I just got an Audi A6 wagon to replace a recently totaled station wagon. Overall, it's a pretty nice car and I think it will serve its purpose well, which is to be a winter and bad weather workhorse primarily. Additionally, it will be an in-town hauler of a wide variety of things. Rather like an SUV but considerably better looking and a better driver. My wife now requires a walker due to some injuries so the additional room in the Audi makes it a more logical choice when both of us are in the car.

I thought it interesting to compare the different design philosophies since the cars are in the same basis class.

1. The interior of the Audi seems a bit more complicated than the Jaguar. I had to read the manual to figure out how the car worked. The Jaguar, in comparison, seemed a lot more intuitive and easier to figure out. The Audi did have some nice features though, like the fold-out compartments in the doors and various storage areas. The Jaguar is a lot more comfortable though. If we were to go on a long trip that didn't include inclement weather, the Jaguar would be our choice. On the other hand, the Audi would be the choice for inclement weather and colder weather. The Audi has seat warmers while my Jaguar does not. The seat warmers are adjustable which is a nice feature. The Jaguar's ambience is more user friendly and seems more elegant.

2. The Jaguar seems to be a lot better handler, although this may be a function of my familarity with it. The Audi seems to take a bit longer to react to steering inputs than the Jaguar. This may be due to the wagon configuration as well.

The Audi seems a bit smoother on the freeway and on smooth roads. The Jaguar seems to have quite a bit stiffer suspension which would account for its agility and roadholding.

3. The sound system in the Audi seems to be better than the Jaguar. I have the option of radio, cassette or CDs. It's a bit more complicated though. The overall sound quality is about the same.

4. The all-weather capability of the Audi is surely to be a lot better than the Jaguar due to its all-wheel drive. This is the primary reason for me buying it. The Audi seems to have been designed to handle more severe weather while the Jaguar seems to be a more temperate climate car.

5. The exterior styling of the Jaguar gets a slight nod as I tend to favor a more classic design as opposed to the cutting edge designs. The Audi IMHO looks better as a wagon is also quite attractive, especially in the Ming Blue Pearl on my car. I would have to say both the Jaguar and the Audi are the best looking cars in the intermediate size class.

For my lifestyle, the two cars complement each other quite nicely so for fans of each car there is something to cheer about.

 

Nice, unbiased summary. I've never driven an All-Road or Avant, so I cannot compare to my A6 sedan, but the A6 is the smoothest and nicest vehicle I have ever owned. I am sure there are more plush vehicles, but I have never been uncomfortable in my A6 and I do a lot of long drives. It is phenomenal in snow and icey conditions, better than the CJ-7 I used to own many years ago. My only complaint is that there are no fresh air vents -- I have to run the a/c in order to get air. Therefore I usually drive with the sunroof tilted open, even in winter. (Complaint #2, there is no way to turn off the fan other than pressing the "-" button multiple times. If someone knows the secret, let me know. My daughter's 2003 A4 has a handy "on/off" button - what an innovation.) The Bose stereo is not that tricky, but there is a "secret menu" you can access by depressing and holding the "menu" button.

I've never been in a recent Jaguar either, but I developed the opinion that it is really an upscale Taurus/Sable rather than a true English sports/touring sedan. In my sanity defense, I also own a couple Chrysler Crossfires which the critics demean as SLK320 knock-offs. They are, but I love them.

 

IMHO the acquisition of jaguar by GM has really hurt the company in terms of producing a distinctly british luxury sedan. Probably it seems more like a no expense spared sable. Also consider the styling of the most recent models (I think they bear a striking resemblance to the chrysler 300 from the mid 90s). I worked at a high end country club as a valet for awhile and after spending lots of time in the most recent models of big name european cars, I found that the jaguars have become more like cadillacs then their XJ ancestors. The germans just keep doing their over engineering thing and confuse everyone (perfect example, the idrive system on new bmws... what a disaster if you ask me).

 

ppgoal,

Have you tried the ECON button? That seems to be for fresh air, but I'm still learning about the car. I tried that and adjusted the temperature settings.

I'll have to go out and see what I do to turn off the fan. It seems as though I hit a button only once, but again, I'm still in a learning phase.

The S-Type was actually related to the Lincoln LS and Ford T-Bird. Early on, they shared a common chassis and some engine parts. Later on, the cars divurged as Jaguar added more of their own parts. The S-Type was my third Jag. The two previous ones were XJs and the S-Type is quite a bit smaller than the XJ. It also is more of a sport sedan and for me is easier to drive briskly and in a crowded environment.

It's good to know how good the A6 is in snow since I bought it for that reason. Last year the DC area got absolutely hammered with three snow storms. Also, the side road leading to my office never got plowed so getting through that mess was a bit of a challenge. Note: I never tried it in the Jag, but did in the the Taurus s/w that got totaled.

 

Actually, Jaguar was acquired by Ford in the late 80's. A couple of years ago Ford sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata, an Indian company. That seems to have worked for the better.

We could start a whole new argument about the VW, Porsche and Audi lash-up though. About BMWs, they seem to be suffering from the effects of Bangle-izing in addition to the I-Drive fiasco.

 

[QUOTE=ppgoal;1257915][B][FONT=Arial][COLOR=dimgray](Complaint #2, there is no way to turn off the fan other than pressing the "-" button multiple times. If someone knows the secret, let me know. My daughter's 2003 A4 has a handy "on/off" button - what an innovation.)]ppgoal,

On my 2001 A6, there is an on/off button below the ECON button and the Recirc button. These are located just to the right of the left side temperature control. Left of the right-side temperature control are the directional controls, windshield, face or foot vents.

 

Interesting comparison....the two cars are pretty different in their approach although they are both modern high end cars. I have two Jaguars, an XJ8 and an XKR ,and an A6 right now and all three are very different. The XJ8 is a big powerful car that is very light and has a smooth well controlled ride. It feels much larger than the Audi and the seats are much more comfortable. The Audi has a tauter feel and handles nicer though. The XJ8 is quite a bit more powerful and gets much better mileage! The XJ8 is 300 hp can get 34 mpg on a long trip on the interstate and no less than 24 around town, I almost didn't believe it when I first bought it! The XKR is like a race car for the street and it is nervous and sensitive, no comparison to the A6 or the XJ8. I will say that the Jaguars are very well built and have had almost no repairs in the 5 years I have had them. I have only had the Audi a year, but it has had no repairs to date and needs none that I know of.

 

Good choice on the car and great color too. I swear I will never buy a silver car again.

Anyways, she will treat you well if you treat her well. Fortunately you don't have Lucas electrical to deal with (a little jab at the brits) but she will throw some fits overtime. All in all, I really like my 01 Avant. Better than my old 99 BMW 528iT... Yes my 528 was more sporty, but can't really beat the quattro utility.

Do yourself a favor and pickup a cheap ebay VAGcom cable and repair manual. It will pay for itself over and over again.

 

oldmots,

We seem to have some interesting perspectives on the A6. From your perspective the Audi is a better handler and probably has a stiffer suspension than the XJ. From my perspective, the A6 is the softer vehicle but not as much of a corner carver as the S-Type. The Audi A6 wagon is pretty handy to have around town as it gobbles up a ton of stuff.

Also, I parked next to an E-Class Mercedes wagon at work and the Audi seemed to be a much better looking wagon. The E-Class wagon seemed to be an afterthought whereas the Audi wagon was a much better integrated design.

Mike