Audi A6 Avant boot space, practicality and safety

• Generous passenger room front and back
• Boot the same size as before
• Convenient shape and good access 

The A6 Avant has shrunk in length compared with the previous-generation car, but a longer wheelbase means Audi’s managed to eke out some more generous interior dimensions for passengers.

It’s wider and ever so slightly taller than before, and there’s a generous amount of space for those in both the front or rear seats (excluding the middle seat).

The large glass area makes it feel light and airy, which makes a big difference as the window line does feel quite high in the A6.

There’s a good range of adjustment for those sitting in the front seats so you won’t struggle to get comfortable, and even a tall adult will fit behind a tall front-seat occupant without any complaints. 

The A6 – overall – is a tiny bit shorter than the previous Avant, but is wider and taller than before. Standard-fit parking sensors and reversing camera aid manoeuvrability, as does plenty of glass to help see out when parking.

However, it can feel quite wide on tight country roads and in town, but it’s easy to get used to and it doesn’t feel intimidatingly large to pilot.

Go for the Comfort and Sound Pack and 360-degree cameras are available (or as an individual option) which will help squeeze the A6 in to tight spaces. 

At the rear of the car, the A6’s boot remains the same size as the outgoing car. That means a seats-up capacity of 565 litres and a seats-down figure of 1,680 litres. While it’s a usable, square shape with some useful latching points in the rear it trails its rivals.

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate offers a whopping 640 litres of space, while the BMW 5 Series Touring just beats it at 570 litres. The Jaguar XF Sportbrake is on a par with the Audi when the rear seats are in place.

There are some useful touches, though. An electric tailgate comes as standard, while the load cover moves upwards and out of the way automatically, too.

Interior storage is okay, but nothing mind-blowing. The door bins aren’t huge and there’s not a huge amount of extra cubby space in the cabin – it trails the E-Class here, too. 

Safety

• Five-star crash-test score from Euro NCAP
• Huge amount of safety kit available…
• But lots of it is optional

The A6 Avant hasn’t specifically been crash-tested by Euro NCAP, but the closely related A6 Saloon scored a five-star rating when it was scrutinised in autumn 2018.

As standard, the A6 features Pre-Sense front – a traffic monitor that alerts the driver of potential hazards and collisions, with audible warnings followed by braking intervention if the driver doesn’t respond. 

There’s also several airbags, front-and rear parking sensors with camera, LED headlights, autonomous emergency braking, lane-departure warning and cruise control with speed limiter.

From the options list, a vast array of extras can be added, including:

• Matrix or HD Matrix LED lights
• Adaptive Cruise Assist
• Lane-departure warning with emergency assist
• Traffic-sign recognition
• Audi Pre-Sense Basic
• High-beam assist
• Audi Side Assist (blindspot monitoring and lane-keeping)
• Pre-Sense rear
• Front cross-traffic assist
• Head-up display
• Night vision

Many of the options are bundled into packages – namely the Tour Pack and City Assist Pack.