More and more new cars are following the gaping mouth new front end styling, and it appears Audi is not ashamed of it. For 2012, Audi has fitted its new cars with the biggest (and ugliest) grilles in its entire history. Gone are the svelte, Germanic lines of the previous generation. Instead, it appears Audi has followed VW into the world of "Generically German", when it comes to styling. The previous iteration of the A6 was a pretty good looking car, in all trim levels, though the S-Line sedan and Avant were probably my favorite of the bunch, even in 3.6 trim.
The new car looks downright cheap in comparison. If someone didn't know much about cars, they could guess this new car had been built by VW, at least on looks. Sadly enough, the design is about on par with anything that parent company VW churns out. Out back, the car looks quite generic, as I had trouble initially distinguishing this new A6 from a VW Jetta. Not quite the impression a $55,000 car is supposed to convey, no?
For 2012, the 4.2 V8 has been dropped, as has the 3.2 V6. The sole powerplant is a supercharged 3.0V6. Many enthusiasts will cry that V8 is gone, but this supercharged V6 generates the same iffy gas mileage, while increasing the tuning potential. With 310 horses and 325 ft/lb of torque, this new engine is no slouch, per se, but the low rpm growl of the 4.2 will surely be missed. Gas mileage isn't horrible, but don't expect great numbers. Probably 20 MPG mixed driving, which isn't terrible, but I can assure you the much larger A8 gets better gas mileage, despite being more car. To remedy this problem, Audi is said to be working on a hybrid version, which is said to add at least $7,000 to the base price of any A6 trimline. More proof that the word Hybrid is synonymous with yuppies who want to emphasize their "green" credentials.
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