8th-gen Audi A6 with mild hybrid tech unveiled

Audi has officially unveiled the 2019 A6 sedan. The car is scheduled for a launch in Germany in June 2018. The A6 takes styling cues from its larger siblings - the A7 Sportback and the A8. The front now gets a larger, low-slung and chrome-lined grille with LED headlamps on the side. The restyled front bumper features bigger side air intakes along the edges. At the back, it gets LED tail lamps joined by a chrome strip, faux exhaust vents lined in chrome and a redesigned bumper. The car gets a new design for the 21-inch alloy wheels shod with 255/35 section tyres. The 2019 Audi A6 measures 4,939 mm in length, 1,886 mm in width and 1,457 mm in height. The wheelbase has been increased by 12 mm to 2,924 mm. The boot space has remained unchanged at 530 litres, but it now gets a wider loading lip.

The insides are very similar the A7 Sport back except for the flat bottom steering wheel. The A6 features Audi's 12.3-inch virtual cockpit for the driver and a pair of touchscreens on the centre console. The larger 10.1-inch screen is located at the top while the lower one is an 8.6-inch unit. The larger one is used for navigation and infotainment while the smaller one is for AC control, text input and other functions.

On the technology front, the car is offered with 3 driver-assist packages - Park, City and Tour. The Park-assist package includes parking and garage pilot that will autonomously move the car in and out of parking spots. The City-assist package features the crossing assist which warns the driver at intersections and applies brakes if necessary. The Tour-assist supplements the adaptive cruise control with lane assistance and keeps in check the fuel consumption for economical driving. The driver assist system uses 5 radar sensors, 5 cameras, 12 ultrasonic sensors and a laser scanner for its operation.

The A6 will be offered with a choice of 3.0-litre V6 petrol and diesel engines. The petrol one is good for 335 BHP and 500 Nm while the diesel puts out 282 BHP and 620 Nm of torque. Both engines are paired with a 48V mild hybrid system that consists of a belt alternator starter (BAS) and a lithium-ion battery in the boot. The company claims that the car can coast at speeds between 55 km/h and 160 km/h. The 0-100 km/h time claimed for the petrol and diesel engines is 5.1 seconds while the top speed for both is electronically limited to 250 km/h. Power is sent to all wheels via an 8-speed tiptronic automatic gearbox in the diesel and a 7-speed S tronic automatic transmission in the petrol. The A6 gets all-wheel steering system along with adaptive air suspension.