2025 Audi RS 6 Avant Performance Review

If by chance the words station wagon conjure up visions of woodgrain running the length of a huge vehicle or sitting in the 3^rd row seat facing backward with no seatbelts on, you should be aware that things have changed.  The woodgrain is gone, and most of the station wagons have morphed into SUVs.  However, there are still a few around, but nothing-and I mean nothing-like the vehicle I have for review this week, and I consider myself to be lucky, especially on Thanksgiving week.  This is the dream of every car reviewer right here:  The 2025 Audi RS 6 Avant Performance.  No surprise, but I can’t find the words station wagon on Audi’s website page for this vehicle anywhere.

So, just who is the buyer for a $148,000 station wagon?  GREAT QUESTION, but I don’t really know the answer.  One would have to think it is someone who needs some space to carry things, doesn’t like SUVs, someone with a love of horsepower and arguably, someone with more money than sense.  It is not a big problem for Audi because the production output on these is incredibly low as you might expect.

When you drive the RS 6 Avant, don’t worry that anybody will make fun of you for driving a station wagon.  Oh, they’ll look, they’ll hard-stare you, and they’ll snap pictures from their cellphone when you drive down the road.  There is just something about this vehicle that invokes ear-to-ear grins on the people inside and outside this speedster.

Exterior 

It has a bit of a menacing front view with LED lights and huge air intakes to feed a couple of turbochargers.  I think for me, it is the side view that I find most attractive. 

The sloping roofline that leads into a spoiler, body crisp lines, low roof rails, and the chrome that surrounds the windows frames.  OH, and those 21” wheels that fill the wheel wells and are wide enough to line up flush with the front and rear fenders.  The Ascari Blue Metallic paint is stunning, too.

Powertrain 

Let’s talk about what sits under that long and low hood.  You’ll find a 4-liter V8 with two turbochargers.  This twin-turbo setup will produce 621-horses, and 627 pound feet of torque.  Let that sink in for a minute.  It is hooked to an 8-speed automatic with shift paddles.  This beast will take you from a dead stop to 60-miles per hour in 3 seconds while you are pinned to your seat.  Make sure anything loose is tucked away or it will go flying to the tailgate.  This performance wagon is all-wheel drive, but rear wheel biased, meaning unless the all-wheel system is needed, it’s a rear wheel vehicle, which I love.  Speaking of things I love, it has 4-wheel steering.  When you turn the steering wheel, the rear wheels turn opposite of the front ones.  It is one of the reasons the RS 6 handles so well.

Another reason that makes it such a great driver is Audi engineers put the entire huge V8 in front of the front axle instead of on top of it. This is why the hood is so long as is the overhang in front of the wheels.  It makes the driving dynamics of this vehicle precise and the steering superb, plus it gives this vehicle so much stability no matter if you are driving it to church, or on your favorite racetrack maxing it out to 155-miles per hour (which is governed to that speed, dammit).

Interior 

For a hundred forty eight grand you certainly expect a wonderful interior, and I am happy to report neither you nor I will be disappointed.  The heated, cooled and bolstered front seats are beautiful in patterned black leather with blue stitching.  They are embroidered with RS on them, and the headrests are built in, but very comfortable.  Both front seats are power, with power lumbar support, memory settings, and a manually operated thigh support slides out if needed. From the door panels to all the way across the dash, you will only find Alcantara, real leather, and carbon fiber.  The attention to detail inside this Audi is incredible.

As you sit, a beautiful Alcantara flat-bottomed steering wheel with controls greets you, as does the bright and colorful Audi Virtual Cockpit digital gauges.  These configure easily and can be changed quickly depending on which view you like most or you can turn the entire area into a 3D navigation map while the pertinent information is minimized.  This truly is the best gauge layout I’ve ever seen.  As you look up, there is also a configurable head-up display that is colorful and large.

Center dash is the Audi MMI, which stands for Multi-Media Interface, and it operates virtually everything, including the 3D nav system, settings, apps, Bluetooth, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, Alexa, and a host of real-time apps like weather, traffic etc.  The screen is smooth and fast and super-easy to navigate through.  It also houses the fantastic 3D backup camera with multiple views including overhead view.

Directly underneath the MMI is another screen to operate the 4-zone climate control system, you can turn off the start/stop system, engage the parking assist that will do all the parking for you, even parallel parking.  There is also the big engine start button that is outlined in red, a manual volume knob for the amazing Bang & Olufsen 3D sound, and this is where you select your drive modes between comfort, auto, and dynamic which is, of course, my favorite!

The center console has a stubby gearshift selector, a couple of cup holders, the electronic emergency brake, and a soft-leather lid that opens up to a shallow area that includes a wireless cell phone charger.  I don’t love that you have to open the console to charge the phone, but if you are hooked up to Bluetooth, there are several ways to answer it on speaker.

I was very surprised by the amount of room in the back seat, it has plenty for tall people, and the headroom is terrific, too, in spite of the sloping roof and the fact that second row occupants have a fixed moon roof above them with an electric sliding cover.  Back seat passengers will enjoy their own dual climate control, air vents, a couple of USB-Cs, a power port, rear side window shades, and a fold down armrest with cup holders.

As you open the power liftgate in rear, you see a cavernous amount of space, and if you need more room, there are releases in the back to drop the second row seats for even more space.  There is ambient lighting in the cargo area, and some room under the load floor cover.  Everything back there is covered by a sliding cargo cover for security.

Standard Features and Options

The 2025 Audi RS 6 Avant has every conceivable thing you can think of on it as standard equipment, but as Audi always does, it also has a lot of optional packages, and I’ll break both down for you.

Notable standard features are: Power liftgate, the B&O sound system, HomeLink, power folding mirrors, panoramic two-piece moon roof, all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering, automatic climate-controlled air conditioning, power tilt wheel, LED front and rear lights, Valcona leather trim, sport ventilated and heated front seats.

Option packages include:

• Bang and Olufsen Advanced Sound with 3D: $4,900
• RS Design package in blue, Alcantara steering wheel, shift lever, and center console, blue contrast stitching, carbon twill inlays, seatbelts in blue, RS logo on floor mats in blue: $3,500
• Executive Package, leather trim on dash, armrests, console, and door sills, head-up display, heated rear seats, power soft-closing doors, remote park assist: $3,050
• Night Vision: $2,500
• Driver assistance package, adaptive cruise control, Audi side assist with pre-sense in rear, intersection assist warning: $2,000
• RS sport suspension and Dynamic Ride Control: $1,250
• RS Sport Exhaust system: $1,000
• Ascari Blue metallic paint: $595
• Federal Gas Guzzler tax: $1,295

Safety

On the safety side, RS 6 comes with an array of advanced safety features.  Standard safety technologies include adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, and rear cross-traffic alert.

Additionally, it features a 360-degree camera system for enhanced visibility and parking assistance, active lane management, traffic sign recognition, and a head-up display with critical driving information.

Ride and Drive

I don’t even know where to begin to describe how well this performance wagon drives, handles, and accelerates.  It is so balanced, so poised, and so freaking fast you’ll get dizzy.  The optional $1,000 exhaust system would be worth twice that just to hear the sound when you step on it.

The magic really happens when you hit the RS button on the steering wheel. You start out in RS1, which unleashes the sport exhaust, quickens powertrain response and transmission shifts, and stiffens the suspension. Hit the button again to switch to RS2, as it loosens the reins just enough on the stability control to allow a bit of slide.

Verdict

There is just so much to love about the Audi RS 6 Avant Performance if you are lucky enough to be able to afford it.  For me, I love super-fast vehicles, I am not personally a big SUV kind of guy, I love vehicles that you don’t see on every corner, I love the unmistakable sounds of a great V8 exhaust, and I love luxury.  This Audi checks ALL the boxes for me.

If fuel economy matters to you, this isn’t the vehicle for you.  It is rated at 14 city and 21 highway, but trust me, I am not getting even remotely close to that.

MSRP, as equipped is: $147,990. The only thing I can see this one is missing is the $7,650 Matte Carbon Package which I probably would not opt for anyway.

This ain’t the station wagon your Grandma drove, that is for sure.  Is this a practical choice?  Oh, hell no.  Does this Audi make you smile every single time you get behind the steering wheel?  Yes, yes it does.