronic automated-manual transmission in favor of a more conventional Tiptronic six-speed automatic. ... At least it has a selectable Sport mode that keeps rpm high, and it allows sequential-manual shifting via the gear selector or steering-wheel-mounted paddles." -- Cars.com
- "The steering and brake systems are tuned appropriately, and you can feel the quattro all-wheel drive system making its contribution to balanced handling. Highway ride comfort takes a slight degradation from the suspension's sport tuning, but even for a long coast-to-coast excursion the S6 would be among our top choices." -- Kelley Blue Book
- "The S6 handles well for a nose-heavy 4,500-pound AWD sedan, but it simply can't keep up with the quicker and better-balanced competition when the going gets curvy. There's no payoff in terms of ride comfort, either -- the S6's suspension is sports-car stiff. As good as the V10 sounds, it doesn't produce the thrust needed for the S6 to be competitive in this rarefied high-performance segment, and the six-speed automatic isn't as responsive as we'd like. Braking is about the only thing the 2009 Audi S6 unequivocally excels at." -- Edmunds
