Audi A6 saloon - Reliability & safety
Five-star safety rating for the Audi A6, but owner satisfaction remains to be seen
The latest Audi A6 is very clearly a high-quality machine, inside and out. Bristling with technology and endowed with smart looks, it appears to offer the complete package. However, a verdict on owner satisfaction will have to wait until it's faced the scrutiny of our annual Driver Power survey. Unfortunately, due to the fact it sells in relatively small numbers, we may be waiting some time…
Audi A6 reliability
The latest Audi A6 has been on sale for a few years now, but is yet to appear in our annual Driver Power survey. So while we can’t offer any concrete detail on the A6’s specific reliability, we can look at how other Audis have performed, and indeed at the brand itself.
Speaking of Audi as a company, a 22nd-place finish (out of 29 manufacturers) in our 2022 survey shows there is still plenty of room for improvement. That puts it just one place ahead of arch-rivals Mercedes, but behind BMW (16th), Lexus (12th) and Jaguar (6th). It seems owners expect more when they’re paying a premium for the product.
Just over 19% of owners reported at least one fault in the first year of ownership, rating build quality and reliability poorly.
Safety
As we've seen, the Audi A6 is awash with sensors and computers designed to make driving easier and safer, particularly the Tour package which incorporates active lane-keeping assistance and active cruise control. There's also a City Assist package, which adds the ability to detect traffic crossing your path ahead. The word 'package', though, gives the game away that much of this is optional equipment.
Despite some of the safety tech being optional rather than standard, the Audi A6 scored the full five stars when it was crash-tested by Euro NCAP. It received 93% and 85% in the adult and child impact protection categories respectively, as well as a 76% score in the safety assist category.
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