2005 Audi A6: In The Autoblog Garage Day 2

Like many new luxury cars these days the better part of the second day in the A6 was spent dealing with the MMI. The system isn't overly complex but still needs a real sitdown with the massive instruction manual. Actually I use more of the test and fail method with no instructions. What I like most of all is the placement of the control dial on the center stack. It is very easy to place your arm on the armrest and adjust the controls in a relaxed manner without having to look down too often. This is much better than reaching forward to the dash to change controls.

Since I leave the radio function up most of the time the MMI interface is really easy to use. When you adjust the environmental controls you are using buttons higher on the dash that will then display images on the LCD screen. This is the only time you?re really reaching forward and I?m glad they?re separated like this so you don?t have to change the settings as frequently.

While I don?t know if I?d want a system like this in a sports car for the luxury sedan it seems appropriately high-end while still allowing you to drive without being distracted constantly. Anyone that gets a week in the A6 will figure out the controls quickly but there seems to be about 100 other settings that can be customized that I probably won?t have the time to discover.

Otherwise the interior is very nice. The leather is sturdy and the front seats have enough electronic controls to contort one?s body in dozens of ways. I really love whatever kind of material they used on the heated steering wheel. It looks slick yet feels sticky and offers awesome grip. Plus it gets mildly warm when you use the heated seats. This definitely feels like a $50,000 car. I?m not quite sure what a $56,570 car feels like but this definitely has the value of the $50,500 base price of the 4.2 Quattro.

Check out Day 1 in the A6.

UPDATE: Here?s a picture of the LCD but it?s not so great. That?s why I didn?t post it. I?ll take another one that shows off the nice line from the left of the gauges all the way to the end of the LCD you see here.