Contrary to popular belief, the autobahns don't resemble a German adaptation of the Daytona 500 despite many sections having no speed limit.
Often you will see a line of Beemers, Audis, Mercs and Porsches barrelling down the fast lane at over 200km/h, but real reckless driving is virtually unheard of. Germans have lane discipline like I've never seen before with slower vehicles religiously sticking to the slower lanes. And even the speed freaks slow down to a sensible velocity when it rains.
It's fast but devoid of much drama, a lot like the new Audi S6 and S7 Sportback that I've just driven through the picturesque rural areas surrounding Munich in Bavaria. Unlike the previous S6, there's no detuned Lamborghini V10 beneath these bonnets. Instead Audi went the 'downsized' route with these which, along with idle stop, cylinder deactivation and generous use of aluminium in the body, makes the new S6 allegedly 25 percent more efficient than before. Combined consumption is listed at just 9.6 litres per 100km, which is probably achievable if you drive like you would in a retirement village with speed cameras.
DECEPTIVELY FAST
But de-toothed the S6 and S7 ain't. Even after the engine hacksawing job, they still have eight cylinders, two turbos and some impressive numbers: 309kW on command at 5500rpm and 550Nm of twist from 1500rpm. Enough, Audi reckons, to launch the S6 sedan from standstill to 100km/h in just 4.6 seconds - or 4.7 in the case of the Avant and S7. Flattening the right pedal, I found it hard to believe these figures until I looked at the speed I was doing. The accelerator pedal is responsive enough but you really don't feel yourself being pushed back into your seat and the 4-litre V8 has a wickedly throaty gargle, but it's just so muted by the time it infiltrates the cabin.
Here's an understatement - the S6 and S7 are deceptively fast.
NOISE CONTROL - ANC-STYLE
Refined too. Don't ever overlook these as potential family cars. They're just so quiet, smooth and pampering that apart from that faint V8 hum that still sneaks into the cocoon, you'll often forget you're driving a performance car. They even have a system called Active Noise Control (yes, ANC). Like its namesake, the device is not quite capable of muting Juju, but it does get rid of other unwanted sounds via a 3D ultrasonic pattern that mimics the targeted noise - when two waves of the same frequency overlap, their amplitudes can cancel each other out. But it's not yet capable of exporting your thoughts to an alien civilisation via a wormhole, but Audi is probably working on that right now.
ADAPTIVE AIR SUSPENSION
All of this refinement would be pointless if the car had a chiropractor-empowering ride. Luckily the S6 and S7 have 'adaptive air suspension sport' that provides a compliant and cushy ride, at least as far as I could tell on our mostly smooth launch route. So it's comfy, but it's not floaty and in the twisties the cars are as agile as could be expected for their size thanks to quattro all-wheel drive and advanced suspension via a five-link front end and trapezoidal link rear axle.
The new electromechanical, variable-assist power steering has a nice, weighty feel at all but parking speeds, but it still feels more artificial than communicative. What does feel good is the seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch gearbox, which is smooth yet apparent in the way it goes about businesses and it does permit a slight blip from the V8 when you hit the down-change steering wheel paddles prematurely.
There isn't too much to tell these S models apart on the outside, besides 19-inch rims, aluminium-look mirrors and S-style bumpers and grille, but the cabin does have some interesting touches, like the optional oak trim with aluminium stripes and the sports seats with 'S' embossing and a diamond pattern.
Among the extensive list of optional features is a really neat head-up display that projects navigation instructions, speed and the current speed limit (captured from the last sign you passed) on the windscreen.
Other available gadgets include MMI navigation plus with eight-inch monitor, 60gb hard drive and touchpad controls (let's not forget the Google Earth and Street View nav functionality via the car's WLAN hotspot); radar-assisted adaptive cruise control with stop & go that regulates the distance to the vehicle ahead; park assist and active lane assist.
Pricing will be announced when these new Audis reach South African shores in September this year.