I'd confirm the exact spec of the car you are testing before taking it out; DRC/Air, sports exhaust, ceramics etc. Don't be too distracted by all the gadgets the test car will no doubt have fitted, you can get almost all of the toys on a standard A6 and, IMO, your test should be all about the fantastic engine and amazing grip levels and not trinkets!
The RS6 is very quick, that is a given, so little point spending too much time on the motorway other than to confirm the comfort levels in comfort/auto/dynamic suspension settings. Try to find a bumpy (not potholed!) quiet country road check out how you find stability in all suspension modes (I found DRC on anything other than comfort less than acceptable and prone to being pulled and pushed around- and I think I lost a few fillings into the bargain!).
Be sure to try out the gearbox in Drive/Sport/Manual modes- difficult to find a decent enough bit of road to really try out any of the modes as 100mph comes along so quickly...bye bye license! Indeed I set the speed warning to less than 100mph (much less obviously
) during the test drives to try to keep me from getting too carried away! I'd switch off the stop/start system as the test should be about performance and not economy. Stop/Start is annoying at best but when in town something to live with, I guess, in the hope it offsets the emissions in some way!
I'd recommend you try an RS6 with air suspension as well as DRC before making any decision. There is a lot written on this forum about how much more alive the car feels with DRC but that was not my experience. Air on Dynamic setting is first of all usable and secondly plenty stiff enough for a quick blast on the twisty bits IMO. The ride on air and on comfort setting is sublime even on 21s and not wallowing. That said, with DRC in comfort setting, the ride on 21" rubber was not as harsh as my old A4 was on 19" rubber however suspension will be a key choice as well as a very personal one. I'd advise against deciding purely on how you THINK you will drive it. In reality this is likely to be mainly A roads and Motorways and not to within the last 2% of the available traction (which is massive!!) as you kiss apexes on or off the track (or maybe this is how you intend to use it?). At the end of the day, the RS6 is a very quick, but very big car. I have loved every second that I have driven it, however I know it is not a sports car capable of tiptoeing around the aforementioned apexes! So I chose to be slightly more cosseted for 95% of my usage (but by no means wallowing or S class smooth) and still have the ability to switch the suspension to dynamic when I fancy a real blast and go and seek out some really challenging twisty bits!
The RS6 is no less of a quick car on Air than if it had DRC, it is however incapable of being a true sports car with either of them....but absolutely practical, fun and breathtaking to drive!
When spec'ing, forget about resale values, if this a major concern then the RS6 may not be the wisest buy (although residuals are not absolutely terrible for this type of car). This car should be for you so buy what you want/need and not what you think the next guy that owns it wants to have or for "extra" bragging rights down the pub...it is an RS6 with 552bhp and drop dead looks so no gilding, aside from personalisation, of the lily is required!
MOST of all, ENJOY...it will be difficult not to
