IN THE HIGH-powered executive world, presentation is key, and Audi's 2.4-litre multitronic A6 scores points with the marque's new, large, chrome-edged grille. The saloon is also a citadel of functionality and serenity inside. Build quality is paramount, with the selection of materials, fit and finish just pipping BMW and Mercedes-Benz to the post.
The A6's cabin will easily accommodate four suits, and keep them safe with 10 airbags. With a 1.77-metre-tall driver comfortably behind the wheel, an equally tall adult in the rear seat would have lots of head and legroom to spare. The A6 is bright and airy, too - the large glasshouse being topped off with a superb moonroof. With electrically adjustable everything and de rigueur memory function, anyone can feel at home in seconds.
The steering wheel is deeply dished, and the chrome-edged grille is carried over to the steering boss, which stares the driver in the face. There are small tumbling cylinders set in the wheel's spokes. For someone born before the digital age, I find it's more natural to twist knobs than to prod '+' and '-' buttons, and it's easier to adjust the stereo's volume with my thumb rolling the tumblers. The four main gauges (speedometer, tachometer, fuel and water temperature) are neatly paired off by aluminium teardrops. And no matter how the driver sits, the steering wheel somehow never obstructs this vital information. A small LCD screen lies between the gauges, displaying an abundance of information that's never overwhelming, including data that's summoned from the trip computer, and gear-selection mode. But this only plays co-star to the multi-media interface (MMI) in-car computer, between the front passengers, behind a conventional gear lever.
It comprises a large rotating knob that resembles the first Atari paddles, flanked by four cursor-direction buttons and surrounded by a further eight function buttons. And, to confuse the driver even more, there's a 'return' button at the bottom, with left and right arrows on either side.
From the large screen in the middle of the dashboard you're supposed to be able to control everything: satellite navigation, audio, video, telephone and more. It's a relief that the climate controls are conventional dials located in front of the gear lever - but I can't help wondering why the air-conditioning wasn't incorporated into the MMI. I'm grateful that there's a separate on-off volume knob for the radio just next to the gear lever.
MMI is quite straightforward. You pick the main group from the eight function buttons, and from the screen you can scroll up and down the main menu with the large knob. Or you pick one of four sub-functions with the directional cursors that correspond to the four corners on the screen. Selection is easy - just push the knob into the console.