zamalek

hello everyone, good to be posting back on my favorite site, 2010 S4 was sold last year, got a c250 coupe for 10 month till i decide what i want to do next, now it's gone and it's time for a new babe, this afternoon i test drove back to back an A6 p. plus then an XF, here are my thoughts:
* exterior:
both sexy (oolong grey audi, stratus grey jag), but the jag is mini skirt sexy and the audi is business suit sexy, advantage:tie
* interior:
the jag has clean int. with some gadgetry gimmicky moving parts, insane shifter, helpless infotainment touch screen in off white, the audi speaks for itself specially with nogat brown. advantage: audi
* engine/tran.:
even though there is nothing like the rumble of a V8, the audi felt faster to respond to throttle input & the 8 sp. kicks some 6sp.'s butt, the A6 felt lighter & smaller, both about on par in acceleration & braking with some 4 mpg better in the audi. advantage: tie
* handling:
the jag is rwd and it did not understeer as much, that said, the audi is no sloush in the twisties, steering is a wash. advantage: slightly jag
* price:
same
sorry for taking too long, but i walked away seeing the audi the more complete all around car, totally different from my S4 though (had a 6 spd manual), but nonetheless just as competent, any input is much appreciated guys, gotta make a call by monday

manishaudi

Both of them were among the selection of cars (E350, GS350, G37, 535i) I test drove before buying mine.

I chose the A6, so you know which way I went. I did it for many reasons, among which was that it was the one I imagined best in my garage. What about you?

One thing I did like about the Jag...a minor thing...was it's ability for the user to put a PassCode on the Infotainment system, protecting the Nav system. I wish other manufacturers were smart enough to include that on all their cars.

irenesbob

You didn't mention AWD for bad weather (rain, not just snow) capability; I give the Audi a big nod for Quattro. Also, the Jag only has 6 speeds in its automatic vs. 8 speeds for the A6. Your choice - but I say Audi for me.

snagitseven

Funny you should bring this up today - my buddy just arrived from NY in his 2011 XF and we drove each other's car. I liked the Jag but felt it didn't quite meet the A6 overall. My buddy really loved my A6 and he said that if he were buying today, he'd pick the Audi.
So there you are - a moderately biased and one definitely unbiased couple of opinions.

mikem33

I owned an XF supercharged for about a year and am now driving an A6.
The Jag handled better and was much faster; it had lots of torque even at 1500 RPM; the Audi really needs to be above 2500 before it really pulls.
The difference was more a drivability thing; the Jag never needed to downshift to pass anyone and was thus a bit smoother. Even on 20s, the Jag was smoother on rough pavement than the A6 on 19s; adaptive dampers certainly helped. As a driver's car, the Jag wins by far in my book. If you have snow to deal with, then it's another matter.

Having said that, the A6 is safer to push to the limits; the jag's stability control was set up for drivers who liked to push the car, and it would happily fishtail quite a bit before stability control intervened, especially in sport mode.
The Audi's understeer makes it a safer car to screw up with at the limits, but it's less fun.

The tranny on the Jag is astoundingly smooth; the Audi seems to have a few issues with the 2-1 downshift at slow speeds, but is otherwise good as well. The jag was noisier at freeway speeds than the Audi; I had PZeros on the Jag, and I have them now on the Audi.

I never liked the dial-a-shift thing Jaguar did; even after a year, it didn't feel natural. I really liked that you could set the car in valet mode with a password on the nav screen and it would lock both glove compartment and trunk automagically.

On the flip side, the fuel economy was horrible, and the electronics were extremely frustrating. Things could literally take seconds to respond to commands when you touched the touchscreen, and the electronics felt very dated from the interface (looks clunky) to the behavior. The nav was not very good, and the adaptive cruise control was extremely jerky; the A6 is very smooth by comparison.

Interior was a tie; Audi has a more modern interior and better electronic gadgetry, but the Jag had real leather everywhere, including the dashboard. It was stunningly beautiful craftsmanship. And the B&W stereo was absolutely fantastic.

Rear seat comfort is better on the Audi according to my kids.

Unfortunately for me, I had lots of issues with the Jag; my first visit to the shop was at 300 miles or so and I became a regular visitor to the shop. Look carefully at the reliability numbers for the Jag; it may not be a big issue if you don't keep cars for long, but if you keep them past warranty at all, it's a serious consideration.

Good luck with your choice. Tough call....

stoulana

Did you also test drive 535i (F10), your assessment is accurate about A6 is the best overall package in its class. I had A6 for few months now, very capable & best engine I drove. My 2nd car is 535i (2009) & I feel always biased to drive A6. Some things I would have liked to be improved in A6 like slightly higher wind noise than new BMW, seats but I chose A6 & no regrets.

donb4325

I love my a6, but I'll be interested to see how the 2013 XF stacks up with the 3.0 supercharged engine and AWD options that was just announced.

edporsche

I own a 2009 XF and I'm ordering a S6. I originally was going to trade my XF in on a MY12 a6, but decided that I liked the XF more The XF has the sexiest lines for a sedan. It just looks and drives awesome. The ride is spectacular, and you can hear the V8 under hard acceleration. Me likey Ventilated seats, a spectacular sound system B&W, and other goodies and I couldn't justify the cost difference. So I waited until 2013s were released and I ordered the S6.

The S6 provides AWD v8 performance and low end torque coupled with a world class interior. The F has 300hp while the S6 has 420. To quote Jeremy on Top Gear, "More is better."

For me, I'd rather have the XF instead of the A6. The S6 ups the game in my mind. I haven't driven the S6 so the jury is still out I guess. The XF is a very good car.

bartbs

Hi everyone. My opinion: I owned a XF S Diesel 3.0 twin turbo 275 hp/600 NM
2010 for 2,5 years and just changed to a A6 diesel 3.0 bi-TDI 313 hp/650 NM
bi-turbo two weeks ago. (factory delivery at Neckarsulm factory in Germany!)

For me, the looks of the XF is superior to almost every car i know.
I bought the car quite impulsive just by how it looked...

For 2,5 years i have been irritated by the inferiour build quality..
(especialy the interior)
Lots of squeeks and rattles, lots of little technical problems etc.
The rest value of the car after 2,5 years is a shame.
(got less than 45% after 2,5 year)
XF engine and ride quality very good! Lots of fun to drive the XF!
More sporty feeling than the A6. More emotion, more road contact/feeling.

Two weeks ago got the A6. A different world!!
Even better ride, superiour build quality, finaly a quality feeling,
quattro is great, seats are better than XF, more comfort, more silent,
better gadgets etc.
For me this is in almost every way a better car, except the looks...

Good luck with your choise!

zamalek

i do appreciate everyone's input, i already emailed my leasing company to wrap up the paper work for the A6, after driving the s4 for a few years, it's nice to have that engine back in a more comfortable package, i will miss the v8 rumble of the jag, but i would've missed everything else about the audi if i went with the jag, will pick up probably wed., and post pics soon, thanks again everyone