German Car Zone

June 2008
Mileage: 17,361-20,030
Avg Observed Economy: 15.59 mpg

We never thought we’d do it, going to a Leo di Caprio flick for logic, but we just can’t resist when mentioning our now-gone long-term Audi S6. While notes in the drive book were consistently glowing, you’ll get no cheesy, gag-inducing “king of the world,” declaration here. However, there is some baseball logic from the Frank Abagnale bio pic Catch Me if You Can that speaks to our experiences with the S6. It goes a little something like this:

Frank Abagnale Sr: You know why the Yankees always win, Frank?
Frank Abganale Jr: ‘Cause they have Mickey Mantle?
Frank Abagnale Sr: No, it’s ‘cause the other teams can’t stop staring at those damn pinstripes.

Literally it was black as night, but our 2007 Audi S6 has its share of figurative stripes. Six months with the V10-powered uber sedan was neither perfect no or easily financed at the pump, but the foibles weren’t enough to cool us on the car. And, like the navy blue Yankee stripes, this onyx Audi rewarded us with impressive performance and much more attention from others than we expected to receive at the wheel of a dark, business-class 4-door.

From the very beginning, there were some nit-picking details we didn’t like about the car. The ride was harsh for a luxury sedan – a trade-off for making something this heavy so light on its feet. Fun in the corners, its performance over Chicago potholes, Pennyslvania post-winter concrete cracks or Georgetown cobblestones was definitely a nuisance. Throttle too was high-strung – making it hard to pull away from a redlight sans lurch even when you didn’t have the car’s Tiptronic 6-speed transmission in the optional Sport Mode.

Our six months with the car also wasn’t trouble free. While there was nothing serious, we did experience some bugs like a mis-reading fuel gage showing empty, an inoperative window switch and, just as we were about to turn it in, a trunk shock that only held the trunk lid partially open. All of these were but a nuisance as each was fixed under the car’s warranty. Knowing how this sort of thing can add up though, we were glad that our S6 was enrolled in Audi’s Certified Pre-Owned extended warranty coverage.

More:4 Season Test: 2007 Audi S6 Sedan - Report 6