Suitability Parameters:
Speed Merchants: No
Fashion Victims: No
Treehuggers: No
Mack Daddies: Yes
Tuner Crowd: No
Hairdressers: No
Penny Pinchers: No
Euro Snobs: Yes
Working Stiffs: No
Technogeeks: Yes
Poseurs: No
Soccer Moms: No
Nascar Dads: Hell no
Golfing Grandparents: No

Also Consider:
• BMW 5 series
• Lexus GS
• Jaguar XF
• Mercedes E class

Specs:
2007 Audi A6 3.2L Quattro AT6 - $45,100

Options:
•Phantom Black Pearl Effect Paint - $750
•Technology Package - $4000
-Voice recognition
-Advance key/advanced parking system
-Audi DVD-based navigation
-Sirius radio
•Convenience Package - $2750
-Bi-xenon adaptive headlights
-Bose premium sound system
-Auto dim int. mirror with compass
-Auto dim and electric folding ext. mirrors
-Memory for drivers side seat, mirror adjustment and steering wheel
-Homelink remote transmitter
-Storage package
-Power tilt and telescoping wheel
•Adaptive Cruise control - $2000
•Sense of disbelief Audi gave me this car for a week - No cost
•Premium Package - $1450
-Glass sunroof w/ power, tilt, slide
-Heated front seats
•Premium leather upholstery - $1000
•18" alloy wheels w/ all season tires - $900
•Cold weather package - $550
-Heated rear seats
-Ski sack and headlight washers
•Power rear and manual side sunshades - $400
•Audi music interface - $290
•Heated steering wheel - $200
•Destination - $775

Total price as tested - $60,165

Vitals:
• Manufacturer: Audi
• Model tested: A6 3.2L Quattro AT6
• Model year: 2007
• Base Price: $45,100
• Price as Tested: $60,165
• Engine type: 3.2 Liter FSI V6
• Horsepower: 255 @ 6,500 RPM
• Torque: 243 @ 3,250 RPM
• Transmission: 6-speed automated manual
• Curb Weight: 4,034 lbs
• LxWxH: 193.5" x 79.2" x 57.4"
• Wheelbase: 111.9"
• Tires: 245/40 R18
• Drive type: AWD
• 0 - 60 mph: 6.9 seconds
• 1/4-mile: N/A
• Top speed: 130 MPH (electronically limited)
• EPA Fuel economy city/highway: 17/25 MPG
• NHTSA crash test rating: N/A

Previously:

• 2007 Audi A6 3.2L, Part One
• 2007 Audi A6 3.2L, Part Two

Acceleration: ***
In Part One, I said the power from the 3.2L V6 felt faster than its 255HP rating. While that still holds true, the motor is not sweet-ba-jesus fast. It's quick enough off the line to make you smile, but once I got up to cruising speeds, there were times I wanted more power. Trying to pass going up a hill really highlighted this issue. I found myself thinking, "This is a pretty quick car, but how much fun must the 4.2L V8 model be?" Ahhh yes, the grass is always greener. Nevermind the S6, which is just incomprehensible.

Braking: ****
Bringing the A6 to a halt is quick and easy. Under hard braking, the car tracked forward, straight and true, with no lurching to the left or right. During extended periods of...oh, let's say "sporting" driving on my behalf, the brakes were consistent through the whole drive, with no signs of fade.

Ride: ****
Ride doesn't get much better than what you experience in the A6. "Smooth" is the only word you need to know. Though to really throw this car into the corners, you'd probably want a stiffer suspension setup or Audi's optional magnetic suspension. Then again, if you're driving the A6 like a track car, you've bought the wrong car altogether.

Handling: ****
I spent all week trying to get this car to misbehave and I failed. To the engineering teams that tuned the chassis, suspension and the Quattro all-wheel-drive system, I say, "Well done." I also ask, "How the hell did you do that?!" If I turned into the corner too hard, it didn't matter. If I accelerated out of the corner too early, it didn't matter. The front end never plowed, the rear end never broke loose, and the body roll was minimal. This chassis was telling me to attack the corners in anyway I saw fit. It would hold the line.

Gearbox: ***
Audi's triptonic transmission shifts effortlessly, quietly and without drama. It's also not much fun. While the mostly-automatic transmission will let you pick your own gear by moving the shifter over to the +/- gate, the A6's electronic nannies still watch over you to make sure you don't over-rev the motor. If you enjoy playing in the red zone of your tachometer, this car may disappoint you.

Audio: ****
As part of the technology and convenience packages, my A6 included a Bose sound system, coupled with Sirius radio. If I were Barry White, I would describe the sound quality as silky smooth (that word again). A Bang and Olufsen system would probably be the only factory stereo that could top the Bose. However, when the motor makes such a wonderful noise, why would you ever want to listen to music?

Toys: ****
The navigation system is about what you'd expect in a $60,000 luxury car. Unfortunately, entering your destination must be done with the Advanced Multi Media Interface control dial. That means you have to enter your location letter by letter. That process can be a bit cumbersome and time consuming. A touch screen that allowed you to punch in the address would have been a better, quicker option. You can try to speak your location to the car using the voice recognition system, but the computer might not hear you right the first time. Or the third time.

Speaking of Audi's Advanced Multi Media Interface, aside from entering nav destinations, it's really not bad. While this kind of system has gotten a bad name courtesy of BMW's iDrive system, Audi's MMI is really fairly logical. By my second hour in the car, I had the system figured out and the user's guide never left the glove box.

The other cool toy in the A6 is the key. As long as the key is in your pocket, the car will lock when you walk away and unlock when reach for the handle. The proximity switch inside the key also allows you start the car without putting the key in the ignition. Just push the "engine start" button on the center console and the motor comes to life. I'm not completely sure why, but, there is something very cool about an engine start button. Maybe it's that, for a moment, that button makes you feel like Dan Wheldon, the Indy car driver, and not Earl, the tax consultant from Racine.

Value: ***
The A6 I drove was fairly loaded, with a window sticker of $60,165. Is it worth that much? My guess would be no. 60 grand buys you an awfully nice BMW 5 series. A 5'er with a 300hp, turbocharged inline six, no less. That's 45 more horsepower than the A6. Don't get me wrong, the Audi is a great drive. But that window sticker ought to be $3000-5000 farther south.

Overall: ***1/2
Before getting behind the wheel of this A6, I wasn't much of an Audi fan. For the past year or two, one of my friends from college has always been telling me how fantastic Audis drive. I usually scoffed at his praise, for no reason in particular. I suppose it was because Audi's older products had fairly humdrum designs. Nevermind that I'd never actually, you know, driven one.

Well when I'm wrong, I'm wrong

The A6 is quite a nice drive for a larger, luxury sedan. I came away hugely impressed with the interior and handling. On the other hand, the six-cylinder model wasn't quite fast enough, and the overall exterior styling is in need of more Botox than has already been pumped into the face of Burt Reynolds.

In short: good, not great.

Also:

• 2007 Audi A6 3.2L, Part One
• 2007 Audi A6 3.2L, Part Three

The A6 I drove had the 255HP, 3.2-liter V6. Sure, it's the low-end engine, but don't be fooled. It certainly feels like more. Hitting red lights became one of my favorite things to do. It meant I got to blow everyone off the line, repeatedly. It also meant I got to hear the sweet reverberations of the engine as slipped through the gearshifts, repeatedly. Mmm-mmm good.

The power generated by this little V6 can be a little deceiving. You'll be cruising along at what must surely be 50 mph only to look down and see you're going 75 mph. Everyone who rode in the car during the week told me it didn't seem like we were going as fast as we actually were. A lot of that can probably be attributed to how smoothly the motor churns out that 255HP. It almost makes you wonder if your Mobile 1 has been secretly replaced with cream cheese. What's more impressive is that it's smooth through the entire range, not just modest cruising speeds. If 75 mph seems like 50 mph, triple digits feel like...uh, nevermind.

One person in particular was awfully impressed with how suave the power train was. I don't want to get anyone in trouble, but let's just say this passenger was a higher-up at a certain local agency whose mission is to protect and serve. I figured I wouldn't push the car very hard. Then this guy turned to me and said something along the lines of "Well come on man, do it." Oh. Allll-righty then. That was all I needed to put the windows up and drop the hammer down. Within a few seconds, the scenery was flashing by at an alarming rate and the car didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat. In the back of my head, I was secretly hoping we'd get pulled over just to see what would happen when my passenger got out. Assuming anyone could've caught up to us.

Of course, power is useless unless you can direct it. And God, can you ever. One night a neighbor of mine asked if he could take a ride in the Wünderkar. We zipped down a few roads that both of us drive on a fairly regular basis. The speed at which I was able to corner caused his voice to go up an octave or three. That is until he realized the car was handling it with great ease. At the end of the night he told me, "Oh man, I'll never forget that. I've never driven that road like that before. That was like riding in a slot car!"