Contrary to what my colleague Nick Francis said about family cars, the Range Rover Sport SVR is not the best money-no-object staycation car. It is in fact, the Audi RS6. And to prove it, we took it for a proper staycation test; from Surrey to far north west Scotland while it was still allowed under various Covid rules.
And that wasn’t all, we weren’t just taking two adults and two kids, but also two dogs (in the boot) which then necessitated the addition of a roofbox to take the luggage.
First, we need to justify why, on paper, the RS6 is better than the Range Rover Sport SVR for such a journey – despite being a fine automobile in its own right.
The numbers do most of the talking.
Every number that counts is better in the RS6 from power, through acceleration to boot space and fuel economy. The RS6 is even a little less expensive.
Box clever
As any parent knows, packing for a 10 day holiday means no car is ever large enough. However, an RS6 has a massive boot. Big enough for a dog cage capable of carrying two border collies plus enough room down the sides for coats and at the back a couple of pairs of wellies. Well, if you’re going to Scotland in the autumn these are essentials.
With the boot full of dogs and dog-walking paraphernalia, the roofbox is where the actual luggage goes.
Pointing north
Start the twin-turbo V8 is a special occasion despite being somewhat more subdued than rival V8 from either the SVR department of Range Rover or the AMG people at Mercedes. But that says more about the shouty ‘look at me’ nature of the other two performance brands.
On the long run up the M40 and M6 the RS6 is as refined and comfortable a car as you could wish for. Despite having massive 21-inch wheels as standard, the air suspension is seriously impressive when simply left in ‘auto’ mode. There is a ‘comfort’ setting, but it’s not worth choosing because you’ll only have to deactivate it for any other scenario.
Seat comfort is pretty amazing too. Getting out after the eight hours or so it took to get to our first location near Pitlochry, there was no ‘old man, hands rubbing back, lots of groaning, stretch’ needed to recover. Not many cars will deliver that.
Legroom for the kids in the back was good too, so there was minimal grumbling about ‘are we nearly there yet’ or accidental kicking of the seat in front.
The long initial run also showed the RS6 capable of delivering more than 25mpg. In isolation this may not sound great, but against an official figure of 22.6mpg it’s a result.
If you really want to claim eco-credentials the RS6 can claim to be a mild hybrid as it will coast without the engine running in a limited number of scenarios.
On proper roads
Staycationing is not playing second fiddle to a trip abroad when you have an Audi RS6 and the top half of Scotland calling.
The RS6 is not a lightweight car at 2,150kg but even with the extra weight of a holiday’s worth of luggage on board, 600bhp and 590lb ft of torque mean that progress on the right roads – which Scotland has in spades – is swift.
Proper roads also bring the realisation that the default ‘drive’ gearbox mode isn’t good enough and a switch to ‘sport’ is the way forward. Sport holds on to gears longer and doesn’t immediately switch up when lift of the accelerator.
Overtaking is, unsurprisingly, made very easy and safe by the vast amount of power available and the quattro all-wheel drive system which means that at road speeds you’ll have to be seriously careless to lose traction.
Without baggage
There may be nothing cooler looking than a fast car with a roofbox, but leaving the kids, dogs and roofbox behind gives a chance to delve slightly deeper in the RS6’s performance and abilities.
True story; we needed no more excuse than to see the feat of engineering that is the Kylesku bridge on the A894, part of the NC500, to take the RS6 out for a four-hour run.
The long run north from Ullapool, one of the last stops for super unleaded, gives a chance to dip into the RS modes accessed via a button on the steering wheel.
If you’re used to the M-button in a BMW M5, the difference isn’t as marked between the modes, but it’s there all the same. In the RS6 the button cycles between three modes; drive, RS1 and RS2. The latter two are customisable but set as default to maximum attack in RS1 and maximum attack with fewer traction aids in RS2. In other words, stiffer suspension, weightier steering and a more aggressive throttle map.
In RS1 mode, you quickly realise that on the public road you’re never going to fully explore the cornering capabilities of the RS6. But that’s not the point. It’s about the experience, of which the big Audi delivers by the bucketful. And the acceleration the RS6 drops on you when you overtake, never gets boring.
Sure, loads of other cars are fun on these roads (I’d love to bring my own Mazda MX-5 up to these parts one day), but what the RS6 does is deliver that fun along with ticking all the boxes for every other car requirement.
Filling up on the way back through Ullapool shows liberal use of the RS mode button means fuel consumption drops to nearer 17mpg, but again, that’s more than worth it.
Any negatives?
So the Audi RS6 is the perfect money-no-object family car? Nearly. The one area where the Range Rover Sport SVR would have it licked is on unmade roads. The ride-height of the RS6 is worrying low, but thanks the air-suspension (you can option springs) there is a raised ride-height mode to get down gravel tracks. But still you have to tiptoe.
The best all-rounder?
Probably. Rivals such as the Mercedes E63S and the Range Rover Sport SVR do the job, but are a lot more shouty. If a slightly more understated drive is your thing (if 600hp can ever be understated), then the Audi RS6 is the ultimate family car.
Facts at a glance
Model tested: Audi RS6
Price: £100,035
Engine: 4.0-litre 8-cylinder petrol
Power: 600bhp
0-62mph: 3.5 seconds
Max speed: 155mph
MPG: 22.6 (combined)
CO2: 283g/km
Keyword: Audi RS6: the ultimate road-trip car