Hello once again, fellow Audiziners!
This is a thread I've wanted to create for quite some time. I'm sure this isn't the first time this question has been raised, but now owning and living with both, I hope to give my honest thoughts/experiences and see how they might stack up to what you all have experienced. So, let's dive right in!
The Test Subjects
First up, we have my 2002 Audi A6 4.2. It's a 4-door sedan/saloon (depending upon where you live). It is equipped with the following- 300HP 4.2L V8, 5-speed Tiptronic 5HP24A, comfort heated seats, heated steering wheel, non-sport suspension.
Next up, we have my 2002 Audi S6 4.2. It's a 4-door Avant/estate (once again, depending on where you live). It is equipped with the following- 340HP 4.2L V8, 5-speed Tiptronic 5HP24A, sport heated seats, sport suspension.
I will be comparing both by these categories: Engine/Drivetrain, Suspension, Exterior, Interior, and finally Overall Experience. I will try to present this in the most unbiased way possible, but forgive any missteps in relation to that statement. With that said, here we go!
Engine/Drivetrain
As I mentioned earlier, both of these cars are equipped with a 4.2L 5V all-aluminum V8 which puts out 300HP in regular trim, and 340HP in S6 trim. Either engine is among the most reliable Audi has ever put out, and I find it the easiest to service- especially when compared to it's turbocharged brethren. This said, the 2 engines behave quite differently- the 'standard' 4.2 version is like a reliable old friend: very predictable, revs quite nicely, and puts out enough power when you want it to. The power delivery can be best described in the same manner as Rolls Royce has always stated of it's engines: adequate. This is not a knock against it in the least- it builds great power but delivers it in such a stately, omniscient manner you feel as though you own the road. The 340HP S6 version is quite different from this- it's very alive, vibrant, and rev-happy. It's all too eager to climb straight up to the 7,000 RPM redline and come back for more. It gives the air of being light on it's feet, which isn't necessarily easy for a 2-ton wagon to do! There's only a 40HP difference here, but you can feel every bit of it.
The transmission/drivetrain is where it gets interesting. Both the 4.2 and the S6 are equipped with the 5HP24A, and both share the same internal gear ratios. Where they differ is what makes it interesting: the final drive ratio. If I read the charts in the factory service manual correctly, the 4.2 has a final drive of 2.72, whereas the S6 has a final drive of 3.50. This seemingly small difference is what makes the 2 vehicles act completely different! In this instance, it makes the 4.2 the better match for the 5HP24A- the taller final drive ratio works well with the internal gear ratios, giving a solid-and-stout feel to the entire driving experience... once again it feels like a comfortable old friend, with the shift points being very predictable and more pronounced. The shorter final drive in the S6 seems to make the transmission scramble to get into 5th gear as soon as humanly possible, with 1st and even 2nd gear almost being useless- this especially contributes to the well-known torque converter flutter under very low throttle the S6 is known for, which could possibly be remedied by some TCU tuning to hold onto the gears a bit longer. For this reason alone, I now understand why so many swap in a manual transmission to the S6- it's a better match to the rev-happy BBD engine than the Tiptronic, but perhaps with a proper TCU tune the difference could be lessened enough to improve the overall experience. (On a side note, the final drive difference is exactly why the S6 has a 7K redline vs. the 6,500 redline of the 4.2 despite having no mechanical differences in the longblock: the gear ratio keeps the BBD at a slightly higher RPM, so Audi's solution was just to raise the rev limiter... kinda low-brow and simple for German engineers to do, but it worked!)
Suspension
Moving on, this is one of the major differences between the 2 cars. The 4.2 utilizes the 'standard' suspension, as well as steel subframes. The S6 has factory 'sport' suspension, and has aluminum subframes. The one caveat has to do with my personal vehicles- neither have the factory struts, having both been replaced with Bilsteins: B4's on the 4.2, and B8's on the S6... so keep this in mind as I compare the 2!
The 4.2 is predictably the more comfortable of the two to drive, with the suspension doing a wonderful job of absorbing all of the harshness of the road. The effect is that you feel a state of almost total isolation- comfy, quiet, and almost total serenity. When going through the corners there is of course a bit of body roll, but not so much as to make you really think twice. You can also feel the added weight of the steel subframes as well- once again this is not a bad thing, as it lends itself quite well to the solid-and-stout feeling the 4.2 is well-known for. All-in-all, it's a solid package that is second to none when comfort and ride quality is the main concern.
By contrast, the S6 has all of the benefits you'd expect from a sport-oriented suspension. It feels light, agile, and flickable- with almost no body roll when taking the corners. You can truly take corners at speed with total confidence that you're not bumping up on the limits of the suspension. The trade-off here is that the ride quality suffers a bit- not so much as to be called 'harsh' by any stretch, but nowhere near the comfort of the 4.2. The aluminum subframes also help contribute to the agility and chassis stiffness of the S6, as well as shave off quite a bit of weight overall. It's everything one could possibly want when it comes to a sport suspension- excellent handling, good ride quality, and supreme agility.
Exterior
This, in truth, will be the shortest section of this writeup. Aside from the obvious differences between a sedan and an Avant, the rest is quite minimal. The only real differences are that the S6 has a different grille and aluminium mirrors, as well as 'S6' badging. Personally, I like the S6 grille better, which is why I fitted one to my 4.2!
Interior
Here, there are a few key differences among the cars:
The 4.2 has heated comfort seats, a 4-spoke heated multifunction steering wheel, and the standard cloth headliner. The comfort seats are exactly that- wonderfully comfortable. They feel like your favorite broken-in chair: soft and supple, with good support for those long road trips. The steering wheel has all the convenience of being able to control all aspects the radio, and the heated function is a real treat in winter! If you possibly can, I highly recommend fitting a heated wheel into your C5 for those cold winter months- you will thank me later! Overall the interior gives a feeling of total comfort, quietness, and luxury- which is what the 4.2 is all about!
The S6 has heated sport seating, a 3-spoke steering wheel, and and alcantara headliner. The sport seats have excellent bolstering to hold you through the corners, but once again the tradeoff is comfort. That is not to say the sport seats are uncomfortable, however they wouldn't be my choice for multi-state extended driving. The 3-spoke steering wheel feels great in the hands, but lacks the functionality and heating of the 4-spoke steering wheel- it's not a deal-breaker, though! The best part of the S6 interior has to be the alcantara headliner: it's miles far-and-above the standard cloth headliner, and puts the interior overall at a much more premium level than the 4.2 could hope to be.
Another worthy annotation is that of the gauge clusters- the 4.2 has the standard black-faced 180MPH gauges, with a white backlighting and red needles. The S6 has grey-faced 190MPH gauges, with red backlighting and white needles. I personally like the S6 cluster better, which is why an S6 cluster also found it's way into my 4.2.
These differences make the two vehicles feel totally different: the 4.2 interior feels more open, airy, and comfortable... while the S6 interior feels more compact, engaging, and driver-oriented. It's almost odd, but the S6 interior feels slightly smaller even though it's an Avant!
Overall Experience
So, with all of the above stated, the question still remains: which one of these is right for me? Well, the Cliff-notes summary of both is as follows:
C5 A6 4.2: This vehicle is about 2 things: supreme luxury and comfort, as well as V8 power!
C6 S6: Take the 4.2, crank everything up to 11, and make it an Avant!
The long version is that it's not so simple as that. Both of these vehicles excel at different aspects: the 4.2 is the perfect daily driver after a long day at work, or on a road trip- you just want to relax and feel that next-level comfort, but with more than enough power to watch the Accord or Camaro next to you disappear in your rearview if you so choose! The S6 is the perfect vehicle if you want to blow off some steam on the way home from work, or if you want to take a day-trip on a twisty road with some friends, or just like the inherent wrongness of having a fast station wagon! The only real way to choose is to drive both, then pick the one that best suits you. Or rather take the path that I did: drive both, and buy both!
I hope this was enlightening even a little bit, and thanks for reading this far! I will most likely edit this multiple times in the future as I re-read it, but I'm more curious to hear your personal experiences/comments on this topic! Please let me know what your thoughts are, and I look forward to hearing from you all!
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Originally Posted by Caddylack
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