The quiet cabin allows for easy conversation even when driving quickly. The ride feels firm but is nicely damped for sharp bumps. It's among the best in class in comfort and near or at the top of class in handling.

New for 2006 is an adaptive air suspension that optimizes road holding and comfort. It's a marvelous invention that really helps keep the car securely fastened to the ground.

Audi's servotronic steering allows precise control; the driver simply thinks where he or she wants to go and the car goes there. Grip is excellent. Drive the car to its limit, impossible to do on public roads without being socially irresponsible, and you'll eventually encounter a small amount of understeer. The highly rigid chassis gives the car the feeling of being carved from one block of material. This rigidity allowed the Audi engineers to precisely tune the suspension. The A6 uses Audi's proven four-link front suspension and the self-tracking trapezoidal-link rear suspension adapted from the A8.

The flat torque curve of both the V6 and V8 engines gives the A6 a feeling of smooth, sophisticated power and responsiveness at all speeds.

The 3.2 V6 delivers strong response from 2000 to 6000 rpm. It offers lots of torque, giving it quick acceleration off the line and responsive performance at all speeds. Audi says the 255-horsepower V6 is capable of propelling the A6 from 0 to 60 mph in 6.8 seconds, which is reasonably quick. We were able to easily work through traffic between Milan and Lake Como and felt no need for the more powerful V8. This impression was reaffirmed in a subsequent drive of the A6 Avant 3.2 in Italy's Dolomite Mountains. Not only was the V6 in full compliance with our lead-footed driving habits, if we hadn't occasionally looked in the mirror, we couldn't have told whether we were driving the sedan or the wagon as we raced up and down the twisting alpine roads. We also like the V6's better 19 city/26 highway EPA fuel mileage compared to the V8's 17/23.

The V8 produces 335-horsepower, enough to propel the A6 4.2 from 0 to 60 in 5.8 seconds, which is quite quick indeed. Unlike most cars based on front-wheel-drive platforms, the A6 mounts its engines longitudinally, rather than sideways, improving the flow of power between front and rear wheels and improving driving dynamics.

The six-speed automatic transmission that comes on all models is super smooth and adds considerably to the joy of driving the A6 and its responsive performance. If the mood strikes you, shift into the Tiptronic mode and shift manually, but we found it worked exceptionally well in Drive. It always seems to be in the right gear, whether quick acceleration is wanted or smooth, quiet cruising is preferred.