The brakes – those 390-mm wave steel discs – shed speed without face-ripping drama but the G-force is enough to move your torso forward with enough force for you to realise how hard they’re really working. A quick flick and a half of the steering wheel and jab of the accelerator and the RS 6 bids goodbye to the annoying lorry in the wrong lane, reducing it to a speck in the mirrors in the next couple of seconds. Don’t consider the bar gauge on your far right, and the RS 6 Avant can do no wrong. Alas, this is the real world entwined with a probable reality, and I must disclose that the V8 gulps a litre of petrol per five kilometres. Well, 4.75 actually. On the highway, though, stick to the speed limit — not the autobahn, mind you — and the figure rises to seven km/l. Not bad, considering 560 horses, four litres, seven kilometres per litre; the maths justify it, I dare say.
Of course, no college-goer that I know of will be a patron to the four rings for this particular model. However, for the boy in the man with his family – that’s a completely different case. In fact, the RS 6 can make you a better dad too. How? Here’s how. When you buy an RS 6 Avant, you’re the cool dad who likes power and sports cars in general, and yet, as a family man, you realise that practicality, safety and comfort are very important. The missus is happy because the car looks cool and can handle a year’s worth of shopping, bags and furniture alike, in one go. Your daughter will be safer, because none of her boyfriends will ever hurt her: they know that with 560 PS, you will hunt them down unless their father has an Aventador or a Veyron that can actually outrun you. And, finally, your son will have someone to look up to, someone he can love more for letting him grow up with 560 horses for company, and a dog which can travel with the family and run around when needed. It’s a life lesson packed into five metres by two metres.
The RS 6, figuratively speaking, is akin to the German Shepherd. It’s fun to be around. It takes good care of you and your loved ones. It’s child-friendly, so you can leave the kids alone with it, and they’ll still be there in the same number of pieces when you get back. Of course, it can be a handful if you push it too hard, but, even so, it behaves as best as it can nonetheless. And, finally, it’s reliable and will never let you down if you’ve been good to it. The RS 6 can be just as much a member of your family as the German Shepherd or the kids. Yes, seriously. They have a lot in common. The RS 6 is a result of all the hard work from the guys with glasses and lab-coats at Audi, quattro, and their high-performance RS division. It’s a car that has been raised to be that good. It’s their baby. Kids. It all depends on how they’re brought up. They aren’t dangerous if they’re brought up right, and neither are dogs.
For the detailed road test results, please refer to the August 2015 issue of Car India.
Catch the video review here:
Competition Check:
India:
None
Global:
Mercedes-AMG E 63 4MATIC T-Modell
5.5-litre, twin-turbo V8, petrol
557 PS, 720 Nm
Seven-speed, automatic, AWD
$105,000 (Rs 67.2 lakh, before duties and taxes)
