Audi A6 TFSI e 2021 | NOT ENOUGH TO BEAT BMW??

Audi enters the plug-in part of the full executive saloon and estate segment with this frugal A650 TFSIe model. The figures here make compulsive reading, a 35 gpm CO2 return, which means a first year BIK tax payment rated at just 10%. That could save you thousands, and if you can afford the significant PHEV price premium, there aren't too many downsides. I'm a very cool, classy Audi. If you're thinking of a full-sized executive segment saloon, then you have to consider the option of plug-in hybrid technology these days. The potential benefit-in-kind taxation savings are just too good to ignore, and that makes Audi's A650 TFSIe model significant. Unlike other larger Audi plug-ins, it uses four-cylinder rather than six-cylinder power, but for the right kind of business customer, its figures might represent a compelling argument against the diesel alternative. But this model's two key competitors, the BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes E-Class, both claim to offer much the same thing. So what can this Audi offer to set itself apart? Audi's latest TFSIe plug-in technology comes in a variety of forms. In this A6, it's based around the brand's usual four-cylinder 2.0-litre TFSI petrol engine, to which has been added an electric motor integrated into the auto gearbox. That motor is powered by a 14.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, which, when it's fully charged, will allow the car to run in all-electric motion for up to 34 miles. That's WLTP rated. There's a total system output of 299 PS, and 62 from rest takes just 5.5 seconds. In all-electric mode, the car can cruise at up to 84 miles an hour, or up to 152 miles an hour with the engine in use. Pleasingly, in usual motoring, Audi has engineered the combustion power plant only to fire up when you really flex your right foot, or obviously when the battery is low on charge. Now, that is particularly the case if you run the car and it's provided EV mode, which keeps you in electrified motion for as long as possible. More usually, though, you'll be driving in the auto setting, and that mixes use of petrol and electric power, and it can be set in a hold form where the battery saves its charge for urban driving that you might want to do at the end of a journey. Not particularly good is the response of the dual-clutch, seven-speed S-Tronic auto gearbox, which could switch between its ratios a little more smoothly. You might also notice a slightly firmer ride than would be the case in a conventional A6. You can blame the extra weight of the hybrid system. That's necessitated firmer springs. Despite that stiffer damping, this front-driven Audi can't match a rear-driven plug-in BMW 5 series or Mercedes E-Class for driver involvement, but points are regained for something a typical executive will value more, low noise levels. There's a barely noticeable shiver when the petrol engine fires up to replace battery power on the move, and refinement is excellent, even when you're using fossil fuel. There are a few visual giveaways as to this TFSI E-Model's plug-in status, unless you're eagle-eyed enough to spot the altered badgework and the extra charging flap. So, as usual with a fifth-generation A6, there are taut surfaces, sharp edges and striking lines, plus a long bonnet, a long wheelbase and short overhangs. At the time of this test in early 2021, this PHE V A6 model was only offered in this saloon form. The wide, low-slung single-frame grille, the flat headlights and the powerfully contoured air inlets lend a suitably purposeful air. In profile, three striking lines reduce the car's visual height. The powerfully taut contours, which are drawn over the wheels, are testimony to Audi's quattro genes. This shape is certainly very sleek, thanks to advanced aerodynamics. A class-leading slippery drag coefficient of as little as 0.24 cd has been achieved. The interior is of course virtually identical to a conventional model. Here up front, the dash features the black panel design we first saw on the current A8. You're going to need to like screens because this car's classy interior can incorporate no fewer than three of them. The two that you'll notice first power up as soon as the doors open, and they dominate the upper and lower parts of the piano black-trimmed centre stack. Legroom in the rear exceeds the space you'll get in core competitors, while headroom and shoulder room measurements in both front and rear are also generous. Not so good is the way that the PHEV tech has reduced boot space from 530 litres to just 360 litres, and that's thanks to the battery pack that has to sit under the cargo area floor. So you're going to need the split-folding rear bench. You can't have this model in the Avant body style either. The A650 TFSIe only comes as a saloon, and pricing starts at around £52,000, which gets you the base sport-spec variant. Beyond that, there are further S-line, Black Edition and Vosprung trim options. The latter takes you up to a £77,000 price point. To give you an idea of price premium here, Black Edition trim, the only spec level shared between conventional and plug-in A6 models, sees this TFSIe variant costing around £13,000 more than the equivalent 40 TDI diesel, and around £10,000 more than the equivalent 45 TFSI petrol model. At least equipment levels are generous. Even sport variants get 18-inch wheels, full LED headlights, the Audi Parking System Plus setup with a rear-view camera, and the Audi phone box wireless charging mat. Plus, in terms of infotainment, there's the brand's MMI Navigation Plus with MMI Touch system, and there's also the fully digital Audi Virtual Cockpit instrument binnacle screen, and the usual elements of camera safety tech. S-line trim adds a mild body kit, 19-inch wheels, intelligent matrix LED headlights with dynamic rear indicators, privacy glass, sport suspension and leather Alcantara upholstery. The Black Edition version has a meaner black-finished exterior look with 20-inch wheels and a flat-bottomed sports steering wheel inside, and full Vorsprung spec gets virtually the whole of the options list emptied into it, with a panoramic glass sunroof, front super sport seats in Balcona leather, HD matrix headlights, and a Bang & Olufsen premium sound system. Plus, the choicest parts of Audi's camera safety and autonomous driving technology. As with any PHEV, to get the most out of this A6, you'll need to keep the car charged up, and that should take around two and a half hours for a 7.2 kilowatt garage wall box, and make the absolute most of the potential all-electric driving range. That's rated at about 34 miles. If you don't do that, then you'll essentially end up with a heavier version of the conventional 45 TFSI petrol variant, and take it from us, one of those is not going to be cheap to run. This 50 TFSI E derivative, in contrast, very much is. Let's get to the WLTP rated figures. The combined cycle fuel economy is rated at between 166.2 and 188.3 mpg, and the CO2 emissions reading is 35 to 39 grams per kilometre. Now that latter figure means a 10% benefit-in-kind taxation rating for year one of ownership, and 11% for year two, and that saves a 40% taxpayer over £4,000 in tax compared to a conventionally petrol-engined A6. This Executive Saloon's lithium-ion battery is made up of 104 prismatic cells, and stores 14.1 kilowatt hours of energy with a voltage of 381 volts, and the car is supplied as standard with a compact charging system, plus a mode 3 cable with a type 2 plug for use at public charging stations. The charging system features an LED status display and safety functions such as temperature and residual current monitoring. Audi does also offer an optional charging clip, plus a lockable wall-mounted holder for the charging system. The integrated charger replenishes the lithium-ion battery with a maximum power of 7.4 kilowatts. Even from a 220 volt household three-pin plug, an empty battery can be fully and conveniently recharged overnight in roughly six hours. The My Audi app can also help here by locating charging points across the country, and also by giving remote access to a sophisticated route planner. Now this can factor in criteria such as the battery's specific state of charge, and the density of traffic in real time into its route guidance, and use this to pinpoint exactly when and where charging should ideally take place on any given journey. The My Audi app can also facilitate usage of charging points as part of the e-tron charging service, which is also available to owners of TFSI e-models. In many cases it can be used to activate charging as an alternative to the payment card held by subscribers to the service, and it grants access to numerous charging points operated by a total of 18 suppliers across the UK, and it amalgamates all costs incurred into one simple monthly invoice to eliminate complexity. Insurance is group 27E. Yes, we've seen plenty of Audi PHEV hybrid models in the past, but you might think that this is one of the more credible ones. To be frank, it doesn't really offer much that you can't also get from rivals sold by BMW and Mercedes, but it doesn't lack much that those competitors offer either, and that means that if you are attracted by this A6's effortlessly cool vibe, its classy cabin, and its uber smooth refinement, as plenty are in this segment, then there are few reasons not to sign your cheque Ingolstadt's way. We can't help thinking though that the industry should be further along by now in offering PHEVs like this at more affordable prices, with greater driving range, and with less compromised luggage compartments. In a few years it probably will be. For the time being though, cars like the A650 TFSIe are what we have. Life is what you make it.