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Audi’s A6 will delight you. It has drop-dead gorgeous styling whose purity of design is not often found in a production car, along with an interior that is tasteful in the European idiom of wood, leather and steel.

Couple that with the fact that Audi’s all-wheel drive system is optional for $1,500 and you have a sedan that is as functional as it is graceful.

Look carefully for a moment at its arching roofline, which is becoming the symbol of Audi’s product renaissance. Even the Volkswagen Passat has a similar roofline. Why mention the Passat in the same review? Since Audi is the luxury division of Volkswagen, the A6 and Passat have a great deal in common. Along with the A4, these new products sparkle with good looks, high content and prices that are quite competitive with other vehicles in the class.

With a base price of $33,750, the A6 slots into the mid-luxury segment against competitors such as the Mercedes-Benz E-class, BMW 5-series, Cadillac Catera and Acura 3.5 RL. There is space for four people (five would be crowded), the trunk is gargantuan and the 200-horsepower, 2.8-liter V6 zips along with reasonable pep. A wallowy suspension and seats like overstuffed sofas are nowhere to be found, yet everything is there to make your driving efficient and comfortable. Power windows have an excellent one-touch-down feature, door panel map pockets have pull-out lids and the optional sunroof opens to a predetermined setting by twisting a knob.

Back-seat legroom is 2.1 inches greater than the old model. The split-folding seat back drops down to expand the trunk’s capacity to that of a small station wagon without having to remove the rear headrests or fold up the bottom seat cushions.

Audi offers three “atmospheres,” or trim packages, for the interior. Ambition has dark wood and dark upholstery; Advance has open-grain wood trim with soft upholstery; and Ambiente, which our test car had, uses satin-finished wood pieces with dull steel accents. Very stylish, like Danish modern furniture.

Like Audi’s A4, the interior is a model of precision and elegance. All instruments have soft red lighting at night, while tiny lights illuminate the door handles in the dark.

Our test car was equipped with the cold weather package ($750) that offered heated seats and, best of all, a heated steering wheel that is as decadent as gourmet chocolate but much more enjoyable on a cold morning.

Fit and finish was superb throughout, with small gaps between body panels. The cabin is quiet because very little wind or road noise intrudes. A dual-zone, automatic climate control system is standard. The optional Bose sound system was so good it would put some home systems to shame.

Coupled to the five-valve-per-cylinder, double-overhead-cam (DOHC) V6 engine is Audi’s intriguing Tiptronic five-speed automatic transmission. Normally, it functions as an automatic, but when the driver can still shift manually. Move the shif t lever to the right and now it can be shifted like a manual. Push it forward to upshift, pull it back to downshift. When you come to a stop it automatically shifts back to first gear. If you need a bit of speed, stomp the throttle and it automatically shifts down a gear. Tiptronic is a good compromise for those who want an automatic most of the time but like to shift for themselves in certain conditions.

Audi’s well-known Quattro all-wheel-drive system provides the traction of a mountain goat regardless of the weather, at a cost of $1,500. The system does add a couple hundred extra pounds, but I would put it at the top of my personal option list. Not only is it comforting to know you can tackle any weather with confidence, but it also helps give the vehicle better balance on dry pavement because it spreads traction to all four wheels.

Safety has not been ignored. Anti-lock brakes, as well as front and side airbags are standard. Side airbags for the rear seat are optiona

By carefully selecting options, a well-equipped A6 can be had for a price that is very competitive. Even if you load it up, like our test car, it offers breakthrough styling, a spacious cabin and the incredible road worthiness of all-wheel-drive at about the same price as most competitors with two-wheel drive. A station wagon variant will be available later in the year.

Now all Audi has to do is figure out how to build enough of these babies to satisfy the demand, which is sure to outstrip supply.

Price

The base price of our test car was $33,750. The options included the premium Bose audio package ($750), the cold-weather package ($1,500), the convenience package (sunroof, seat and mirror memory, auto-dimming rearview mirror)($1,650) and the Quattro all-wheel-drive system ($1,500).

The sticker price was $41,225.

Warranty

The basic warranty is for three years or 50,000 miles, and all scheduled service during this period is performed at no extra cost.

Vehicles for The Star’s week-long test drives are supplied by the auto manufacturers.

Point:Great looks, elegant interior and the beauty of all-wheel-drive made our test car most appealing. If you want a different kind of luxury car, the A6 is it.

Counterpoint: It is easy to bump up the price with option packages, but even then it is still on par with others in the segment.

SPECIFICATIONS:

ENGINE: 2.8-liter, V6

TRANSMISSION: Tiptronic

WHEELBASE: 108.7 inches

CURB WEIGHT: 3,703 lbs.

BASE PRICE: $33,750

PRICE AS DRIVEN: $41,225

MPG RATING: 17 city, 26 hwy.