the Bucket: Twin-Turbo

In March this year I was invited by Audi South Africa to sample an array of their performance models in Johannesburg, but due to other commitments I was unable to attend. This was a sore one for me as I knew I would miss out on seeing the entire Audi Performance arsenal and the chances of me experiencing them in Durban would be slim to none, which is why I set out to go sample at least one of their high-end performance models in either Johannesburg or Cape Town when the chance came available. About a month ago I arranged a visit to the fairest Cape, as luck would turn out, it was a long weekend and what awaited for me at the airport can be best described as the baddest wagon in the world, the Audi RS6 Avant. While wagon's aren't the most popular in South Africa, this one is special and it garnered interest wherever I went, with those young and old fixated on it as I drove past them. Just looking at it, let alone the violent burbles of the exhaust, you know this isn't you average family station wagon and this is what the RS6 Avant has become synonymous for world over, it has a cult like status where it is admired and in some cases worshipped. While the likes of the M5 and E63 AMG still predominantly focus on the sedan, Audi have taken a different approach with their fighter and my God have they delivered.

DESIGN

The RS6 Avant's design can be described as menacing, while stealth in appearance, its anything but, the wide body, bold lines and striking silhouette will have you engulfed as it seems like time stands still when looking at it. To say it has presence is an understatement, it commands your attention even when standing still. While there are many aftermarket body kits that are available for the RS6 Avant, in my personal opinion they aren't needed since Audi have done such a fantastic job already. It's taken the normal RS6 body work and enhanced it to suit, with wider wheel arches to accommodate those massive tyres, enlarged air-intakes which are functional for cooling, massive 22-inch rims with red brake calipers, this particular model came with the "Black Styling Package", which Audi black out the badges and the most of the trims around the car, giving it that stealth like look. The interior design is pretty much the same as you would find in the newer executive type Audi's with the added high-gloss black accents and carbon fibre like textures on the dash. The virtual cock-pit has a few cool animations to make it seem more sportier, especially in the RS Mode configuration.

PERFORMANCE

There's only one place to start with this car and that is with the mammoth 4.0L twin-turbo charged V8 engine that resides underneath the massive hood. Delivering an exhilarating 441kW with 800Nm of torque, this thing scared every living being as I ripped into Chapmans peak on my arrival. The raucous noise that is delivered by the massive twin-tailpipes is more addictive than any banned substance you know, it just makes you wanting more and more. The engine is connected to an 8-speed tiptronic gearbox that works in harmony on auto delivering high-revs with optimal gear changes when needed, manual mode can be fun with the use of the flappy paddle gearbox but I would recommend getting used to the car first before attempting to unleash your inner Schumacher in this. The car is big, its heavy but its also quite forgiving, which many feel is a bit of a spoiler by Audi, while I understand their point of view, one has to understand the amount of power this car generates and having these extra safety mechanisms in place, protects the driver and the car. That being sad, with its 800Nm of torque, the RS6 Avant still propels itself from 0-100km/h in a blistering 3.6 seconds, and that is what has been said by Audi, there has been many independent tests which prove it can do it faster, conditions dependent of course. That is blody staggering for a car of this sorts and just goes to prove the type of vehicle Audi have produced. While the standard Audi RS6 Avant has an electronically limited speed of 250km/h, this particular model came with the RS Dynamic package which pushed that top speed up to 280km/h, not that we can do such speeds on public roads but its nice to know the option is there. Having had the chance to drive this car through some of the world's, let alone the countries best driving roads, it's safe to say that this car can do it all, feel the back kick out a bit as you accelerate up Franschhoek pass, hearing the 5th and 6th gear max out as you fly over the Three Waterskloof Damn, watching the sand kick up from the road as you blast through R44 from Hermanus, it really leaves you feeling invigorated, it was almost a form of therapy for me and I'm sure many other petrol heads will feel the same after stepping out of this car.

COMFORT

This car is all about comfort and practicality while having a monster under the hood, I wouldn't say its a Jekyll and Hyde because just by the styling there is no hidden complex when it comes to the RS6, you know its a demon! With the regular styled Audi interior, the highlights of the RS6 Avant are the sport styled bucket seats with detailed stitching and RS logos in the seats. For the front passenger and driver, it has seat heating and dual climate control. For the rear passengers, they also get to experience those great sport styled seats with stitching as well as seat heating and dual climate control. While the car rides on 5-V spoke trapezoidal style 22-inch rims, the ride is remarkably smooth and one would imagine with a profile of 30 there would be a lot of road noise in the cabin but its minimal so much so that the noise from the exhaust or the Bang & Olufsen sound system drowns it out. This car came fitted with about R360,000 worth of extras, which is a lot, enough to buy another car with but when buying a car of this nature the type of extras it has available will also want you ticking most of the boxes. Stuff like the virtual cockpit plus which allow for that RS layout display, Park assist plus which parks the car itself as parking this monster can get a bit tricky especially when parallel parking in town. Lane change assist with Audi pre sense rear which warns when traffic is oncoming when backing out of spaces as well as the full driver assist package with cameras which were set off a few times while I was driving since people cannot stay in their lane.

VERDICT

I've waiting a good few years to get behind the wheel of the RS6 Avant and Audi have knocked it out the park with this C8 edition of the car. The colour alone, which was an optional extra, Sebring Black Crystal Effect was hypnotizing from the first time I laid eyes on it at CT International Airport, and made handing back the keys even more difficult. I guess the only easy part was knowing I didn't need to fill the 73L tank again, since my average fuel consumption was sitting close to the 17L per 100km mark. This car is for the person that wants performance and practicality, I've seen guys with previous generation Audi RS6 Avant's with baby seats in them and when switched over into comfort mode it can be driven like a normal car and achieve 8.8L per 100km, so its not always an petrol thirsty car. With my short time with it, there was zero chance of me trying to achieve that figure and I don't think I even had it in any mode apart from Dynamic and RS. Being a wagon, it also means you have a massive luggage space with 565L to load and if need be the rear seats fold down to give you 1680L, so again the practicality of the car shines through again. While I understand this car isn't for everybody, you have to experience it to make your mind up about it. There's so much to love about it and while most brands stray away from bringing wagons to the country due to its poor appeal, I applaud Audi for bring this one and the RS4 Avant here as they really are something special.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	4.0L Twin-Turbo Charged V8
Gear Box	8-Speed Tip Tronic
Torque	800Nm
Power	441kW
Top Speed	280km
Price	R2,070,000*

*Base Price, model test at R2,429,050.

Pictures by Willie Botes

When it comes to the double cab bakkie, I'm still skeptical about it being used as a daily drive. I believe all vehicles have their purpose and a bakkie shouldn't be a family car unless the said family is quite into outdoor activities and will be making use of the bin quite often. With this in mind, my next vehicle that came in for testing was the Nissan Navara. Now while this car has been getting attention in the motoring world a lot over the past few months, it was actually due to it sharing its underpinnings with the Mercedes-Benz X-Class. What many fail to grasp is that these two bakkies are completely different apart from a few minor things but soon as you hear that it's built on a similar platform, all logic goes out the window for any argument but even so, if the X-Class was almost similar to the Navara, why would that be a bad thing? Nissan have been building bakkies for decades now and their Hardbody's (apart from the latest NCAP safety ratings) have achieved legendary status in the market, so if you're going to want to build a bakkie, Nissan are the right people to talk to. So given this time with the Navara, I wanted to see what was "so bad" about it.

DESIGN

With the double cab being very popular in the market, design is one of the main aspects that sway the buyer. The Navara certainly looks the part and has matured a lot since its previous generation. There's nice lines and flares to the body which add to that aggressive nature, bits of chrome to give it that luxury feel and its raised appropriately to give it a good stance. The headlights and front grille draw your attention first, with the hood slopped in at an angle, which is the first I've see in a bakkie design, this improves visibility from the driver seat of the front end. The side profile is pretty attractive too, with the rear passenger window having a more pronounced chamfer at the end, the roof racks and side step add to this as well as the chrome finished door handles. Over to the back, I love what they've done with the angled lip to the bin, gives an element of sportiness to the van, if I have to be over critical, I'd say the rear lights could have been a bit better and maybe throw in some LED's there but again, that's me being over critical. The interior of the van is quite nicely laid out as well. with much of the outside design flowing in the inside. The materials are of good quality and generally a nice place to be in.

PERFORMANCE

What every bakkie ultimately boils down to, is performance, they're meant to be work horses so pointless having the looks but not the performance to back. The Navar comes fitting with a twin-turbo diesel motor which doesn't take much to get it going, as I soon discovered by taking it on the open road. Even with it's massive size and weight, the 2.3L engine delivers 450Nm of torque, combined with the 7-speed automatic gear box with timeous changes make getting up to speed effortless. Nissan claim their new improved turbo diesel generates more power and torque than their old engine and also has a 27% fuel saving, making it super efficient. I did a lot of mixed driving with the Navara and I can vouch for it, getting close to 700km in the week with it and still have a decent range of over 100km when handed back. While it's performance on tar was impressive, I took the Navara out on some dirt road driving and it really was at home there as well. The large tyres gripping the loose gravel as I navigated some of the sugar can trails up Durban's North coast, kicking up a trail of dust as I meandered my way through to God knows where, I was having way too much fun to realise where I was going.

COMFORT

A big gripe of mine is the comfort on these double cab bakkies, with many choosing it to use as a family car, I feel the rear passengers get the raw deal. Having sat in the back of a Hardbody, it isn't the most spacious place in the world and very cramped for someone like me, however, not the case with the Navara. There is ample room at the back, when I say ample I don't mean like S-Class vibes but bigger than your average double cab and a long journey won't result in your legs getting pins and needles. Over in the front, the dash is laid out quite well and doesn't sit too low, which allows for decent leg room for both the drive and the front passenger. The cabin's temperature is maintained by a aicron, unfortunately not climate control though. Ride quality on the Navara is superb, with it using a coil rear suspension which you would fine on larger SUV's. The heavy-duty 5-link coil rear suspension when compared to the traditional rear leaf suspension absorbs more of the bumps.

VERDICT

Overall, the Navara as a double cab bakkie is pretty impressive and while it isn't on the NAMSA top 2 selling list it is worth the price tag. There are a few things that could be improved on, especially on the interior but with upcoming models in Nissan already adding these items to their portfolio, it would be long till it's adapted to the Navara. I still don't see this as a family vehicle though, it is one of the more luxury looking bakkies out there but it's just not practical in my honest opinion but as I said in my introduction, if you're the type of family that is into outdoor activities and make use of the features in one, then by all means the Navara is worth the look. The fuel economy and engine performance seriously is impressive for a vehicle of this size and you can see why Mercedes-Benz chose this particular van to share it's underpinnings with.