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REVIEW: Wagons ho! Audi brings heat with RS6 Avant

Audi’s never brought its fastest wagons to this part of the world before
Audi RS6 Avant
The 2020 Audi RS6 Avant is a distant cousin to the wood-paneled ocean liners that dads drove in the 1970s – only with a 591 horsepower twin-turbo V8.

Big news this week as Audi has just announced the return of the Audi RS6 Avant, bound for our shores after a lengthy absence. Well, I say absence – in point of fact, Audi’s never brought its fastest wagons to this part of the world before.

Yes, I said wagon. Audi may call the RS6 an Avant, just as BMW calls its wagons “Tourings,” but the fact remains that these are distant cousins to the ol’ wood-panelled ocean liners that plied the highways in the 1970s. Stuff like the Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser.

Now, no Vista Cruiser ever picked up its skirts and hustled like this latest Audi. With a 591hp twin-turbo V8 under the hood, it’ll sprint up to highway speed in about three and a half seconds. If you want to turn your Weimaraner two-dimensional under acceleration, then here you go.

The road to a hot wagon

Audi having a hot wagon isn’t really news. The company may have started its turbocharged, all-wheel-drive performance roots with a coupe (the Ur-Quattro), but it really didn’t make its mark until the RS badging arrived with the RS2 wagon.

Co-developed, and in fact built by Porsche, the RS2 was a wagon infused with the best of Stuttgart’s turbocharged know-how. Why a hatchback? Well, the story goes that Porsche was concerned that a tuned-up Audi coupe might compete with the all-wheel-drive variants of the 911.

Whatever the case, the RS2 was a thoroughly interesting car. You’ve been able to import them for a while, thanks to Canada’s reasonable 15-year grey market, and a few enthusiasts around the North Shore have done so. Your chances of seeing an RS2 zipping around the mountain roads are pretty good.

Your chances of seeing an RS6, on the other hand, are much slimmer. Much more powerful than the RS2, albeit heavier and less nimble, the RS6 was an all-weather autobahn strafer. I know of one that’s just been brought in from Japan. It now resides in Calgary, ready to crush the upcoming winter season.

An RS6 was the uncredited star of the movie Layer Cake, back before Daniel Craig was James Bond. The car was the epitome of the sleeper car: fast as anything for a quick getaway, practical, but flying under the radar.

The closest we got here was the Audi S4 Avant. A very few of these were delivered with a six-speed manual transmission, and they’re highly sought after. The 4.2L V8 is hardly the most efficient powerplant in the world – and, like all Audis, the S4 is costly to maintain – but it makes a wonderful noise, and that V8 torque is addictive.

Further, Audi’s not the only game in town. For a long while, BMW offered a wagon variant of the 3-Series, which you could get in an efficient diesel if you were looking for a long-distance hauler. The other option was a turbocharged four-cylinder, which is nothing particularly special, but works as a good all-rounder.

Then there’s Mercedes, which for a long time was the lone offering for people who wanted a thundering war wagon. The E63 wagon is immensely powerful, yet also swallows a tremendous amount of cargo.

In the Canadian market, Mercedes also has the C43 and C300 wagons. These are equivalent in size to the BMW wagons, and a bit lighter on their feet than the big E. The C43 is also about half the price of the E wagon, and it’s hardly half the car.

A standout wagon

The return of Audi wagons, especially at the top tier, may mark something new for the wagon market. It’s perhaps an admission from manufacturers that all these crossovers are getting a bit stale. Well-heeled buyers want to stand out a little, and there’s something of a European flavour to a nicely appointed wagon.

And actually, never mind the well-heeled, what about those of us who are medium-heeled? Wouldn’t it be great if Mazda decided the gorgeous Mazda6 wagon was a fitting niche product? Or what about the long-lamented absence of a WRX wagon?

There’s no stopping the rise of the crossovers. A combination of higher ride height and ease of entry means that they’re here to stay. (More’s the pity.)

But if the luxury market can support a few sensible-minded wagons as a practical alternative to the obvious choice of a BMW X3 or a Mercedes-Benz GLS, then so much the better.

Thanks, Audi, for bringing us the RS6 at long last. We know you’ll sell only a few of them, but how lucky those few are. The rest of the auto industry, take note. Wagons aren’t mainstream any more, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t wanted.

 

mcaleeronwheels@gmail.com