Honest John Long-term tests

Audi A6 Avant 2.0 TDI

Audi A6 Avant meets the family

It's the company car driver's weapon of choice - but just how capable is an Audi A6 Avant as a family car? Keith's going to find out.

Date: 17 September 2015 | Current mileage: 35 | Claimed economy: 61.4mpg | Actual economy: 39mpg

‘Does the Audi park itself?’ asks my eldest daughter. ‘No,’ I reply. When you’re six years old, the measure of a car’s ability is the number of gadgets it has, plus an ability to self-park. After saying goodbye to our much loved (and self-parking) Citroen C4 Grand Picasso, it was a bit of a culture shock to get the keys to the Audi A6 Avant.

Where the Citroen’s cabin was light and airy, the Audi’s is dark and cramped. And while the Citroen had the fun factor with its panoramic sunroof and picnic tables, the Audi eschews frivolity for a more business-like approach. Here’s one car that the kids won’t be giving a name to, that’s for sure.

Not only do they miss the space, they miss the Citroen’s personality and the fact it could seat three across the back. But as summer turned to autumn, they’ve grown more accepting of the Audi. Mainly due to the infotainment screen in the centre of the dash – this is hidden and pops up when you start the engine. That said, none of us can spot the Audi in a car park. Maybe it’s the dark colour, or maybe it’s just the fact that every other car these days is an Audi.

The wife loves the A6, though. And you know what they say – happy wife, happy life. There is a lot to like about our top-of-the-range A6 Avant Ultra Black edition, although the £39,045 price tag isn’t one of them. We’ve gone for this particular trim to test Audi’s new ultra-efficient engine. How economical? Well, it’s a diesel and should be capable of returning 61.4mpg, according to the official figures. According to our Real MPG data, drivers of this model currently see 49.3mpg.

3 Audi A6 Interior Is Very Dark

Black leather, black plastics, it's all very dark inside the Audi A6 Avant

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Audi is just how quiet and refined it is at speed. Although that brings about its own problems as it is far too easy to go too fast. And suddenly the national speed limit (and most of the other traffic on the road) feels painfully slow. The A6 is incredibly comfortable, and incredibly capable. This should make long journeys a breeze.

All models are well equipped too. Standard SE trim level comes with stop-start, xenon headlights, a 6.5in screen and infotainment system (sat-nav, Bluetooth phone integration, iPod compatibility), plus a decent sound system. There’s also four-zone air-conditioning, cruise control, light and rain sensors, and parking sensors (although no reversing camera). Our Avant also gets rails in the boot that you can tie your luggage to, as well as lashing points, side restraining straps and hooks for your shopping bags. S line adds a 20mm lower sports suspension, all LED headlamps, and sports seats. And our Darth Vader-inspired ‘Black Edition’ gets a Bose surround sound, privacy glass and 20-inch wheels to the list (although our car has optional smaller 19-inch wheels). It’s like a Deathstar on wheels.

What you don’t get is electric seats. Or anywhere near enough storage space. While starting the car is done on a button, you still need to press the key fob to unlock and lock the doors. More annoyingly, there’s no dedicated place to put the keys. Sounds daft I know, but if you’re using both cup holders then you’ll just end up dumping them on the passenger seat or on the floor (they fall out of the shallow door storage bin as I found out the hard way).

There is a stowage spot under the radio, but I’m using that to house my power pack. If you’ve not seen them, they’re incredibly handy and give you two 12v sockets, USB port and mobile phone charger. They’re also a handy extension lead when the 12v power point is tucked away in the centre arm rest and you need to power a dash cam. Pleasant surprises? The ‘phone box’. Simply put your mobile here and you’ll boost your mobile phone signal (and extra bar!). I’m not sure this is enough to win over two kids who essentially want a car that parks (and probably drives) itself. They’ve got a point, though – Tomorrow’s World said there would be robots, jet packs and driverless cars by now...

Audi A6's economy drive

What does it take to get the official fuel consumption figure out of a car? We find out with our A6 Avant 2.0 TDI.

Date: 1 October 2015 | Current mileage: 514 | Claimed economy: 61.4mpg | Actual economy: 38.9mpg

I’m on a mission. A mission to get the manufacturer’s official fuel consumption figure out of our Audi A6 Avant. Why? Because it bothers me that since we’ve had the car, we can’t get anywhere near it. The figure in question? A heady 61.4mpg – that’s a long way from the 39mpg that my driving normally brings up on the trip computer.

Over the next month, we’ll be taking a variety of steps to boost economy – and reduce wallet pain. Thankfully, our A6 is designed for just such a task. It’s the latest ultra spec, super-efficient, super-clean diesel engine, complete with a new lightweight, low-friction six-speed manual gearbox that improves efficiency.

We’re not the first to try this epic economy endeavour. In June 2015, a two-man team set off from Maastricht in the Netherlands and drove for 28 hours straight. They passed through 14 countries and clocked up 1158.9 miles on a single tank of diesel in a showroom spec car. Sticking at 56mph, they squeezed 75.9mpg out of an Audi A6 saloon. I’d be happy with 60mpg. Heck, even 55mpg would do.

Why bother? Well, look at it like this. If I can hit our new A6's official fuel consumption figure, then that’s an improvement over our current economy figure. And that improvement will translate to fewer fill ups and less money spent. If I'd paid more attention in mathematics, I could probably come up with figure in pounds and a percentage. But I didn't, so I can't.

Audi Economy Drive

A two-person team squeezed 1000 miles out of this Audi's tank. Why can't we get that from ours?

Straight out of the box, Audi has given the A6 ultra a platform for economy. The new stop-start system activates as soon as the car comes to a halt. Lightweight springs offer a 40 per cent weight saving over standard steel ones – and less weight means less fuel used to move the car.

There’s also something called an efficiency mode. This alters the level of assistance on the power steering, automatically turns off the air-con (after it’s done its job), adjusts the responsiveness of the throttle plus a few other bits and pieces to make every drop of fuel last longer.

As the car only has delivery mileage on the clock, there’s no need to get it serviced – and the tyre pressures are spot on. So it looks like the biggest obstacle to achieving 1000 miles on a tank is going to be my right foot. Lucky for you, I’ve been reading up on how to get the most miles from the tank. Minimising weight is a key part of this, but as I do the school run all three (heavy) child seats need to stay in the car so I'll have to lose belly fat and drive in as few clothes as possible. Or something like that.

This is a ‘real world’ attempt to get mega miles from the Audi’s 75-litre tank. There’ll be a short, stop-start journey as I drop the kids off, then 20-odd miles of (boring) motorway driving on the way to work, plus all those trips that normal people do – like being forced to go to the shops to buy crisps by a rampaging toddler, or picking up a screaming child from swimming lessons. There will also be long journeys to see friends and family, and Bank Holidays spent stationary on the M25. Given that the most I’ve had out of the Audi so far is 39mpg, getting half that again feels like there's a huge mountain to climb.

When newer doesn't always mean better

Is the electronic parking brake the answer to a question nobody asked? Keith certainly thinks so. As his A6 Avant proves...

Date: 15 October 2015 | Current mileage: 1444 | Claimed economy: 61.4mpg | Actual economy: 46.9mpg

I can't say for sure, but I don't ever remember complaining to anyone about what a rubbish design the handbrake is. Certainly not in the past thirty years, anyway. Don't get me wrong, the Austin Metro that I learnt to drive in had many, many faults - but even the lowly handbrake wasn't one of them.

So why, then, have car manufacturers insisted on a shift towards electronic parking brakes over the past ten years or so? It's like they're trying to answer a question that nobody asked. Not even my mum - she might have backed our Ford Cortina estate into a gatepost that hadn't moved in the 15-odd years that we'd lived there, but the car never once rolled off our drive. Which is more than can be said for our Audi A6 Avant...

The truth is, that the men in white coats (I believe they call themselves engineers) can't resist tinkering. Joking aside, I have a lot of respect for engineers - I would've liked to have been one. If I was smarter, paid more attention at school and was better at fixing things (breaking things is much more me).

These fine upstanding citizens have given us a host of useful stuff. Anti-lock brakes that help us stop a car while still being able to steer around the dog with a deathwish that ran out in front of us. Traction control and electronic stailibity for when our ambition rapidly exceeds our talent (I'm a fan). Seatbelts, air-con, power-steering, the list goes on. Cars have a come a long way since the first horseless carriages. Even my mum likes the parking sensors on her Ford Focus.

Audi A6 Parking Brake

Bottom right buttons control the electronic parking brake. Touching them leads to no good.

But one thing that doesn't make driving cars better is the removal of the handbrake. This particular driver aid first appeared on the 2001 BMW 7 Series. Along with iDrive. I remember at the time feeling a pang of disappointment. There I was in a long wheelbase, rear-wheel drive car, with a stack of power under the bonnet and a deserted icy car park to play with. And no handbrake. It was like someone had stolen Christmas.

That was then, now I'm just more annoyed that electronic parking brakes are yet another reason you have to go do the dealer to replace the brake pads - a job that should be set in stone as something you can do on your driveway. Along with changing your headlight bulb.

Thankfully, the system on our Audi is one of the better ones. The 2009-plate Volkswagen Passat I owned refused to let go of its parking brake at a car park barrier one day after I'd had to take my seatbelt off to reach the ticket machine. The Audi still has buttons in place to manually apply the parking brake, but taking it off automatic seems to disengage the anti-roll back feature as well.

But even in fully automatic mode, it's not idiot proof as I found out recently. I'd stopped the car and turned the engine off, but unusually the parking brake hadn't engaged. And off it went. So far, this has been a one-off, so we'll put it down to a misunderstanding. I still don't think the EPB is something that most drivers want. But at least we now have a system that functions reasonably well. Although a manually applied parking break would do the job much better. Now there's a good idea.

Our Audi A6 Avant proves a useful load lugger

A family holiday sees the big Audi Avant finally get to prove its worth as a practical family estate.

Date: 2 November 2015 | Current mileage: 1724 | Claimed economy: 61.4mpg | Actual economy: 46.3mpg

Space. If you’re buying an estate car, then you can bet that load space is going to be pretty high on your list of 'must haves'. After all, if you didn’t have all kinds of junk to cart about (dismantled wardrobes, rubbish, bikes, children), then you’d just buy a normal car.

Our Audi A6 Avant boasts 595 litres of boot space with the seats up which, when you compare it to its rivals, is pretty darn good. Top of the class is the Mercedes E-Class Estate, which has 695 litres, but the Audi is ahead of its other main rival, the BMW 5 Series Touring (520 litres).

Such, er, 'on paper' comparisons are handy, but in the real world the Audi's boot space isn’t quite as useful as it sounds. True, the load space is flat and easily accessible thanks to the electronically opening (and closing) tailgate. There are even plenty of hooks and lashing points to stop your Waitrose Essential profiteroles spilling out all over the boot, or your tins of Farrow & Ball Elephant's Breath paint rolling about.

But a trip away with the family for a half-term holiday can prove challenging. The boot is deep and wide enough to accommodate two large suitcases, plus two children’s suitcases full of toys (Peppa Pig, naturally). Coats and bits and bobs can be stuffed around them or laid on top of the load cover and held in the back thanks to the vertical cargo net. This is handy if you don't want to get hit in the back of the head by a Tiny Tears doll.

Audi A6 Avant Boot

                      Audi's boot is spacious, but the sharp styling reduces overall practicality

Shoving all our paraphanalia into an estate is a big ask of any car. Many of our family holidays are UK-based self-catering affairs and the Audi coped with 80 per cent of our stuff. It did however struggle to get the extra food shop aboard. Annoyingly, packing the bags for life in the back with the kids was made harder thanks to the transmission tunnel which runs along the length of the car.

Luckily, the kids tore through a Monster Munch multipack and some Blue Ribbands, which freed up a bit of space. But, personally, I think we struggled because of the Avant’s styling. Audi has moved away from the boxy (and more useful) looks of cars like the Volvo 700-series and opted for giving the car a more shapely rear. But it does look much more attractive this way. Some sacrifices are worth making, I guess.

One thing that you can’t grumble about is the Audi’s performance when it’s fully-loaded. Our A6 has the 2.0-litre TDI under its bonnet, which offers plenty of torque – 400Nm to be precise. With all that grunt on tap, you'd barely noticed that you were four-up with luggage, food, a toy robot and half the local library books. It didn’t even seem to damage the (already poor) fuel economy, either.

The best news, though, is that after a long trip in the Audi, the family are (finally) warming to it. It is spacious, has an excellent standard of fit and finish in the interior, plus is quiet and refined. Well, it would be if the kids would stop singing that song from Frozen for a minute or two. I know, I know, I should really Let It Go...

Audi A6 Avant is full of smart thinking

Three months in and we're appreciating the finer points of our Audi A6 Avant. Most notably the MMI infotainment system.

Date: 16 November 2015 | Current mileage: 2820 | Claimed economy: 61.4mpg | Actual economy: 43.8mpg

A car used to be considered a good buy if you got a heater, a tape player and you didn’t need a new engine in the first year. But these days you can have it all. A new car that won’t break down, plus a radio, digital music player, satellite-navigation and even a hands-free telephone thingy.

Despite the technological progress, we’re still no closer to The Homer. This was a car designed by Homer Simpson in the episode Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? where Homer is given a job working for a multinational car company run by his half-brother. The Homer had three horns and a dual bubble set up – one in the front for parents, the other in the back for arguing children. Bliss.

As you might expect, the design for The Homer had its roots in a real car – the short-lived American Ford Edsel. There were many reasons for the Edsel’s spectacular failure, but one of the crucial ones was that drivers found it confusing. For example, the transmission selector switch was in the centre of the steering wheel where you’d normally find the horn. Ford broke the golden rule: you can make something better, but don’t make it worse.

Some car makers are struggling to get to grips with the avalanche of technology available and struggling to integrate it into their existing models in a way that works well. Which is a huge oversight because – as most cars will get the whole driving thing done – the quality and user friendliness of these systems is how many buyers decide if they like a car or not.

Audi A6 Infotainment

Central screen makes it easy to navigate the car's infotainment system

That may sound absurd, but think about it. The reality of modern driving is stop-start traffic as you crawl from A to B. There’s no glorious sweeping bends, no empty road to find out how fast you can go, no endless mountain hairpin route to appreciate the 50:50 weight distribution. There’s just you and that annoying bloke on the radio.

Our Audi A6 Avant is one of the few cars I’ve driven where I think the same level of care and attention has been given to the infotainment system as, say, aerodynamics or engine development. All the menus are well thought out, there’s a good range of features and – aside from the placement of buttons around the gearstick – you don’t have to take your eyes off the road. Regularly used features are easy to find and you don’t get lost in sub-menu after sub-menu.

There’s even a touchpad that allows you to draw the letters of the postcode for your destination - rather than spinning a wheel around the letters of the alphabet. Now that’s a clever idea. As such, you have more time to shout at the radio because you don’t spend so much of it getting angry or frustrated with the A6.

Which is more than can be said for some cars which provide what the marketeers and brand gurus would no doubt call an 'unsatisfactory user experience'. A bit like buying a new, rear-engined Hillman Imp in 1963 only to discover that it overheats and needs a new engine because no-one ever thought to see what it was like around town and were too busy racing it around deserted roads, sweeping bends and tricky switchbacks.

How I learned to love the Audi A6's stop-start system

Has our long-term Audi A6 finally changed Keith's mind on stop-start systems? Maybe he's finally warming to them.

Date: 7 December 2015 | Current mileage: 3114 | Claimed economy: 61.4mpg | Actual economy: 43.8mpg

Stop-start systems are available on almost every car these days. From the humble small hatchback to the luxury stretched executive, they all have their own version of the emission-reducing electronics. But while some systems are better than others, most of them are awful.

Our Honda Civic Tourer waited until your speed was almost down to zero before killing the engine. And if, like me, you were taught to always keep a car moving ('a moving target is harder to hit'), that meant the engine would often stop just as you were about to begin gathering momentum again.

This was made worse by the fact that it was sluggish to get going again and you were left stationary in front of a green light with the car behind you accelerating towards your rear bumper. Needless to say, turning off the Civic’s stop-start was the first thing I did when I got in the car (sadly there’s no way to turn it off and make it stay off).

Thankfully, the system in our Audi A6 Avant is much more user friendly. The computer keeps an eye on you as you begin to decelerate and then, as your speed dips below 5mph, it kills the engine. A quick dip of the clutch and the powerplant sparks into life, allowing you max out your coasting time. Perfect.

Audi A6 Interior

Somewhere in the cabin is the button to turn off the stop-start system...

Unless you’ve selected the Audi’s ‘economy mode.’ In which case, the stop-start system rarely engages at all. Presumably this is because more fuel is required to restart the engine than to keep it idling for short periods? Answers on a postcard.

You can, of course, manually turn off the stop-start systems by using one of the many buttons in the cabin. It's not the sort of thing you'll find if you're in a hurry. Actually, that's a typical Audi niggle - all the buttons are there, but too many are either hidden behind the steering wheel or around the gearstick.

Thankfully, any restart is done with minimal fuss. Some cars make an awful big deal about getting going again – the lights dim, the radio seems to dip in volume, there’s a pause and a splutter – but not here. In fact, living with the Audi is proving something to be very hassle free. Maybe I'm finally warming to it.

Those of you who read my first updates will know that my daughters didn’t appreciate swapping a light and airy playpen on wheels (also known as a Citroen Grand C4 Picasso) for something more like an imperial battle cruiser from the Star Wars films. It’s black inside and out is quite an imposing thing on the road. Now, thankfully, they’re a bit happier with it and my three-year-old even recognises other cars sporting the four rings as Audis (or 'Oww-dees).

Racking up the miles (and mince pies) in our A6

Keith decides both he and the Audi need to lose a bit of weight if the economy is to improve.

Date: 7 January 2016 | Current mileage: 4060 | Claimed economy: 61.4mpg | Actual economy: 44.0mpg

If you feel like you drank a bit too much over the festive season, you’re not alone – our Audi developed a fair old thirst of its own. Despite it being the economical one that’s capable of 62mpg, we struggle to get 45mpg under normal conditions.

I had hoped that racking up the miles by doing long distance journeys traipsing around to see friends and families over Christmas would bump up the economy. It didn’t. Frozen pyjamas, Ferrero Roche… I guess we always came home with more than we left. And maybe all that extra weight we gained in December had more of an impact than I realised.

So I’ll be off to Slimming World in the New Year, but what about the Audi? Well, thanks to its ‘eco’ spec, it’s already saving itself a few pounds. As well as fancy pants stuff like carbon fibre this and reduced weight that, it’s even got manually adjustable seats to keep the weight down. It all helps keep the CO2 emissions figure down, I guess.

On the road, it leaves the Audi feeling a bit stuck in the middle. It’s by no means as slow as most eco models where you have to disengage the green button just to overtake a lorry on a motorway, but it’s not that quick. There’s plenty of grunt where you need it, but you’ll be met with the occasional situation where you’ll get out-dragged by less environmentally-friendly BMW 5 Series. Or a Y-reg Volvo S40 turbodiesel.

Audi A6 Avant (16)

Low emissions and 60mpg. Well, that's the idea anyway...

I shouldn’t complain. After two weeks and hundreds of miles stuck with the family in the A6, these were the only things I could fault (and I swear that Volvo had been chipped). If I had to drive all those miles again, listening to 'Let It Go' for the hundredth time, I’d still opt for the Audi.

It’s really quiet, very comfortable, and easy to drive. Plus it has a cracking sound system, even if all you’re listening to is Now That’s What I Call Disney. And although the load area doesn’t fold completely flat, we managed to get a rocking horse and a child’s bed in it. No mother-in-law, though – with two child seats in the back, there’s no room for a third passenger.

As the winter finally arrives, we’ll be keeping an eye on how it handles when the temperature drops. One odd feature that we’ve noticed is that you don’t get any kind of warning on the dashboard when the foglights are on. Sure there’s a light next to the button to activate them, but this is mainly obscured by the knee you hit it with when you got in.

I’m still determined to improve the Audi’s fuel consumption, though. So join us next time when I’ll be helping our estate shed a few pounds and improving its diet with a premium fuel. That’s the closest I’ll ever get to a New Year’s Resolution.

Which is your favourite, left or right?

Fancy a quick game? Which car would you most like to take home... the one on the left or the right?

Date: 20 January 2016 | Current mileage: 4697 | Claimed economy: 61.4mpg | Actual economy: 43.2mpg

We often play a little game in the office, it’s called left or right. The idea is simple – you look at a picture of two things and you choose which one you prefer. Invariably it involves cars with us, but it also works with biscuits. This week, HJ’s new car editor David Ross parked his Skoda next to my Audi, prompting me to try and answer this ongoing conundrum.

Both are diesels, both are estates and both are pretty much the same car underneath – except the A6 Avant Ultra Black costs just over £40k, while the Skoda Superb estate 2.0-litre TDI 190 DSG SE L Executive costs a little over £30k. So which one would you have if it were your money? Would you opt for luxury and badge prestige or prefer a car that offers a more functional approach?

For what it’s worth, I’d expected Skoda to come out with a bigger, squarer estate version of the Superb when the covers came off the model last year – they could have created a proper load-lugger but it still gives its main rivals like the Ford Mondeo and Mazda 6 a fright. The accountants obviously decided that both Audi and Skoda had to opt for the same rear-end styling. And while that sharp raked line certainly looks the part, it does limit how much you can get in the boot.

Inside, the Superb is perfectly well appointed and laid out. It’s only when you compare it to the more premium fixtures and fittings of the A6 that the Skoda comes off looking, well, a little bit downmarket, which it isn’t at all.

VAG Diesel

Left or right? Audi A6 Avant or Skoda Superb estate.

Out on the road, the Skoda perhaps doesn’t feel as tight as the Audi, or have its sportiness. The steering is direct, but lacks the sharpness and the feedback of the Audi. And the suspension set-up on the A6 means that it is less prone to understeer and wallowing, and that it handles significantly better than you’d expect for a car of this size.

Both are powered by the Volkswagen Group’s 2.0-litre diesel engine. The Superb we had on test has the same 190PS version as our A6 but there is also a 150PS version which we think is more than adequate. As you’d expect it’s a shade down on power and promises slightly more miles per gallon, but we reckon in real-world driving you’ll hardly notice the difference.

When it comes to options, the Skoda might actually have the edge over our A6. The Superb boasts several options that are missing from our long-termer, including an electrically adjustable driver's seat with memory and adaptive cruise control.

So, if money is no object that just leaves it down to personal choice. But, of course, that’s not how it all works is it? People who can afford an Audi will always buy one (or a similarly premium-badged car) simply because they can. But if you can’t, you definitely shouldn’t feel hard done by if you end up with the Skoda – it’s a cracking car that offers excellent value for money. In fact, we reckon it’s the smart choice for the smart buyer.

(Ad)Blue Monday

After 5000 miles our Audi A6 Avant takes a trip to the local dealer for a fresh fill-up of AdBlue.

Date: 4 February 2016 | Current mileage: 5231 | Claimed economy: 61.4mpg | Actual economy: 41.2mpg

We’re all familiar with the Daily Mail championed ‘blue Monday’ – you know, the most depressing newspaper championing the most depressing day of the year in January when you get landed with bills detailing your credit card excess over Christmas. Blah, blah, blah. Well here’s another for you – AdBlue Monday.

Ad what, you say? AdBlue. Bless you. Chances are if you own a Volkswagen Group diesel-engined car, you’ll have seen an extra filler next to the diesel cap. This clever little additive works as part of the emissions reduction system and is injected into the exhaust gases, turning harmful nasties into water.

It’s way more complicated than that, but honestly, life’s too short. Of course, I had no idea about this and after 5500 miles of happy motoring was met with a warning that the AdBlue needed topping up. Audi reckons AdBlue consumption is about 0.5%-2.5% of diesel consumption. But in real-world terms, we used 15 litres over 550 litres of fuel. That's about two litres of AdBlue for every tank of diesel.

So how do you go about refilling the Adblue? Well, helpfully Volkswagen have made sure that their products can’t be filled using the pumps you sometimes find at petrol stations. So you’re left with a dilemma. Option one is to spend £9.99 on one litre of AdBlue at the Shell garage every other fill. Or, like me, you can wait for the tank to drain dry before taking action.

Audi Boot

                            Top tip: the manual release for the filler cap is hidden in the boot

Doing nothing is not an option. Once the additive is gone, the car won’t start. Don’t worry, you’ll get home, but when that ignition’s off, it’s game over (it’s a legal thing, apparently). The one-litre top ups come with a nozzle that fits the hole, but you’ll be paying through the nose. For example, 20 litres on eBay is about £20, but you may also need to purchase a filling nozzle (another tenner).

Neither option seemed particularly appealing, so I phoned our local Audi dealer to see what they could offer. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting much – so I was surprised when they said they only charged £1.50 per litre and didn't charge labour.

Apparently you’ll need to administer 15 litres before the warning light disappears, and the total tank capacity is 17 litres. If you’re keeping the car for a few years, then buying a filler nozzle and 20 litres is the way to go. But if you’re only keeping the car for a short period of time, then the dealer fill seems like a good compromise and our 15 litres cost £22.50.

It’s a fairly simple procedure. The filler flap on our car is undone by using the wheel brace from the boot, but it does take about 20 minutes to fill the tank. Some owners have also reported that it’s a troublesome procedure and that it’s taken them 20 minutes just to get five litres in their tank. Another reason, then, that going to the dealer in this case isn’t so bad. Plus, they had free wifi, coffee and it was warm. Although I was the only bloke in there wearing jeans and felt out of my depth when they started discussing the après-ski at Chamonix.

Our Audi gets ready for winter

Keith gets our long-term Audi A6 Avant ready to take on Jack Frost and see how it copes with the first snow of the year.

Date: 18 February 2016 | Current mileage: 5691 | Claimed economy: 61.4mpg | Actual economy: 39mpg

With the first snowfall of the year, we finally got a chance to see how our long term Audi A6 Avant copes in these conditions. The answer? Pretty well…

But I’ll admit, I missed some of the gadgets offered by rivals. Having spent a few days with Jaguar’s new 2.0-diesel XF, I was pretty impressed by the spec. The car can be warmed up remotely before you are ready to leave, which means it is ready to go when you are.

The rear-wheel drive Jaguar boasted heated front and rear windscreens, which quickly cleared the snow and frost obscuring your view. There was also a dedicated winter driving mode, which meant that throttle and steering sensitively were reduced and the gearbox would hold on to the cogs a bit longer, making the rear end less slidey and sideways.

Our A6 Avant has heated leather seats, rear windows and electric door mirrors, but that’s about as much kit as it’s got when it comes to giving Jack Frost a run for his money. Unlike the Jag, the Audi is front wheel drive and getting the power down isn’t actually that much of a hassle in icy conditions.

Audi Driver Choice

No winter driving mode, but you can adjust the Audi's behaviour to suit

If you’re really serious about winter motoring, then no doubt you’ve got a set of snow shoes in your boot, along with a snow shovel, a torch, emergency foil blanket and jump cables (next to the Thermos and blankets). I’ve kept it minimal this year with a can of de-icer, ice scraper and a ‘break in case of emergency’ Toblerone in the glovebox.

It’s not all jokes, folks. I did get the screen wash topped up when I was at the Audi dealer the other week, and I made sure that all the other fluids (oil, anti-freeze) were at the correct level. I even checked that I didn’t have any lights out.

As for the rubber, well there’s at least 6mm on every corner and that’ll do me. If I lived in Germany, then I would’ve have had to swap to winter tyres by now. While there’s no official date, our friends in Europe generally make the switch in November and leave them on until Easter.

Our winters do tend to be milder here in the UK, so I’ll be leaving my standard tyres on the car. On the days when it snows really heavily, I’m sure I’ll be regretting my decision – but I’ve managed without specialist rubber for the past 20 years, so I’m sure I’ll be just fine. Probably.

Breaking the magic 50mpg barrier in our Audi A6

What does it take to make the most of the fuel in our Audi? Keith Moody finds out...

Date: 25 February 2016 | Current mileage: 5691 | Claimed economy: 61.4mpg | Actual economy: 39.4mpg

What exactly do you have to do get to the official mpg from a car? That’s a question I’ve been asking myself a lot since we got the keys to our long-term Audi A6 Avant. According to Audi, it’s meant to be able to do 61.4mpg, but we’ve always struggled to get near that.

Ten years ago, it was a bit easier to hit those official figures. Heck, even in my 2009 Volkswagen Passat I was able to get the official figure. Sure, I had to sit at 60mph on the motorway – but it was do-able. Not these days - just look at our Real MPG figures for any car and you'll see it's rare that any car gets close to the offical fuel consumption figures.

Once diesel figures broke the 50mpg barrier and cars got cleaner, those figures just got further and further away. After 6000 miles, in our Audi we were determined to get closer. Especially after regular driving put us in the low 40s (about average according to Real MPG). And by regular, we mean dropping off a couple of kids and then clocking up 30 miles at motorway speeds on the way to work.

So with premium fuel in the tank, AdBlue stocks replensished, tyre pressures checked and any excess weight removed, we set off to the London Classic Car Show at Docklands ExCeL, determined to do our best.

Audi Personal Best

56.3mpg - it was the best we could do...

One thing we’ve noticed about our Audi is that the economy figure improves significantly after 40-50 minutes of driving. But even then, it wasn’t enough to get over 50. Breaking that barrier required some serious determination.

Finally, after tucking in behind the trucks for the last 45 minutes of the trip, we started to see the figure creep upwards until we reached our personal best – 56 mpg.

So it seems that 56mph is the answer to our question. But we all know that’s not realistic. On modern motorways, no driver expects to see another car doing any less than the national speed limit when conditions are good. Let alone an Audi being over taken by a truck.

To say I felt unsafe might be something of an overstatement. But I definitely felt like I was getting in the way, an object that was causing problems and frustrations on the road. And you definitely should not have to be in that position to get the official mpg figure.

Goodbye our Audi

It's time to say goodbye to our Audi A6 Avant. Perhaps forever. After all, breaking up is hard to do...

Date: 10 March 2016 | Current mileage: 6104 | Claimed economy: 61.4mpg | Actual economy: 43.3mpg

After six months with you, it’s time to say goodbye. I know, I know – you’re an Audi and you’re not used to being dumped. You’re designed for perfection and to bring satisfaction and gratification to people’s lives – but not mine. Not this time, sadly.

And anyway, it’s not you – it’s me. You’re just not right for me at this point in my life. I’ve got a wife. I’ve got two young kids. It’s true that we need something practical and that your boot is more than capable, I’ve never questioned that. But we just need something a bit more… you know – fun.

We’ve had fun times? I guess. Although sticking at 55mph for two hours on the way down to London just so you could show me your official fuel economy figure isn’t really my idea of fun. And besides, we only got 55mpg, not the 62mpg you promised. What really held us back is that the kids never really took to you. I guess they still miss our Citroen C4 Grand Picasso.

What you need is someone a bit older. A bit more settled. A bit more… grown up. Someone who wants to spend all day behind your wheel avoiding spending time with their family (rather than racing home to see them). Someone who’ll clock up 20,000 miles a year with you. Probably while wearing a suit. I’m afraid I’m not that person. Maybe you’re right – maybe I am immature.

Audi A6 Avant High

                                 Keith might be having a breakdown. We're not sure...

But listen, I don’t want you to feel disheartened. While the last six months haven’t exactly been a riot, I’ve appreciated having you there for me. You’ve never once let me down and even when you nearly ran out of AdBlue and threatened not to restart again if I turned the engine off, we always got to where we were going.

And in some style, too. Your four-cylinder diesel is quiet and powerful, your interior is a fine place to spend a few hours, your instruments are well thought out and your information is always on hand and easy to read. With a car that’s as expensive as you, it’s the little things that you notice and appreciate. I will miss that premium feel. And I will definitely miss your stereo.

You and I might not be meant for each other, but there are plenty of people out there who'd love to spend time with you. No matter where we went, people always said how nice you were – and how lucky I was to have you.

So I’ve taken everything that was mine and left the manuals in the glovebox. I’ve cleaned up, too… I know you hated the mess (the Ribena, the raisins, the chocolate buttons). I’ll hand the key back, in a minute – then your fantastic handling will be for someone else to enjoy now. It’s time to move on.