Impressions of the A4 Avant and new A6

[quinn@hns.com]

I was just over in my ol' homeland (England) last week, and I took
the opportunity to pop-in to an Audi dealer and scope out the A4
Avant as well as the new A6.  Firstly, the A6 looks NICE.  Couldn't
drive it (the dealer only had one & it was surrounded by cars in the
middle of the showroom) but it looks good in the flesh, and has some
nifty interior gizmo's - plus plenty of space inside & in the trunk.

Now on to the A4 Avant.  What a disappointment!  I was expecting the
Avant to address some of the space problems I have with my sedan, but
the rear seats are exactly as tight in the wagon as the sedan, and
the trunk area (when the cover-blind is drawn) is actually SMALLER
than the sedan - approx 2 inches shorter (according to Audi's
brochure) and narrower due to the sides being filled-in more than
the sedan trunk.  Of course, you do have more height to play with, but
only if you dont mind folks seeing what you've got back there!

With the slight weight penalty in the Avant, and unless you want to
shift small refridgerators (I have a Minivan to do that) I would
recommend prospective A4 buyers to stick with the sedan.

My next post deals with the price difference in the US compared to
the UK...  stay tuned.

-Mark Quinn