2018 Audi S6 Review

The 2018 Audi S6 is a car that pampers as well as it performs. On the inside, this midsize luxury sport sedan boasts a richly trimmed cabin fitted with front seats that can keep you perfectly comfortable for hours at a time. Or hit the gas and the S6's 450-horsepower turbocharged V8 will rocket this Audi to 60 mph in just 4 seconds flat.

If it's sophisticated entertainment and technology you're after, the S6's got you covered, too. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration lets you make the most of the S6's large and clear multimedia interface, and a bevy of optional features are available to crank up the luxury quotient ever further. Although the S6's handling abilities are a little underwhelming, the overall luxury sport sedan package is pretty compelling.

The 2018 Audi S6 is offered in two trims: Premium Plus and Prestige. Both share the same powertrain, body and interior, and differ mainly in the details.

Standard exterior features for the Premium Plus trim include 20-inch wheels with summer tires, S-specific styling elements, xenon headlights, LED running lights and taillights, a sport-tuned adaptive air suspension, a sunroof, auto-dimming and power-folding side mirrors, front and rear parking sensors, a blind-spot warning system, and keyless ignition and entry.

Inside, you'll find diamond-stitched leather upholstery, selectable drive modes, eight-way power-adjustable front sport seats (with four-way driver power lumbar and heating), a power-adjustable steering wheel, driver-seat memory settings, four-zone automatic climate control, an auto-dimming rearview mirror and 60/40-split folding rear seatbacks.

Electronics highlights start with the MMI infotainment system, which includes a console-mounted control knob with a touchpad that can read your fingertip scribbles, a central 8-inch display, a navigation system with Google Earth maps, voice controls and Audi Connect (including enhanced web-based information services, 4G LTE data connectivity and mobile Wi-Fi capability). Also standard are a rearview camera, Bluetooth and a 14-speaker Bose surround-sound audio system.

The Prestige trim adds LED headlights, a power trunklid, a head-up display, LED interior lighting and rear sunshades (manual for the side windows; power for the rear window).

From this point, most S6 additional features are organized into optional packages. The Driver Assistance package adds adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and intervention, a top-down parking camera system, a forward collision mitigation system with automatic braking, and automatic high beams.

The Comfort Seating package features upgraded front seats with ventilation and massage functions, front passenger memory settings, and upgraded leather upholstery (sans diamond stitching).

The S6 Sport package provides dynamic steering, a torque-vectoring rear differential and a sport exhaust. The Cold Weather package adds heated rear seats and a heated steering wheel. The Black Optic package tacks on exclusive 20-inch wheels, body-color exterior mirrors (instead of the standard silver ones) and gloss-black exterior trim.

Notable stand-alone options include different 20-inch wheels, rear side airbags and, for the Prestige only, a night-vision system and a 15-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system.

Each vehicle typically comes in multiple versions that are fundamentally similar. The ratings in this review are based on our full test of the 2016 Audi S6 Premium Plus Quattro (turbo 4.0L V8 | 7-speed dual-clutch automatic | AWD).

NOTE: Since this test was conducted, the current S6 has received only minor revisions. Our findings remain broadly applicable to this year's model.