2023 Audi S6 Review: Stop Shouting

It is, in an age of SUVs with outsized power and EVs with aspirations of drag racing, easy to forget about the Audi S6. Even in traffic, Audi's sleekly subtle luxury sports sedan is surreptitious. Not even pearl-effect Aviator Gray paint can make an attention-seeker out of the S6.

That's hardly a bad thing, of course. The concept of a "Q-car" or "sleeper" is a well-established one: a vehicle that, by dint of its discretion, avoids anything so louche as vocal plaudits for its performance capabilities. In a world where there are many, many ways to go fast, the Audi S6 opts to do so quietly.

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Make no mistake, though, this is indeed a fast car; the 2.9-liter TFSI V6 under the carefully-creased hood sees to that. And, with its lashings of technology and creature comforts, the S6 is a highly pleasant place from which to enjoy that speed. You just need the right mindset for it.

That includes embracing Audi's elegant design language, which now looks even more restrained than when this generation of S6 launched back in 2020. Even then, the large — but not obnoxious — grille, sober silhouette, and crisp lighting looked mature and even a little conservative. These days, with rivals apparently competing to give their final few gas-powered vehicles the most ostentatious snout possible, the S6 feels like James Bond's suit hung up amid Austin Powers' wardrobe.

Audi actually has a couple of brighter colors — a fetching Tango Red, and a deep Ultra Blue — on the S6's options sheet, though I'm a sucker for a darker metallic gray on a sedan like this. It looks and feels timeless, though here the $4,000 S Sport package and $2,500 Design Edition package do add a little more obvious presence.

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The former adds a sport exhaust and red brake calipers, along with all-wheel steering and the sport rear differential. The latter, meanwhile, includes 21-inch V-spoke design wheels, a black roof, Liquid Dark Chrome finish front and rear valance elements, an Audi Sport design interior, heated sports steering wheel, and Dinamica knee pads. $475 Audi S-beam lights round things out nicely.

Gone, sadly, is the pleasing V8 of the last-generation S6. Even so, despite being two cylinders down, Audi's V6 is a potent one. Power is actually up over that eight-cylinder, with the twin turbochargers helping coax out 444 horsepower and 442 lb-ft of torque to play with.

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It's paired with an eight-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission and standard Quattro all-wheel drive. Zero to 60 mph arrives in 4.4 seconds, Audi says — and that feels conservative — with an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph.

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Sport adaptive air suspension is standard, as is electromechanical progressive steering. Audi uses 6-piston front and single-piston rear calipers. The all-wheel steer is absolutely worth the money, trimming the S6's turning circle at low speeds — and leaving it feeling as maneuverable as an A4 in the process — while boosting the feeling of stability and purpose at high-speed maneuvers such as highway lane changes.

On the road, though this isn't the truly wild RS6 Avant (a vehicle seemingly almost entirely devoted to convincing Americans that their opinions of wagons as being staid and dull are no longer relevant) or RS7 Sportback, the S6 sure can hustle. Plant your right foot, and the Audi surges forward with an impressive absence of turbo lag, putting any dismay at absent cylinders well behind you in the process.

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Better still is the handling. The rear-wheel steering certainly helps, keeping the S6 feeling nimble and compact in twistier turns. Audi's adaptive air suspension has a welcome breadth of range from cosseting Comfort mode through to the sportiest Dynamic setting. You can manually adjust ride height, but generally, it's easiest to leave things to the car to finagle in the background.

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That's a welcome change from, say, the most recent BMW sports sedans, which seem to have made it a priority to throw every possible option and permutation at the driver. In the S6, you simply switch to Dynamic and enjoy the way the Audi seems to tighten around you, its poise belying the not-inconsiderable mass of what's still a luxury car. There's a particular joy to be had in sweeping turns, where the S6 transfers its weight from side to side in a predictable, tractable way that has you hunting out backroads.

Whether pushing hard or sashaying with restraint, the S6's cabin is a swell place to be. Again, the space of just a few years has left Audi's dashboard feeling unexpectedly tech-subtle: when it launched, this generation wowed with its dual touchscreens and separate digital driver display. These days, with Mercedes' Hyperscreen trying to plow digital graphics across every inch of dashboard possible, the S6's MMI Touch Response system is a welcome foil.

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That's not to say it's lacking in gadgetry. As standard, the 2023 S6 gets navigation, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, quad-zone climate controls, heated front sports seats, and a heated steering wheel for its $73,700 (plus $1,095 destination) price tag. To that, the $8,800 Prestige package contributes adaptive cruise assist with lane guidance, a wireless phone charger and signal booster, 1,820-watt Bang & Olufsen 3D audio system, multicolor LED lighting, and extended leather.

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It also includes dual-pane acoustic side glass, HD Matrix LED headlamps with animation, a head-up display, heated rear seats, power soft-closing doors, a power trunk, remote park-assist plus, and a 360-degree camera. Audi's fancier safety tech is bundled, too, like Audi side assist with pre sense rear, intersection assist, and traffic sign recognition.

There's a lot going on, then, but it's all fairly straightforward to access. The upper touchscreen handles navigation, media, and smartphone projection; the lower one is reserved for climate control and other core settings. Audi hasn't declared war on buttons and knobs, either, and while I wish there was a little less fingerprint-hungry piano black trim, I'll still take physical controls over a solely touch-centric interface.

Whip out your phone, meanwhile, and the Prestige trim's remote park assist plus allows you to navigate the S6 in or out of perpendicular or parallel parking spots (or, you can do it from a button on the dash, too). The app also shows the sedan's location, whether it's locked or unlocked, or if you've inadvertently left the sunroof open.

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As for frugality, nobody expects gas-sipping from a performance-minded model, but the S6's 19 mpg city, 26 mpg highway, and 22 mpg combined EPA rating aren't shameful. They're also fairly accurate, just as long as you're willing to hold back from the Audi's greater excesses.

Those more eager to embrace attention have plenty of choice, even in Audi's own showroom. An S7 packages the same performance in a slinkier suit, though you'll pay around $10k more for that style. An SQ7 is more expensive and more ostentatious still, though faster and more powerful, and of course it's the SUV that so many drivers now demand.

Favoring them simply for their ability to turn heads, however, misses the core charm of the 2023 S6. Audi's sports sedan turns clandestine performance into an art form; the antithesis of brash, attention-grabbing rivals that spend more time shouting about their credentials than they ever do at full-throttle.

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For some, that reticence will feel a little too coy. I can't fault you if you want everyone else on the road to know just how special your ride is, and I'd be a hypocrite if I claimed I didn't feel the allure of a supercar's style. As a daily driver, though, the Audi S6's willingness to cosset without sacrificing speed feels like the sort of secret worth sharing.