My A6 Review
 

Keep in mind this for my wife's C6 A6 which we have had for a week now. I am a true stick lover (C5 M6). The car is under the 500 mile break in so I have not been able to do much of what I would like. I am by no means a expert driver, but I do like to drive hard.

Shifting speed - When the transmission decides to shift it is very quick, much quicker than I can shift. However, when you hit the paddle it to shift it does take time before it decides to shift. My guess is somewhere between .5 and 2 second before it decides to shift. Once it decides to shift it only take a few hundred milliseconds to go from one geat to the next.

Torque Converter - since there is still a torque converter there is isolation between the engine RPM and the speed of the car. Personal preference I like the feel of control I get when they are locked in step.

Up Shift and Down Shift - Up shifts are great and very smooth. Downshifts can be very jerky if downshifting into a corner at high RPMs. With a stick I can slowly release the cluth to reduce the jerkyness, but with the A6 it can only happen quickly which is not very smooth.

Paddle location - as long as you don't want to shift in the middle of a turn the location is great. The only times I have wanted to shift on a turn has been from a complete stop making a left hand turn from 1st gear. Since it is not broken in yet I don't know if this will impact me on twisty roads. I usually shift before a turn so I don't think it will be a big impact for me.

Stopping - I usually downshift in my M6 when stopping or at least put it in neutral. So normally stopping with an auto tends to use more brakes for me. Since the downshift are not that smooth I tend not to downshift in th A6 for normal stoplight stops.

Sensation of quickness - Manuals always feel quicker to me partly becuase you are in the right gear at the time when you hit the accelerator and because there is not torque converter isolating the engine and drive shaft. So the car does feel a little slower than it actually is at times for those reasons, but not as bad as normal automatics.

Control - I definately feel like you have a lot more control with the paddles than a normal auto, but it is still bit lower than a stick.

Cornering - The ability to easily downshift into corners is great and blows away the control you get from a normal auto. This is probably the best benefit for having paddle shifting in my opinion.

Overall - I am glad we waited for the 06 to get the paddles. If you want control for autocrossing and that is all you do, get a stick. If you use it as a daily driver A6 is a good compromise.

Great review, thanks! :cheers:

Now drop me off the keys so I can compare to my MN6! :D

Great review!

You answered the questions I have about the A6 and if it is better than the MN6. From the way you described it it's a great automatic. But still an automatic and not a replacement for a manual.

:iagree: Great review.

0.5 to 2.0 secs. is one helluva large span of potential shift times.

Thanks for the review....I think I'll stick to the stick...!!

Thanks I'll stick to the stick glad I went that way now

Thanks for the post but do you think you will shift a lot or just leave in drive?

Thanks for taking the time to write about your impressions of the new A6.

I think most people make their transmission choice based on what they like, not on the actual performance numbers. It wouldn't matter to me if the A6 were any quicker than the MN6 or the A4...I still enjoy a manual transmission in a sports car. For those who drive automatics, the new A6 will probably be an attractive additon to the C6...for the rest of us it's not likely to give anyone goose bumps.

Thanks again. :cheers:

[QUOTE=bmanahan]
Shifting speed - When the transmission decides to shift it is very quick, much quicker than I can shift. However, when you hit the paddle it to shift it does take time before it decides to shift. My guess is somewhere between .5 and 2 second before it decides to shift. Once it decides to shift it only take a few hundred milliseconds to go from one geat to the next.


Was the Traction Control "OFF" at the time ???

:rolleyes:

Thank you for the information. :thumbs:

I probably use the paddles about 35% of the time this week. That number will probably go down as the novelty wears off as we mostly do daily driving in the car. When I do curvy roads I will probably have it in paddle shift mode most of the time.

[QUOTE=Greenhorn]I have not turned traction control off on the car yet. I don't see what effect it would have though.

I agree. This time may be shorter for higher RPMs and agressive driving, but since it is not broken it yet I have not experienced those scenarios yet.

It may be that when it detects casual driving it tries to shift more smoothly so it waits a bit to perform a smoother shift - at least I hope so.

I have had mine since Monday and only 200 mi so I have not tried anything at full power. I have played with the paddles but if you arn't on it fully you don't know what the true shift speed is. I did get on it in "S" without paddles activated, at a stop sign I got on it (Not torqueing up) and it was a 6K rpm in a flash in 1st and got meat hitting second, I got off it instantly not wanting to take it over 4K in the first place but this thing is too tempting. Just judging from that I really want to try a 1/4 mi after a good breakin period I think the best times will be had in "S" and not with the paddles. In the "S" mode it feeles like it has a shift kit in it.

Do you pull up on the paddles to shift up?
And push down to downshift?
Do you get confused, or is it natural?
I tried my daughter's Mini Cooper S auto paddle shifter this past weekend and easily forgot/screwed up!

New 6 speed auto
 

Based on what I've heard thus far; it doesn't sound like the SMG (BMW) or the electrohydraulic Ferrari system; which is too bad.

:iagree: Great review, and makes me glad that I didn't waste time waiting for the A6 :thumbs:

We have c6 vs. c5, c6 vs. c5 Z06, c6 a4 vs. c6 mn6, and now a6 vs mn6 and a4's--- :willy: : :willy: :willy: Then of course the purists start the sniping about how any auto is inferior. GM trys to give the people what they want ---i.e. -a Euro type slushbox and the six speeders have to let us know how any auto is chopped liver. WELL knock yourselves out guys---the fact is that most of you can not beat an A4 or an A6. For all those folks who simply want to feel superior because of something as ludicrais as a choice of trannys----PM me and put your money where your mouth is---I'll indeed be your huckleberry.

Very Good Review without bias!! :cheers: