2025 Audi RS 6 Avant Performance is Supercar Speed for the Whole Family

My First Audi

I have to thank the good people of Audi’s PR team for giving me the green light to road test one of their four-wheeled products. Moreover, I express great gratitude that my first Audi road test is not a typical mid-size sedan or crossover SUV but an Ascari Blue 2025 Audi RS 6 Avant Performance. A car known by those of good taste as an all-wheel drive (AWD) wolf in sheep’s clothing.

The RS 6 Avant may be categorized as a luxury wagon, but underneath the family-friendly interior layout and ample rear cargo space is an angry mechanical maniac itching for a fight. 

A Brief History Lesson

The Audi RS Avant has a history of performance dating back to 1994 with the RS2 Avant. Back then, the sports wagon was developed in a joint venture with Porsche, creating a 310 horsepower, AWD, turbocharged five-cylinder Autobahn cruise missile.

Since then, every generation of the Avant has only gotten faster, increasing the number of pistons from five to eight, at one point it had ten, but has returned to eight since 2020. Besides its performance, its premium price tag is the only other quality that has stayed constant over the generations. 

A “Low Riding SUV”

At first glance, the RS 6 Avant comes across as what one neighbor described as a “low riding SUV.” However, take a second glance you’ll notice subtle features not typical on a station wagon. The large pizza size brake rotors peeking behind the 21-inch wheels wrapped in high-performance summer tires and the protruding bodywork with a double barrel exhaust at the rear.

If that doesn’t get your attention, then look for the bright silver and red RS badge on the gloss black front grille. 

Avant Interior

The wagon’s interior is prime Audi luxury with Valcona leather upholstery featuring Mercato blue honeycomb stitching and RS badging.

This vehicle came equipped with the RS Design Plus ($3,500) interior package which adds an Alcantara leather wrapped steering wheel and shifter with blue stitching, RS logo floor mats, blue carbon twill pattern accents on the doors and dashboard, and my favorite interior detail, blue seat belts! 

All vehicles should offer blue seat belts as an option. Moreover, if you spoil yourself with the optional Bang & Olufsen advanced sound system ($4,900) you’ll be able to appreciate every sound note and vocal on your playlist. Because this is still a wagon, you have plenty of space in the back for storage with power operated folding rear seats to load up with whatever catches your fancy at IKEA. 

More V8 Power for 2025

For 2025, Audi gave the RS 6 Avant’s 4.0L twin-turbocharged V8 a power bump, crossing the 600 pony border to an official output of 621 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. This achievement is celebrated by the addition of the word Performance at the end of its nameplate.

An eight-speed automatic transmission distributes the engine’s power to all four wheels as efficiently and effectively as possible. 

Two available options that should be added to the final price if you want the best experience are the RS Sport Exhaust System ($1,000) and RS Sport Suspension Plus with Dynamic Ride Control ($1,250). These will not only help the Quattro AWD system handle the wagon’s weight better, but it’ll sound better when you hit the “RS” button located on the steering wheel and set this land ship to full power. 

Running Into a Porsche Rally in the Hills

Through a series of fortunate events, the morning I tested the RS 6 Avant’s handling and performance on a scenic canyon road was the same day a group of Porsche enthusiasts were having their annual Texas Hill Country Rallye.

This rally consisted of over 300 vintage Porsche 911s exploring the small towns of Texas for three days. These nimble air-cooled collector cars provided the perfect benchmark for the Avant to give chase and keep up in the twists and bends, which it did gracefully with a thunderous V8 roar. 

Quattro Driving Impressions

This is one of the angriest vehicles I’ve ever driven, and it moves like a car one thousand pounds lighter with fewer doors. It tackles the tarmac like it wants to iron out every turn into a straightaway as it propels you and the family forward with Quattro power from zero to 60 in three seconds and 100 mph in under eight seconds.

From 100 to its electronically limited top speed of 155 mph takes less than four seconds. Of course, its actual top speed is 190 mph, but to access that level of speed you’ll need to equip the carbon ceramic brakes. 

As angry as it may be, it keeps a cool head when driving in the city, playing the part of a comfortable luxury vehicle. Plus, knowing that you can overtake anything on the road and put a Corvette to shame is intoxicating. 

Nitpicking

The only negative details with the Avant were found in the interior. The center console cubby has a wireless phone charging pad that nobody will use and storage space for a pack of gum or a toothpick, but not both. 

While offering four-zone climate controls, the air conditioning system may not be strong enough to handle a Texas summer, as I discovered during the first triple-digit temperature day of the year. I started to sweat with the AC set to max, and the cooling, ventilated seats failed to prevent my shirt from sticking to my back while driving. 

A Touchscreen You Have to Click

However, the one feature I disliked the most was the center screen infotainment system, which looks like a government-run website and is annoying to navigate. I also dislike that there’s an app store that you’ll need to connect your personal phone to using the myAudi app to access. If there’s one thing I do not want to do in a car is download an app. 

Moreover, Audi managed to make the touch screen even more annoying because you can’t simply touch an icon on a screen you have to apply pressure and press it to mimic the act of clicking a button. As a result, you’ll get frustrated when you glide your finger across to adjust the temperature or change menu screens and nothing happens because you didn’t press down hard enough to activate it. 

Two Cars in One Wagon

Technical nitpick aside, the Audi RS 6 Avant Performance is a wagon with two personalities. At one end is a mellow Bob Ross, and at the other is a bodybuilder juiced to the max on caffeine and creatine supplements.

The luxury is having total control and switching between the two whenever you want. But with great power comes great fuel consumption, as the big V8 wagon likes to drink top-notch gasoline at an average of 17 mpg during the 600-mile road test. 

It’s also not cheap, with the starting price for the Avant Performance set at over $125,000. The model shown had a grocery list of options, setting its final MSRP at a few dollars short of $148,000. This isn’t even the most expensive variant. The Avant GT, a special edition limited to only 660 units, starts at $200,000 with a carbon fiber wardrobe, 22-inch wheels and a motorsport heritage paint scheme. 

Family Sized Supercar

However, the Avant is special because it’s a supercar for the family—not a high-performance SUV that is so common these days. It commands a premium in performance and exclusivity for those looking for a stealthier approach to speed.

Engine: 4.0L Twin-turbocharged V8

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

0 to 60: 3.3 seconds

Starting Price: $127,895 (Performance)

Price as Shown: $147,990 (Performance)