I just got an Audi A6 wagon to replace the late Great White Whale. Overall, it's a pretty nice car and I think it will serve its purpose well, which is to be a winter and bad weather workhorse.

I thought it interesting to compare the different design philosophies since the cars are in the same basis class.

1. The interior of the Audi seems intuitive only to Germans and Klingons (not sure there is a material difference between the two though). I had to read the manual to figure out how the car worked. The Jaguar, in comparison, seemed a lot more intuitive and easier to figure out. Certainly a boon for non-Klingons. It did have some nice features though, like the fold-out compartments in the doors. The Jaguar is a lot more comfortable though. The Jaguar's ambience is a lot more user friendly and seems a lot more elegant.

2. The Jaguar seems to be a lot better handler, although this may be a function of my familarity with it. The Audi seems to take a bit longer to react to steering inputs than the Jaguar.

3. The sound system in the Audi seems to be better than the Jaguar. I have the option of radio, cassette or CDs. It's a bit more complicated though. My wife took one look at the stack and gave up. She likes simplicity.

4. The all-weather capability of the Audi is surely to be a lot better than the Jaguar due to its all-wheel drive. This is the primary reason for me buying it. The Audi seems to have been designed to handle more severe weather while the Jaguar seems to be a more temperate climate car.

5. For my lifestyle, the two cars complement each other quite nicely so for fans of each car there is something to cheer about.

Mike

 

arghhh I thought I was going to read a silly kill story when I clicked this...was imagining an A6 with like 4 dudes in there, racing random cars for no good reason

 

LOLz..

 

Thanks for your views on comparisons Mike. As you're an Audi owner too I might see you kicking round the Audi forums too

All the best

 

Just make sure you keep up on the preventive maintenance dont want to blow a timing belt. I used to have an A8 and had the same problems with learning what the heck the stuff inside meant. I had this weird light come on when I was driving on the highway once. It freaked me out cause it wouldn't go away and I had never seen a light like it ever in any car I ever owned. Pulled over to check the manual and apparently my brake pads were low and there was a warning light for it. Or the time I went to fill up for the first time and I had a button with 3 squares on it above my trunk button so instinct tells me must be the fuel door. I thought great I bought one with a broken latch cause it wasnt opening. Looking all around the trunk for an override wire and nothing. Come to find out I just push the opposite side of the fuel door and it opens up. The button I was pressing was to turn off the motion sensors inside for if you leave a friend or dog inside when you arm the security system so whoever is inside wont set it off. Had a lot of what the heck is that moments. Just make sure you keep that manual with you I feel bad for people that have Audis that dont come with the manual. Watch those control arms also if you are feeling the steering acting funny the control arms go out at about 100000 miles.

 

Nah.... Those are the random dorks that drive around here with a A4 1.8T with S4 badges on it.... Had to be 'cause I beat the snot out of 'em with my V6... No way that would have happened with a real S4.

Cool car Milke... throw up some pictures on the "other rides" thread...
I really like the A6 wagon (Avant). I thought of getting one since Audi actually mounts the engine in the correct direction even though it is a FWD based vehicle. We just don't see very many of the FWD cars here. When I priced a A6 Avant or Sedan they were running 8 to 10 grand more than my S!?!?

 

Hi Jim,

I did my bit to introduce myself on the AudiForums.com site. It is organized very similar to the Jaguarforums.com site. My guess is that the various car or truck forums are managed by a common organization since all the layouts are basically the same with just tailoring to the specific manufacturer. By the way, the color of my Audi is Ming Blue Pearl. The actual order of the words may not be right though. A bit darker than your A6.

Mike

 

Hi Jeff,

I'll try to get one or two pics up today although Sunday is my honey-do day. First I have to wash the Jag. Then I'll buff out both cars for the winter. Luckily for me, the previous owner was pretty meticulous on maintenance. There were complete records indicating regular trips to the dealer. There some indications he/she was disabled (brochures on MD provisions for handicap access) so my guess the car had to be well kept as a personal safety precaution. When I was shopping for my S-Type, I also looked at A6s but the spread was only about 4 grand or so. This may be a function of a different market. I would assume AWD cars would command a premium in a more severe climate area like OH or New England.

Mike

 

While your at it toss in a mug of yourself in the S Type mug shots.

Congrtas on the Audi Mike. You should of held out for a PT Cruiser though!

 

Another good Audi forum is quattroworld.com. I actually found the most help there. The audiworld.com forums I guess had a falling out with the members cause it got sold out to some company that just filled it with ads and was no longer run by enthusiast anymore so alot of people left and went to quattroworld.com. Not sure if the A6 guys did but I know the A8 forums are dead at audiworld.com.