SW17LS

I agree, I've just had these cars for a long time...can't shake the desire to try something different.

ilv1004s

iTrader: (8)

Plz...
A6 over GS?
GS anyday
i was in the same boat a while ago
either New A6 GS or a 5
the GS feels better around corners
the GS has better highspeed stability
the GS sounds better
and Also the GS looks better
thought out right acceleration the GS was the slowest i think whith the cars that i was looking at

but ended up buying a GS350F
Just because i knew the car was gonna last more than 4 years

SW17LS

I think for me it's probably because the GS is a little rougher around the edges, it's supposed to be, but the A6 seems a little more muted and subdued, which is kind of what I'm used to. What I really liked about the A6 was that it retained much of the plush, glasslike ride I've got in the ES while delivering much flatter, better handling.

I've got to drive a GS with the luxury package and the adaptive suspension and see what I think of that...

Styling wise, overall I gotta say I like the A6. I like the GS from most angles, but the front is still a little aggressive to me. The A6 however I like from every angle.

natnut

Drove the A7 and the GS350 F-Sport RWD ( with adaptive suspension and rear wheel steering).

No comparison :
The A7 has better outright grip but its steering is devoid of feedback and feels way too artificial.
The GS F-Sport feels so much more nimble and tossable around the corner and the steering feel ( In Sport + mode)kills the A7 outright.
In short, the GS feels like a much smaller and lighter car around the corner while the A7 feels really heavy and ponderous. It feels fast in a straight line due to the torquey 3 liter supercharged engine but that all changes when you have to negotiate a series of corners.The GS dances, the A7 grips and sticks.

Since the A7 and A6 are essentially the same platform and suspension, I think my experience is relevant as to how both cars compare in handling.

FYI, Insideline test drove both cars and the GS F-Sport has the higher slalom speed indicating better chassis set-up and responsiveness.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

I've almost seen both these statements in multiple publications

bsrp

Studied A6/7 and GS before making purchasing decision. (Also, BMW 7, Merc, jags, cadillac. Wound up buying GS450h which turned out to be close to what I wanted: smaller car (had a big Q45- brilliant, but no longer available and won't be), similar weight to my Q, similar luxury and build quality, and exceptional handling/performance. The 450h, depending on user setting, has so far gotten me 31.5-7 combined mpg, though that did not factor into my decision much. The real surprise? That car can accelerate like a bat out of hell! No joke. No exaggeration. The Audi interior is busy, rear visibility of the A7 problematic, and noise level too loud for the price. the Lexus interior is clean and uncluttered, but it's a tablet on wheels and must be learned. Though more noise than my Q (by far) still better than the Audi. Final deciding factor was reliability history. Bought totally optioned 450 easily elevating the price paid well into LS territory. Though it failed to score first place points in every category (price for example) it scored 2nd place in so many areas it total blew competitor cars out of the water. If you are considering a GS 350 or A6/7 check outA6/7 the hybrid.

ilv1004s

iTrader: (8)

oh yeah forgot the mention the adaptive suspension in the GS actually works
very nice piece of gear

Outrage

After driving both the A6 and GS 350 I came to some conclusions. The A6 feels ponderous in comparison to the GS 350. The A6's steering is slightly artificial feeling and vehicle tends to understeer more. It drives like a FWD-based vehicle. The GS 350 feels more agile, the steering is less onerous and the vehicle responds quickly to steering inputs. The chassis is balanced and never seems to get out of shape. There is little to no understeer, even with AWD, yet the rear has sufficient grip as well. It's very neutral. The GS 350 feels like it weighs hundreds of pounds less because it weighs hundreds of pounds less.

The A6 3.0T's engine did seem more tractable through its rev range, but the eight speed transmission's calibration was annoying. It was constantly up or down-shifting. It was rarely in the correct gear. While it has two additional gears over the transmission in the GS 350, gears seven and eight are overdrive gears (< 1:1). Consequently, the A6's transmission is biased for higher fuel economy numbers on the highway rather than maximizing acceleration. The GS 350's engine seems sufficiently powerful unless you are bogging in the lower parts of its rev range. The GS 350's engine is happiest in higher parts of its rev range, so it requires a downshift when you want to get going. With that said, I think the gear spacing on the GS 350 is better for a performance application. This creates a fuel economy penalty on the highway, but hell, we are talking about $50,000+ cars, aren't we?

The A6 uses a large amount of brown plastic in its tan interiors which I think looks cheap. The interior materials, while not bad, aren't as nice as those in the GS 350. I found the seats in the A6 uncomfortable and the GS 350's seats highly comfortable. The A6 does have a better technology package versus the GS 350. The large display in the instrument cluster is nice as is the navigation system's Google Maps integration.

In the end it came down to the driving experience beyond all other factors. The GS 350 offers a better overall driving experience, IMO. Quantitatively, Lexus is known for incredible reliability. VAG products are known for their terrible reliability. The Lexus will retain more of its value when I decide to trade it in versus the Audi as well. I don't think the Audi A6 is a bad vehicle. It was my second choice when making a purchasing decision.

SW17LS

Yeah I agree with this assessment. The interior on the A6 that I would get is the nougat brown with the ash matte wood inserts. Even then, the dash materials and such are much better on the GS, as is the interior in general.