/ 6 July 2010

Quietly quattro

Quietly Quattro

People often ask me what the big deal is about all-wheel drive cars such as Audi’s A6 3,0-litre quattro and, simply put, it allows for superior road-holding with a transmission system that provides power to all four wheels.

Passenger cars are either front-wheel drive (like most Audis), where power is sent to the front wheels, or they are rear-wheel drive (like most BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes), where power is obviously transferred to the rear wheels. Both systems have their pros and cons, but neither match up to permanently active all-wheel drive, which up until recently was offered on top-end vehicles in Audi’s range, SUVs in other vehicle ranges and on all Subaru passenger cars.

However, due to customer demand Audi has been introducing cars lower down in its product ranges with quattro (Italian for four) all-wheel drive.

Such is quattro’s ability to keep cars in check that Audis used for track (and rally) racing usually incur a weight penalty as a means of levelling out the playing field, as the Audi in question would otherwise have the upper hand over other cars, which don’t have the extra grip that all-wheel drive provides.

Of course it goes without saying that no one should be driving in such a reckless manner as to make all-wheel drive a necessity, but it also goes without saying that most South African drivers believe they’re better than Lewis Hamilton and Danica Patrick put together, so those of us who don’t treat our roads like raceways might just find quattro to be an invaluable system when one of those twerps loses control and we then have to do some quick manoeuvring to ensure we don’t become statistics along with said twerps.

My appreciation of the Audi A6’s quattro technology is due to one of those idiots talking on his cellphone while driving.

I was merrily tootling down the road when a guy in a hatchback came screeching down a side road on the left and turned into traffic in front of me without stopping at the Stop sign to check whether or not there was a gap in traffic. Thankfully there was little oncoming traffic so a quick swerve to the right, a few choice Hindi swear words, another swerve to the left and I narrowly avoided crashing into the moron who couldn’t apologise (not that he wanted to) because his right hand was holding a cellphone to his ear while his left hand was on the steering wheel.

It’s possible that any other car would’ve managed those manoeuvres, but the fact that I did it so effortlessly in the A6 afforded me a renewed appreciation for all-wheel drive cars, if only for those inevitable moments when a halfwit on a cellphone is going to do something dangerous.

Fast facts
Price: R595 000
Engine: 3,0-litre V6 turbocharged
Tech: 213kW and 420Nm
Top speed: 250km/h, 0 to 100 in 5,9 seconds