World of Automobile: Europe

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Thursday, August 18, 2011

2012 Audi A6 Avant First Drive: A Reminder Why Diesel Wagons are So Popular in Europe

2012 Audi A6 Avant First Drive – Review – Car and Driver #pallet {margin:0;}#echoice li.category {margin:0;}Car and DriverIntelligence. Independence. Irreverence. VehiclesReviewsNewsFeaturesBuyer's GuideFollow UsSubscribeSearch Car and DriverHome › Reviews › 2012 Audi A6 Avant TDI Diesel - First Drive Review

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2012 Audi A6 Avant TDI Diesel - First Drive ReviewWe get behind the wheel of Europe’s favorite A6—and are reminded why it’s so popular.BY JENS MEINERS
July 2011

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2012 Audi A6 Avant TDI Diesel

Photos (24)Visit Our Buyer's Guide »Audi A6› Overview› Specifications› Price with Options› Photos & 360° View› Get a Free QuoteNews & Reviews2012 Audi A6 Avant - Car News2012 Audi A6 3.0 TDI - First Drive Review2012 Audi A6 - First Drive Review2012 Audi A6 - Official Photos and Info2012 Audi A6 Spy Photos - Future Cars2012 Audi A6 Rendered - Car News2009 Audi A6 3.0T Quattro - Short Take Road Test2009 Audi A6 - First Drive Review2009 Audi A6 Sedan / A6 Avant / S6 Sedan / RS6 Sedan - Car News

Redesigned for 2012, Audi's A6 lineup is halfway back to full strength with the introduction of the Avant station wagon. The high-powered S6 and RS6 versions still are waiting in the wings—as is a hybrid model designed mostly with our market in mind, even if U.S. availability is as-yet unconfirmed—but already this is an impressive family of vehicles. In Europe, though, where a diesel-powered station wagon is the stereotypical executive car, the Avant is the most critical of all A6s.

Audi just made the executive-wagon segment a lot more interesting, with a twin-turbocharged variation of its 3.0-liter TDI turning out 313 hp and an even more impressive 479 lb-ft of torque. Not only is it a powerful mill, but this diesel has attitude. Many oil-burners are impressive in their power delivery and massive torque, but lack soul. The 3.0-liter TDI, on the other hand, fires up with an impressive growl, and the sound gets better as you push it through the gears. Its voice is reminiscent of an old-fashioned V-8’s, a sound that is clearly audible inside and out. Think we’re crazy? Just wait until you hear how Audi did it: The company stuffed an extremely durable speaker into the exhaust system that allows it to alter the engine note. It can even be adjusted on the move.

Going Right to Ludicrous Speed

Driving the A6 Avant is even better than listening to it. The all-wheel-drive chassis copes well with the TDI's grunt. The rear differential distributes the power for maximum agility, and it takes a heavy misstep to throw the Avant off course. The car should need just 5.5 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph. Top speed is a governed 155 mph, a speed the Avant reaches with ease. On unlimited stretches of autobahn, the twin-turbo TDI’s sheer grunt at velocities of 130 mph and above is remarkable.

Its torque is so massive that it surpassed the capacity of Audi’s seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and the company had to install an eight-speed torque-converter automatic from ZF. There are three other diesel options in this car—a 177-hp 2.0-liter four and two single-turbo versions of the 3.0-liter V-6 making 204 and 245 hp—but the twin-turbo V-6 is clearly the bad boy of the lineup. Even the most powerful gasoline engine Audi offers, the familiar supercharged 3.0-liter V-6, lacks the brute force of the top TDI. Better yet, the beastly diesel returns 37 mpg on the (hopelessly optimistic) European combined cycle.

Stylistically, the Avant conversion works well on the A6, but it doesn't transform a conservative sedan design into a head-turner. While the previous-generation A6 Avant sported a markedly different rear end, this Avant looks almost identical to the sedan except for the elongated roofline. Even the overbite of the taillights remains. Additionally, the A6 Avant offers virtually all of the sedan's technological features, including a roster of assistance systems that borders on ridiculous, plus WiFi and Google-based telematics, as well as countless options for personalization.

Let Me Get That For You. And That. And That

Of course, the biggest difference between the sedan and the Avant is cargo capacity. There are a lot of practical options, such as a power cargo cover and a power hatch that opens when you wave your foot below the rear bumper—the latter particularly convenient when you have your hands full of groceries and don't want to reach for the trunk latch.

The A6 Avant’s success in Europe is almost assured, but the car is very unlikely to come to the U.S. Audi would like its dealers to instead focus on the A6 sedan and the Q5. Unless station wagons in general experience a sudden and unexpected rebound here, we won't be seeing the Avant on our lots. And while Audi is planning to offer the A6 sedan here with a diesel V-6, it will most likely be a front-wheel-drive single-turbo version with something closer to 250 hp. Pity.

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon

ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: $58,000

ENGINE TYPE: twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve diesel V-6, iron block and aluminum heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 181 cu in, 2967 cc
Power (SAE net): 313 hp @ 4250 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 479 lb-ft @ 1450 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 114.7 in Length: 193.5 in
Width: 73.8 in Height: 57.5 in
Curb weight (C/D est): 4500 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 5.5 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 13.6 sec
Top speed (governed): 155 mph

FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
European combined cycle: 37 mpg

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Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Continental: More Audi E-Tron Details, Hyundai i40, and Stability-Control Doomsday Looms in Europe

The Continental

Each week, our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental.

Audi e-tron Bits

Audi has disclosed a little bit more about the R8 e-tron, although not a whole lot. The final production car, which will be made in small numbers by Audi’s quattro GmbH subsidiary from late 2012 on, will look much closer to the regular R8 than the e-tron concept which I drove in California in December 2009. It keeps the R8's front end and the carbon side blades; the shape of the rear end, however, will differ significantly. The taillights will be positioned at an angle; it will be easy to tell the models apart from behind. Inside, there is a conventional dashboard, but the gear selector will only offer the positions reverse, neutral, and drive. There is a one-speed transmission; top speed will be governed at 125 mph, despite Mercedes-AMG allowing 155 mph in the SLS AMG E-Cell, since going above 125 would take too much of a toll on range. The weight target of just over 3500 pounds remains unchanged, despite a battery pack that weighs a whopping 1213 pounds and takes up the R8's entire engine compartment.

What’s not clear yet is whether the R8 e-tron will have just two electric motors (one for each rear wheel) or if an additional pair will be mounted up front to provide all-wheel drive. And Audi also hasn’t decided on the brakes: Electro-mechanical brakes would be a beautiful solution, but they need to offer enough redundancy to be absolutely fail-proof. The engineers might stick to hydraulic brakes after all. Chassis components are largely carried over from the R8, but the steering will be electro-mechanical. What I wasn’t told is whether you’ll be able to purchase an e-tron outright or whether it will only be possible to lease it. But it’s clear that it will be expensive—far more so than an R8 V-10.

And what about the rotary engine in the A1 e-tron? I hear it’s not a favorite with Volkswagen, but for now Audi engineers keep refining it. The 20-hp unit occupies the spare-tire well in the A1 e-tron, works as a range-extending generator only, and operates at speeds of up to 7500 rpm. If driven on the rotary engine only, the A1 e-tron would get 40 mpg on the Euro cycle. There are of course more efficient range extenders, but the rotary is unmatched in compactness and smoothness of operation. The rotary eliminates range anxiety, and adds a fascinating twist. If the car goes into production with the little engine, Audi will have to figure out how to build the things. The prototype rotary engines are supplied by AVL in Austria, but AVL is an engineering house, not a manufacturer.

Europe Only Stuff

Hyundai has already shown the i40 station wagon, and now we are treated to the first glimpse of the sedan. The sister model to our Sonata is distinguished from that car by a different rear end with an upwards kink in the C-pillar. CO2-obsessed Europe gets naturally aspirated fours and turbo-diesels—no 2.0-liter GDI for us here. It is safe to predict that the gasoline versions will be hopelessly underpowered.

VW is launching the limited-edition GTI Edition 35, celebrating 35 years of this class-defining and benchmark-setting hot hatch. Power rises from 210 hp to 235 in the front-driver, and it’s said to offer performance very close to the all-wheel drive Golf R‘s. More details are to follow in the first week of June.

Want a Town Car? Orders Have Closed

Dealers have placed their last orders for the Lincoln Town Car. You can still get one, but your dealer will have to search for your preferred configuration. The Town Car’s position in the market will be taken by a version of the MKT, to be called “MKT Town Car“. Stretched MKTs will get all-wheel drive. That’s because drivers of livery vehicles have let the company know that front-wheel drive wouldn’t be acceptable . . .

A Looming Disaster for Enthusiasts

Euro-NCAP, the Brussels-based Eurocrat agency awarding stars which more or less correlate with the crashworthiness of cars, is coming up with new ideas. No, I’m not speaking about a possible standardization of international crash-test procedures, which would be useful. There’s not exactly dramatic progress on that front, and we will continue to see vastly different results for identical cars, depending on whether they are tested in Europe, North America, or elsewhere.

No, Euro-NCAP wants to recognize carmakers for the quality of their stability-control systems. Specifically, by awarding those carmakers whose systems kick in early and keep the cars slavishly on the line, allowing no drift angle. Cars whose systems can be switched off could receive zero points. It’s all still under discussion, but the regulation could to take effect as soon as 2012 or 2013. Hard to believe this could happen, but that’s also what many believed regarding pedestrian protection and countless other regulations. The end of the European performance car? Premium carmakers are getting nervous, and enthusiasts should be, too.

View the original article here

Friday, May 20, 2011

Porsche Unveils Diesel-Powered Panamera—for Europe

Until the Cayenne diesel launched a few years back, oil burners were off-limits at Porsche since, well, forever. Former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking—not exactly someone you’d call a car guy—harbored a prejudice against the diesel, calling it a “stinker.” And thus, the diesel engine had no chance of hitting the market. (Though it didn’t stop engineers from developing a prototype diesel Boxster roughly 15 years ago.) Naturally, when Porsche launched its first crossover, the management knew a diesel was a must-have if sales were to be strong in Europe, and so the Cayenne got a powerful dizzler from the Audi stable.

And so it follows that the Panamera will now receive its own diesel as well. The 3.0-liter V-6 is sourced from Audi, and it makes 250hp and 406 lb-ft—the latter arriving at just 1750 rpm. With Porsche estimating 0-to-60 times of 6.8 seconds and a top speed of 150 mph, the diesel Panamera will be the slowest model in the range, but a mountain of torque should help the car from ever feeling slow on the road. Fortunately, Porsche’s projections also put the Panamera diesel at the top of its family in fuel efficiency, bettering even the Panamera S hybrid by roughly 10 percent. The gasoline V-6 Panamera will lag far behind.

The diesel Panamera will be sold only with an eight-speed torque-converter autobox and rear-wheel drive. On the German market, it is priced exactly the same as is the gasoline-drinking Panamera V-6 with the optional 7-speed dual-clutch transmission; the Panamera S hybrid is far more expensive.

As is the case with the diesel-powered Cayenne, Porsche hasn’t positioned the Panamera diesel to dominate the segment—in fact, it’s not even close. There are diesel models with far more power available from Porsche’s siblings, Audi and VW, sporting eight- and 12-cylinder engines. By contrast, Porsche’s offering of the diesel Panamera looks like the company is just going through the motions, boosting its overall fuel economy ratings, and presenting an option for people who want the badge without the higher running costs of a gasoline engine. At least the result here is a fine long-distance cruiser, with the diesel Panamera boasting a fantastic range of up to 750 miles on a single tank.

The car’s prospects for coming to the U.S.? Highly unlikely. For a fuel-efficient Panamera, we’ll have to make do with the hybrid. Or, better still, not get a fuel-efficient Panamera.

View the original article here