The Cadillac CTS 3.6 Takes On The Audi A6 3.0T, BMW 535i xDrive, And Mercedes-Benz E350 (Part 5)

Audi A6 3.0T

If the Mercedes is the supreme luxury car of the group and the Cadillac is the dominant sports sedan, the Audi A6 3.0T is the great compromise.

The Audi brings its own deep satisfaction to back-road driving

Compromise has been turned into a bad word by obstinate lawmakers and a nation of detestable political pundits. But in the world of luxury-sports sedans, a compromise between the opposite ends of the spectrum is just where most buyers want to be. Okay, if you still can’t' stomach the word compromise, try substituting it with happy medium, or balance - or, hell, call it a win-win, if you must.

Our scoring system rewards a balance of attributes. Look at the Final Results chart. Notice how the A6 wasn't the clear winner in any of the broad categories ("vehicle", "powertrain", "chassis", or "experience"). Whereas the Mercedes and Cadillac soared and slumped in the rankings and the BMW scored well only in the powertrain category, the Audi racked up good numbers everywhere and finished with a five-point lead over the Caddy.

Carrying the lowest center of gravity in the group, and endowed with faultless body control, the A6 is predictable, precise, and perfectly stable

This makes the A6 our rational, reasonable choice instead of the emotional one. But that doesn't mean the Audi is cold or uninvolving. While it isn't as tantalizingly frisky as the Cadillac, the Audi brings its own deep satisfaction to back-road driving. Carrying the lowest center of gravity in the group, and endowed with faultless body control, the A6 (with the $1500 Sport package) is predictable, precise, and perfectly stable. This, too, is a variety of fun.

The steering, which is a bit flavorless, is at least nicely matched to the chassis. The A6 ran through our slalom faster (42.6mph) and gripped the skidpad more tenaciously (0.88g) than the others. All four cars wore M+S-rated tires. A soggy brake pedal was the A6's only real dynamic demerit. Even then, the car delivered second-in-test emergency-braking distance from 70 mph (171 feet).

The blown V-6 delivered a big wad of its highest-in-test torque at the twitch of a big toe

Along with the BMW's turbocharged inline-six, the Audi's supercharged 3.0-liter proves that a force-fed, smaller-displacement six (this one a "V") is the best means of motivating two tons of luxury. Not only are the BMW and Audi quicker than their naturally aspirated competitors, their engines are also smoother and produce greater torque. The A6 was our passing champ both on the test track and the road. The blown V-6 delivered a big wad of its highest-in-test torque at the twitch of a big toe. The eight-speed automatic transmission served up the correct gears almost as presciently as the essentially identical transmission in the BMW. All this makes the Audi feel lighter over the road than it has any right to feel.

The A6 was our passing champ both on the test track and the road

And then there is the area where Audi has, for more than a decade, excelled: providing a beautifully designed vehicle with high apparent quality inside and out, without excess flash or fussiness. There is no fireworks display inside the Audi. The feel is more modern-art gallery than casino. It's simply an artfully executed and roomy interior, with nicely weighted knurled knobs and a phenomenally good navigation system.

In this case, the safe bet also happens to be your best bet.