I just had my first drive in my new A6 quattro in the snow. We had about 3 inches of snow here in New England over night. Let me tell you that I am very impressed with the Audi Quattro system. It drove thru 3 inches of snow like it wasnt there. I had some pretty good 4WD car and trucks before, Jeep, Lexus GX470, Toyota FJ, the A6 is every bit as good as those truck in the snow.

 

Not that the A6 is a "small" vehicle... but I've never been impressed with SUV or truck performance in the snow. Give me an AWD sedan or wagon any day.

 

As you might know the Torsen is by far the best recognized application for non-racing purposes.

4WD is not the same as AWD.

But be aware - you and your Audi are not invinsible!
Know your limits and don't push over!
(You Tube has some shots on stranded Audis in a snow - )

 

I've had Jeeps and my A6 is by far the best winter driver ever. It is rock solid on packed snow on the highway and with the Pirellis, runs 40-50 mph with confidence. I've gone out of my way to kick it loose (in a controlled, safe area like a parking lot) and it is difficult to spin out. On ice it's no better than anything else although the ABS works very well.

Only interesting observation is that when driving through deeper snow, > 8", the snow kicks up and hits the belly pan making some interesting noises and even seems to lift the car a little.

 

My Lexus GX470 had a Torsen center differantial as well, that truck was a monster in the snow, gone thru 24+ inches of snow once. So far the A6 is every bit as good in the light stuff. We are suppose to get 6"+ on Friday, we will see how the A6 handles that. I am sure it will do well, the only thing I am worry about is the lack of ground clearance. I must admit, I havent look underneath my 08 A6 yet. Is everything underneath pretty well protected?

 

The only time I got an Audi Quattro stuck was when I high centered an 89 200QT in very wet snow. I was backing across a pile that was left by a snow plow and lifted all the wheels off the ground so there was no traction. Four guys helped push it forward and I made it thru the second time.

As ppgoal says -- The best thing is stability at speed on slippery roads. I did the 3+ inch snow drive this AM (50 miles) and when people were not in the way easily did 50-55 mph on RT 495 in MA while others were slipping around. I have to keep reminding myself that it still has only 4-wheel stop, but knowing about and trusting the stability allows me to consider driving around things instead of having to stop. --

FYI - I'm not a empty headed kid - I'm over 60 years old, a former sports car racer, a current NASCAR shorttrack official, and a bit more conservative that I used to be.

 

I'd have to say my truck did amazing in the snow, but I attribute that mainly to the tires. I can't wait to get my A6 up in the snow, I'm just worried about how good these tires are in the snow.

 

NH USA, its good to hear another New Englander's experience with the quattro system in the snow. Do you use snow tires or just all season?

 

My 05 4.2 is a beast in the snow, especially when the winter tires are on.

 

Newfields eh? I worked in Stratham, and lived in Newmarket til 3 years ago. Miss it some times... great area. Now I'm in northern Vt. The allroad is real handy up here. =)