Audi A6 vs BMW 520

Lissoy

Have narrowed my search down to an A6 and a BMW 520. Both cars I'm looking at are 141 reg. I do about 40k km per year so fuel economy is important along with maintenance costs. I drive a lot of country roads so am a bit concerned about the rwd BMW in the winter. Is this a valid concern?

Which is the better car?

Thanks

pippip

If you do alot of country roads driving I'd be getting test drives in both the SE and Sline/Msport versions. The ride quality of each version on such roads may be just as important as which model you choose.

Idbatterim

not if practical, but with that kind of km, would you consider an Ioniq?

Lissoy

Idbatterim wrote: »

not if practical, but with that kind of km, would you consider an Ioniq?

I hadn't really thought about a hybrid. Am looking for something a bit bigger though.
Thanks

bmwguy

Personal preference really. Both really nice cars. Mpg almost identical, bmw normally considered a better drive, the thing I think might sway it towards a6 for you is the country roads if it snows rwd are known to struggle more, but it really depends on your tyres. Snow is few and far between though.

It will come down to best deal available at the time for you I suppose.

Soarer

Lexus Hybrid

Leonard Hofstadter

For the amount of times it's going to snow realistically speaking, I'd have the BMW every time. I'd also suggest looking at an SE if comfort is a priority, while the M Sports look a lot nicer the rid on Sport model BMWs can be quite harsh. The OP should look at a 5 series built after September 2014 as that has the newer B47 engine which does not (yet) have the timing chain problems that blighted its predecessor. The B47 engine will have 'TwinPower turbo' written on the engine cover and has a better CO2 rating, too (around 109 g/km I think whereas the N47 is around 120 g/km).

_Kaiser_

A6 for sure. Has regularly beaten the 5 series in comparison tests in recent years. The BMW looks more sporty sure, but the A6 is bigger, better laid out, and a very comfortable cruiser. I'm on my second one and do about 1200km a week on motorway and suburban/rural roads.

Try and find a 3L Quattro TDI though. Much better suited to the size of the car and plenty of power but still economical enough for that sort of mileage.

bazz26

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

A6 for sure. Has regularly beaten the 5 series in comparison tests in recent years. The BMW looks more sporty sure, but the A6 is bigger, better laid out, and a very comfortable cruiser. I'm on my second one and do about 1200km a week on motorway and suburban/rural roads.

Try and find a 3L Quattro TDI though. Much better suited to the size of the car and plenty of power but still economical enough for that sort of mileage.

Well hardly an impartial opinion there but I'll give an equally impartial opinion from the other side to add a little balance. :P

OP is looking at 2014 models so it will be F10 v C7. The F10 5 Series is way larger than the older E60 5 Series so is similar in size to the current C7 A6. Being on my 2nd F10 (current one is a M Sport), I can say they are a very comfortable cruiser, in fact the F10 is more a comfortable cruiser than it is a sporty saloon due to its dimensions. Interior of the F10 is also a huge improvement in both terms of quality and layout over the older 5 Series.

I test drove a 2013 A6 multitronic and found the CVT gearbox to be poor compared to the ZF gearbox in the 5 Series. You have to go either larger engine or 2015 facelift in the A6 to get the much better S-Tronic gearbox. 3.0 litre Quattro models are the way to go with the A6 but as with a 530d there is a huge difference in price and availability between these and the run of the mill fwd smaller engined versions of the A6.

_Kaiser_

bazz26 wrote: »

Well hardly an impartial opinion there but I'll give an equally impartial opinion from the other side to add a little balance. :P

OP is looking at 2014 models so it will be F10 v C7. The F10 5 Series is way larger than the older E60 5 Series so is similar in size to the current C7 A6. Being on my 2nd F10 (current one is a M Sport), I can say they are a very comfortable cruiser, in fact the F10 is more a comfortable cruiser than it is a sporty saloon due to its dimensions. Interior of the F10 is also a huge improvement in both terms of quality and layout over the older 5 Series.

I test drove a 2013 A6 multitronic and found the CVT gearbox to be poor compared to the ZF gearbox in the 5 Series. You have to go either larger engine or 2015 facelift in the A6 to get the much better S-Tronic gearbox. 3.0 litre Quattro models are the way to go with the A6 but as with a 530d there is a huge difference in price and availability between these and the run of the mill fwd smaller engined versions of the A6.

I agree that the S-Tronic is the way to go, also because the bigger engine is better suited to the size/weight of the car (and because it's on "cheap tax" that shouldn't be a concern).

The F10 is a significant step up from the E60, but I personally still think the A6 shades it Best thing of course is for the OP to drive both and see what he/she prefers.

Summer wind

I've owned both although my Audi A6 was the s tronic auto. Both cars are fantastic but for me the BMW wins. The Audi is a very smooth comfortable drive but rear wheel drive beats it every time. I've never had any problem on frosty roads with mine.

bmay529

I have no experience of the A6 but drove a 530d for several years. The 5 series is a lovely car, powerful and very comfortable car to drive long distances on both motorway and good on secondary or back roads. While I understand we do not get snow very often I was stranded several times in the snow in it when using run-flat tires. Handy not to get a puncture but I suspect the harder compound looses traction at lower temperatures and if considering run-flats I would also consider winter tires for the winter months. The cost may not be much if running high mileage and rotating them winter/summer.

unkel

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

A6 for sure. Has regularly beaten the 5 series in comparison tests in recent years.

Linky? I've read a few reviews but I don't remember any of them favouring the Audi.

Wailin

unkel wrote: »

Linky? I've read a few reviews but I don't remember any of them favouring the Audi.

Same here. I'd be interested to see these reviews as any I've come across always had the bmw the better car in most areas (apart from interior layout).

166man

Worth pointing out that the Audi has the more proven drivetrain in terms of its engine reliability.

BMW 2.0 diesels from 2007-2014 have issues with their timing chains failing. The location of the chain makes them very expensive to replace. Audi haven't got any issues that I'm aware of with the engine.

Also there's a substantial difference in comfort between MSport and SE if you're looking at BMW. If you want Comfort then go for an SE in either BMW or Audi.

Leonard Hofstadter

unkel wrote: »

Linky? I've read a few reviews but I don't remember any of them favouring the Audi.

I was going to say the same thing, I can't think of any reviews which had the A6 above the F10 unless it was a very non-standard engine comparison. Off the top of my head the only A6 I could see as possibly being better than the F10 equivalent would be the entry level 3.0 TDI (the one with 201 bhp, which got uprated to 215 bhp after a while), because at the same price and power point you only got a four cylinder engine in the BMW from 2011 onwards whereas Audi still mercifully uses a six cylinder engine for their 525d competitor. I'm sure the quattro A6 is a very fine thing as well but the drive of a BMW is a cut above rival manufacturers really, rear wheel drive is just a totally different riving experience, hard to explain but it just makes a car feel different, especially on country roads.

Jackie Healy-Rae used to say the following when asked what was the difference between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael: 'them that know don't need to ask and them that ask will never know' - and this is true for front wheel drive vs rear wheel drive. In reality, if you don't care about cars or how they drive, or if you just want a 'nice' car, then drive both of them and see, they're both very good cars at the end of the day. I do know the difference and as a result, I could never go back to owning a car with front wheel drive unless it was something like a Golf GTI or a pocket rocket.

166man

Meh I have driven both and I still don't see the big deal about having RWD on a four cyclinder diesel saloon.

The way you're going on you'd swear it was a Lotus Elise vs a Range Rover.

The reality is on a day to day saloon where they're both four cylinder Diesel engines and auto boxes there's really not much difference if they're FWD or RWD.

carsfan2

Both of these cars are good buys and I would think have broadly similar running costs.
Test drive examples of both and just buy whichever you prefer. I would aim to buy from a dealer and get a decent warranty however.
If you buy from a main dealer you will get an extensive warranty and although you pay a premium to have this at this price level I think it is worth it.
I bought a used BMW a few years ago that required thousands of euro of warranty work subsequently and was all done no problem.

TanFlash

Audi A6 is my preference , having driving both regularly in my job

Truckermal

The 520 is streets ahead of the A6 especially the interior.

Walter2016

166man wrote: »

Worth pointing out that the Audi has the more proven drivetrain in terms of its engine reliability.

BMW 2.0 diesels from 2007-2014 have issues with their timing chains failing. The location of the chain makes them very expensive to replace. Audi haven't got any issues that I'm aware of with the engine..

Bmw changed that in early 2011, all builds after March 2011 have modification and better access to the drive chain.

I did a fare bit of checking as I have a 2012 - built October 2011. it currently has just over 270,000 km, and except for a couple of suspension issues, (sorted under warranty) its been a great car.

Coolant system did need replacing recently, but it par for course at that mileage. Battery needed replacement about a year ago - about €300.

I use an independent bmw service centre now for any work / servicing. Drivechain checked recently and is "fine" but told it may be prudent to replace at 300k.

Overall have been happy with it. Average mpg is just over 48mpg on primarily motorway driving.

SBPhoto

A6 has a much nicer interior than the 520. that was the deciding factor for me when i changed

bazz26

Horses for courses. Wouldn't be gone on the A6 interior design myself. I prefer the built-in infotainment screen as opposed to it sitting on top of the dashboard.

wersal gummage

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

A6 for sure. Has regularly beaten the 5 series in comparison tests in recent years. The BMW looks more sporty sure, but the A6 is bigger, better laid out, and a very comfortable cruiser. I'm on my second one and do about 1200km a week on motorway and suburban/rural roads.

Try and find a 3L Quattro TDI though. Much better suited to the size of the car and plenty of power but still economical enough for that sort of mileage.

I own an old 5 series so I'm probably not impartial either.... ....... 

I haven't checked this person's previous comments, but I'm nearly sure he regularly says the A6 is better than the 5 series and is comparable to a bmw 7 series.  I also recall that he has had several issues with the A6 (more than one of them?) breaking down and requiring repairs etc....  Don't know why this stuff is in my head!  

Anyway, as others have said, try both and pick the one you like. Cant really be a whole lot between two 4 cylinder diesels.

wersal gummage

Just had a quick look on the audi website. A 2.0 tdi starts at 48k and a 3.0 tdi quattro starts at 63k.  It's easy to recommend that kind of thing when it's someone else's money!

166man

Walter2016 wrote: »

Bmw changed that in early 2011, all builds after March 2011 have modification and better access to the drive chain.

I did a fare bit of checking as I have a 2012 - built October 2011. it currently has just over 270,000 km, and except for a couple of suspension issues, (sorted under warranty) its been a great car.

Coolant system did need replacing recently, but it par for course at that mileage. Battery needed replacement about a year ago - about €300.

I use an independent bmw service centre now for any work / servicing. Drivechain checked recently and is "fine" but told it may be prudent to replace at 300k.

Overall have been happy with it. Average mpg is just over 48mpg on primarily motorway driving.

What was the modification that they made?

I'm just going off what I witnessed....when I worked in BMW.

Chains will still fail on cars up until the B47 was introduced, as that's not really old enough to be proven yet.