As noted elsewhere, we've recently received what is essentially FU money, and after decades of living small we have decided to go big in some areas. One of those areas is AW's new car. When she said she likes late model Audi styling, I knee-jerked with "RS6 Avant!" She had no idea what I was talking about, so I said "600-ish HP and AWD, but it's a wagon so it's totally practical." And as my buddy Steve pointed out, the EPA estimates are better than the V6 manual Sonoma I used to daily.
Yesterday after work, we went to the local Audi dealer where they recently had a used 2023 RS6 in the showroom. It sold a few days ago, but the salesman said "We have essentially the same driveline and features in a CPO 2023 RS Q8," so we elected to take that out for a drive. I knew AW wouldn't want this particular one because she doesn't like black cars. I was up-front with the salesman about that and he didn't really seem to be bothered by that, so off we went.
Holy crap, this thing is a monster, but it's big and quiet so the sensation of speed is less obvious than I expected. In regular suspension mode, there's a good bit of front end rise with full throttle. I rolled into it at 50 and was shocked at how quickly 100 came up. AW giggled a bit, and did a similar run when it was her turn to drive. We both agreed that this powertrain in a wagon would be a better fit for us, but the dealer doesn't have a new one coming in anytime soon, and said if we ordered one it could be a year or longer before it arrives. With that, we asked to be notified if they get a CPO RS6, and headed for home in the 168 hp Escape. We've agreed that, as soon as school is out, we will road-trip to the nearest dealer with one in stock. In the meantime, I suggested we drive some other models and maybe other brands, but I don't know if we actually will. The RS Q8 was pretty intoxicating, and I think the wagon will be even more so.
Stay tuned for updates.
