Owner Review: Despite being a hybrid, fuel economy is not great - My 2013 Audi A6 Hybrid

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Basic information

2013 Audi A6 Hybrid, RM68000

Reasons why I bought this car

Previously owned a Subaru Forester and Ford Focus. The reason for getting this car is to look for something that is reliable and fast. The Subaru Forester was reliable but not fast while the Ford Focus was fast but not reliable (spent almost RM10K to keep it going). Being a heavy right foot person, I would like to get a car which can go and stop, be my daily driver and could carry my family in comfort when needed. Many options were in the market, but the design of the A6 is hard to look away at. I don’t mind getting 2nd hand car as it gives me the opportunity to work on my car without voiding the warranty.

Car selection process

• I had a budget of: RM70,000

• Models that I have considered include: Audi A5, Q5, Q3, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, basically whatever I can think of that can go fast

• Reasons why I chose this car:

  a. The speed

  b. The space

  c. The comfort

  d. The looks

  e. The endless possibility of modifying and upgrading it

User experience

• I have already done 23,000 km.

The amount of torque is intoxicating and the comfort is best for daily driving and long journeys (Better than Volvo XC90 and S60). The ability to leave almost everything behind is still the best. It’s a car which you could DIY in repair (apart from the Hybrid system) which saves cash in workmanship and gives you happiness in caressing your own car. Being a FF rather than AWD, it is not a petrol drinking monster which is a good thing and having a lot of experience with FF cars taught me a lot of car control. However, this beast still produces quite a lot of torque steer when I gun it from a standstill. This becomes more prominent during the wet which goes to show this beast will bite back when you are not careful.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• The speed
• The comfort
• Many tuning and upgrades in the market
• Cheap to get in 2nd hand market (Cheapest A6 you could get while getting more torque than its 3.0 supercharged sibling)
• Parts can be interchangeable as long it is for EA888 Gen 2 engine

Cons

• The fuel economy (or it’s my heavy right foot)
• Hybrid experts are not widely available
• Certain parts can be very costly
• The cost of changing 2 batteries (Battery A and A1) can be quite costly (RM200 for a good battery)
• The boot space is smaller as the hybrid battery occupy ¼ of the boot space. (At least I am carrying a Perodua Viva valued item in the boot)

Ratings

Total Score: 4
Performance: 5
Quality & Features: 4
Space: 5
Ride Comfort: 5
Fuel Economy: 2
Price & Cost: Car Price: RM68,000, Batteries replacement: RM2,000, Engine Mounting: RM1,600 (All 3 mountings), Normal Service RM400/service ,Water pump: RM550 for parts. DIY job, Spark plug and Ignition Coil : RM 600, Many more to come...

Summary

It’s a great family car with speed and comfort. Parts are readily available but certain parts are difficult to find and expensive to replace (it’s and Audi. What do you expect). 1 part malfunction will bring a lot of question marks if you don’t have the right tools. Overall, it’s a great car to live with if you have a lot of cash to throw at it.

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