996 to RS6, Deed Done (At Last!)

[londonplus]

I am also one of those who recently owned a 996. In fact I would have kept it longer and waited to put a deposit down for the 997 but 17 months later, little did I know that wifee would give me two sons and a daughter to cart around! so sadly, the 996 had to go. What did I do after 8 years of porsches? (928 & 996) I thought twins and all their kit will fit well into a Range Rover, so I bought a vogue. Fine, it was practical for those long trips I had to make to see the outlaws, but god! was it a let down. I went from a hare to to a slug overnight! (or should I say snail, at least it carries its own house!). Eight months later, with the announcement of another arrival I thought the RR I can't get 3 baby seats in a row, why not get a practical estate and be rid of the 4x4. Depreciation aside and despite no problems, I got rid of it and went for a test drive in a car which I had seen at a track. Within 2 weeks I picked up the RS6. realising that the kids love mess I decided to purchase with a Ford Galaxy to act as the family bus. Now, I have the best of both worlds, I've a practical stretch 996 and a bus! I have yet to really drive this monster. Cayenne? I think not!

What part of london will we see you in your rs6 jambon. I am sw london in black avant.

[MELUN]

Guys
Interested in any additional feedback on moving from a 996 to an RS6.
I currently have a 2001 996 C2 that sits in the garage during the week and only gets used at weekends for fun etc.
I have a 02 A4 TDI Sport to crunch the business miles which is superb, however I am desperately trying to see if I can find one car to replace both current ones.
The RS6 seems ideal, although perhaps not the best car to be putting 30K miles a year on? This aside it ticks most boxes
Just not sure if I could live without the buzz of driving the 996?
Help needed....

[colinc2]

Although I wasn't happy about not being able to pick up the car on Saturday, I have to say that if you judge a dealership by the efforts they make to resolve a problem, I've only got praise for Tonbridge Audi.

I am new here guys (refugee from bm3w.co.uk!) and I have nothing but praise for Tonbridge Audi too! I have a BMW which is totally unsuitable for our 3 year old so the choise of next car came down to RS6 Avant or BMW 535 Sport Touring. And to cut a long (and not untypical) story short i was not impressed with the sales team at my BMW dealer although the car is pretty impressive (for a diesel ) and i had a lot of support from the sales guy at Tonbridge Audi as i took a while to make up my mind NOT to buy their slightly overpriced demo car and in the meantime they bought a car from Audi UK in the colour i wanted (daytona grey) with low mileage for an 03 car (7k miles) and the deal was done. When the deal was being done i took the GF with me and she was impressed by the general high standard of customer care in the dealership from the front desk receptionist to all the other staff that were always checking we were being seen to and fed with coffee and biccies.
This weekend i have done bournemouth and back twice with GF and child and I am impressed with the dynamics of the car if not the CD based sat nav, the petrol consumption and the inability of audi software to talk properly to my musickeg (phatbox) And if that all sounds negative its not meant to be - its the best estate car i have ever driven!! never having a family before now has allowed indulgence in porsche and bmw for nearly 25 years

[DaveP]

Firstly, welcome on board Colin!

What problems have you had with your phatbox ?...I know there's a few owners on here with Audis/Phatbox and no problems (myself included)..

[colinc2]

Thanks Dave!
Only problem is that Audi software will not allow the display of track info (artist, track name, album) and that i have heard conflicting stories as to whether the voice labels attahced will work when you scroll through 'discs'. Have done a search here and found that will get that with the concert head unit but maybe not with satnav plus ? I have sent a PM to peterb (?) who has the same set up but no reply as yet?
Do you have satnav + in the rs4 ?

[DaveP]

Nope, not satnav+...

The voice labels do work with the satnav+ though, I've heard them in a mate's S8 with Satnav/Phatbox...although come to think of it I'm not sure I specifically heard the discs being read out.

As for the display...yea..unfortunately no track info on the display, but I understand there's not that many head units that allow this (just some Kenwood/Alpine ones?)

You could always turn the radio off and listen to the V8

[colinc2]

Nope, not satnav+...
As for the display...yea..unfortunately no track info on the display, but I understand there's not that many head units that allow this (just some Kenwood/Alpine ones?)

I think yes but also with the BMW satnav

You could always turn the radio off and listen to the V8

couldnt agree more ... just keep me away from AMD though !!

[GaryC]

Guys
Interested in any additional feedback on moving from a 996 to an RS6.
I currently have a 2001 996 C2 that sits in the garage during the week and only gets used at weekends for fun etc.
I have a 02 A4 TDI Sport to crunch the business miles which is superb, however I am desperately trying to see if I can find one car to replace both current ones.
The RS6 seems ideal, although perhaps not the best car to be putting 30K miles a year on? This aside it ticks most boxes
Just not sure if I could live without the buzz of driving the 996?
Help needed....

It's been almost two months since I swapped my 996 C2 for the RS6, and I've put just over 1500 trouble free miles on the RS6. In the entire two years of 996 ownership I put only 7400 miles on the clock, so you can see how much more the RS6 is being used - and that’s just weekend use!

I think the root of your dilemna is to decide exactly what constitutes your "driving fun" at the weekends. If you're regularly taking out the 996 just for the hell of driving it and doing a lot of miles *just* because you love the way it handles and responds, then I think you'll be disappointed in the RS6; it just can't match the level of involvement provided by the porsche. That's not to say the RS6 is not fun to drive - the engine is phenomenal and apart from when your'e caning it over the last two thousand RPM of the rev range, sounds better then porsche's flat-6 IMO, and any stock 996 driver caught even slightly off his guard would be rapidly looking at its tailpipes. For such a big car the RS6 corners well, but you do feel it's weight in tighter turns. Even in the wet you can give it some serious throttle out of corners and it takes it in its stride. The suspension is very firm though and is a lot less sophisticated than that of the 996 when it comes to soaking up ridges and bumps - but then the 996 is superb in that regard, better than many so called non-sports cars despite its sporty nature. The quality of the RS6's cabin makes the 996 feel like an airfix kit, and I've never come across better seats than the RS6's recaros.

The last Evo Magazine Car of the Year article summed up the RS6 pretty well - it (actually the RS6 Plus) came last out of 12 cars for "Evoness", but on the last day of the test when one of the guys had to leave early and drive a long way in questionable conditions, which car did he choose to take? Yes, the RS6.

I'm not sure I'd want to put 30k miles a year on an RS6 as I suspect the depreciation would be savage, and actually cost you more overall than running two cars with a moderate mileage in the porsche and the bulk of the miles in your A4. Fuel costs will also be expensive - as 19-20mpg seems to be the norm I'm getting. Of course if it's a company car and your depreciation and fuel are paid for these aren't a concern, and I can't think of a much better place than the RS6 cabin to be spending so many miles.

Overall, do I miss my 996? I may have a small twinge of longing when I see one when I'm walking from the tube station to work, but overall no. For what I want the RS6 for - weekend trips away with family/luggage in luxury and with some fun thrown in (without the journey being the raison d'etre of the trip), I still can't think of a finer car.

You need to arrange some decent long test drives, but don’t do what I did at first and dismiss the car after your first drive. The RS6 takes a while to release its charms, and whilst it would never be first choice for a trackday or a 20 minute adrenaline fuelled max-attack drive, it is a car which is great to own.

Anyway enough waffling from me, hope this helps. Happy to answer any specific questions you have regarding moving from 996 to RS6.

Gary.

[CarlT]

Guys
Interested in any additional feedback on moving from a 996 to an RS6.
I currently have a 2001 996 C2 that sits in the garage during the week and only gets used at weekends for fun etc.
I have a 02 A4 TDI Sport to crunch the business miles which is superb, however I am desperately trying to see if I can find one car to replace both current ones.
The RS6 seems ideal, although perhaps not the best car to be putting 30K miles a year on? This aside it ticks most boxes
Just not sure if I could live without the buzz of driving the 996?
Help needed....

It's been almost two months since I swapped my 996 C2 for the RS6, and I've put just over 1500 trouble free miles on the RS6. In the entire two years of 996 ownership I put only 7400 miles on the clock, so you can see how much more the RS6 is being used - and that’s just weekend use!

I think the root of your dilemna is to decide exactly what constitutes your "driving fun" at the weekends. If you're regularly taking out the 996 just for the hell of driving it and doing a lot of miles *just* because you love the way it handles and responds, then I think you'll be disappointed in the RS6; it just can't match the level of involvement provided by the porsche. That's not to say the RS6 is not fun to drive - the engine is phenomenal and apart from when your'e caning it over the last two thousand RPM of the rev range, sounds better then porsche's flat-6 IMO, and any stock 996 driver caught even slightly off his guard would be rapidly looking at its tailpipes. For such a big car the RS6 corners well, but you do feel it's weight in tighter turns. Even in the wet you can give it some serious throttle out of corners and it takes it in its stride. The suspension is very firm though and is a lot less sophisticated than that of the 996 when it comes to soaking up ridges and bumps - but then the 996 is superb in that regard, better than many so called non-sports cars despite its sporty nature. The quality of the RS6's cabin makes the 996 feel like an airfix kit, and I've never come across better seats than the RS6's recaros.

The last Evo Magazine Car of the Year article summed up the RS6 pretty well - it (actually the RS6 Plus) came last out of 12 cars for "Evoness", but on the last day of the test when one of the guys had to leave early and drive a long way in questionable conditions, which car did he choose to take? Yes, the RS6.

I'm not sure I'd want to put 30k miles a year on an RS6 as I suspect the depreciation would be savage, and actually cost you more overall than running two cars with a moderate mileage in the porsche and the bulk of the miles in your A4. Fuel costs will also be expensive - as 19-20mpg seems to be the norm I'm getting. Of course if it's a company car and your depreciation and fuel are paid for these aren't a concern, and I can't think of a much better place than the RS6 cabin to be spending so many miles.

Overall, do I miss my 996? I may have a small twinge of longing when I see one when I'm walking from the tube station to work, but overall no. For what I want the RS6 for - weekend trips away with family/luggage in luxury and with some fun thrown in (without the journey being the raison d'etre of the trip), I still can't think of a finer car.

You need to arrange some decent long test drives, but don’t do what I did at first and dismiss the car after your first drive. The RS6 takes a while to release its charms, and whilst it would never be first choice for a trackday or a 20 minute adrenaline fuelled max-attack drive, it is a car which is great to own.

Anyway enough waffling from me, hope this helps. Happy to answer any specific questions you have regarding moving from 996 to RS6.

Gary.

Gary, thanks for that insight as I am seriously contemplating going the other direction - RS6 TO 996/7 !!
Decisions decisions