Audi A6 Hybrid available to order

A hybrid version of the Audi A6 is now available to order, offering user choosers a lower tax alternative to V6 diesel variants.

With prices from £43,480 the A6 hybrid is keenly priced against rivals such as the Infiniti M35h (£42,020), Lexus GS450h (£44,995) and the BMW ActiveHybrid5 (£46,865).

CO2 emissions also stack up well for the A6 emitting 145g/km CO2 – lower than the 159g/km from the M35H, 141g/km from the GS450h and 149g/km from the ActiveHybrid5. And with a combined fuel economy of 44.1mpg it matches its most fuel efficient rival, the BMW.

But unlike its rivals which use powerful six-cylinder petrol engines combined with an electric motor, the A6 uses a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the 211bhp 2.0 TFSI, partnered with an electric motor offering a total of 245bhp.

This means that it lacks the power of its rivals but at 1,770kg it weighs less resulting in a 0-62 time of 7.3 seconds, and although this is slower than its more powerful rivals, when Fleet News drove it last year it didn’t feel lacking in performance.

The A6 hybrid can run on its electric motor alone for nearly two miles at a constant speed of 37mph before the petrol engine kicks in.

The P11D price and competitive CO2 emissions mean that a company car driver in the Audi A6 Hybrid will face substantially lower tax liability than a driver in the equivalent 245bhp A6 3.0 TDI Quattro.

Author: Andrew Brady