2020 Audi RS6 Avant against Mercedes-AMG E63 S and Porsche Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo

This week was a great day for fans of family cars or, as our compatriots in Carfection would say, "estate cars". Indeed, Audi has announced its latest and best RS6 Avant, and unlike any other RS6 Avant, it happens in the USA.

This makes it one of the vehicles of choice that serves as a catnip for cars, which includes the Mercedes-AMG E63 S wagon and the Porsche Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo. How will Audi's new vorsprung-durch technological terror compare to the best long-roof models of Affalterbach and Zuffenhausen? Let's look at the numbers.

Powertrain

The natural starting point of this group is the transmission. Each vehicle is powered by a 4.0-liter turbocharged V8 engine, despite what the Mercedes naming conventions of the past might suggest. Among the three cars, it's the Porsche that surprises with the least power, with only 550 horses at the forefront. Then comes the Audi with a power of 592 horsepower, and the Mercedes E63 S car occupies the top of the pile, with a power of 603 horsepower.

The wise old cars say that power can sell cars, but that it is the couples who win the drag races at the Trader Joe's local who will try to defeat this last elusive spot. (I think that's what the saying goes.) Whatever it is, with regard to the rotational force, so is the Porsche that offers the least possible twist to 567 lb-ft, followed by the Audi with 590 and again, the big Benz reigns supreme with a cool 627 lb-ft.

When it comes to transmissions, do not be too excited. No more time for CTS-V six-speed manual transmission wagon. These grocery cars are all delivered with cars, although the Audi is the only model to be equipped with a traditional torque converter. In this case, this is the excellent eight-speed ZF unit found in almost everything it is today, so it's not necessarily a brand.

Training specifications

Model	Engine	Power (hp)	Couple (lb.-ft.)	Transmission
Audi RS6 2020	V8 bi-turbo 4.0 liter	592	590	Automatic 8 speeds
Wagon Mercedes-AMG E63 S 2019	V8 bi-turbo 4.0 liter	603	627	9-speed MCT
Porsche Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo 2019	V8 bi-turbo 4.0 liter	550	567	PDK with 8 speeds

Porsche was equipping the Panamera Turbo (and the Sport Turismo model that interests us here) with its latest and best eight-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (or PDK for those who do not speak fluently Porsche engineer). As usual, this bad boy has two clutches and all the quick changes you can handle. PDK has long been one of our favorite double-clutch transmissions, and it will be hard to beat, as it's in development since the 1980s.

The Mercedes also lacks torque converter for its nine-speed SpeedShift MCT unit. It has the most speed of our competitors, but transmissions have always been a weak point of the AMG cars of the past, often lagging behind the best Ingolstadt and Munich. The good news is that Mercedes Neu-Ganger is competent and easy going. It's not as fast as PDK, but to be fair, few boxes are.

Our three tributes are sold exclusively as all-wheel drive vehicles, although they also have a backward orientation towards the systems. The Audi says its Quattro system typically transmits about 70% of its power to the rear wheels, but can send up to 85% if the situation requires it.

The Mercedes, with its 4Matic + system, can send 100% of its power to the front or rear axles. It also has a drift mode (which the Audi also has) that totally disconnects the front axle. The Porsche can also send 100% of available torque to the front or rear axles depending on demand.

Performance

The reason to buy a performance break is the performance. Otherwise, you will save about $ 30,000 and simply get the standard version. In this spirit, how do our carriers of fast people compare?

The first logical point of comparison is the classic 0-60 mph race, which the AMG does in 3.4 seconds, which is downright stunning for a vehicle weighing nearly 5,000 pounds. The Audi and the Porsche claim 3.6 seconds, and although this is not as fast as the Benz, my friend, it's not slow.

If a heavy car rolls very fast, the quality of the braking system of this vehicle becomes very important. Fortunately, the 17.3-inch carbon ceramic brake discs and Audi's optional 10-arm calipers are capable of moving it from the claimed top speed to 190 mph. The Benz offers optional 15.8-inch carbon ceramic brakes and Porsche's optional Porsche carbon ceramic (PCCB) brakes at 16.5 inches in the front.

In the handling department, the expression of the day is "four-wheel steering" and of the three models we are looking at, only the Mercedes is missing. We expect it to hurt on narrower roads or on a race track, but we will have to test the three side by side to be sure – (let us test them together with Mercedes, Porsche and Audi).

Dimensions

We did all the performance work, but now we have to get into the equation. How much material can each of these murderers carry?

The Porsche Sport Turismo is a fast car, but it's rather an honorable mention in the wagon category. Although he has a thicker ass than his more cut cousin, he can only carry 18.3 cubic feet of freight. If you plan to do a lot of Ikea racing, invest in a sturdy roof rack or van.

The Audi is the second best, although this is partly based on speculation. We do not know exactly if the RS6 has lost a loading dock in its transition from the S6 model, but the S6 offers at least a reasonable, if not cavernous, solution for your business. Compared to the wagon with which all other cars must be judged – the venerable Volvo 240 (or 245, if you're a pest) – it has more than 21 cubic feet.

Finally, the E63 S rises again to the top of the podium with a convenient storage space of 35 cubic feet. If there is a powerful and breathtaking version of Supermarket Sweep type "Top Gear", it's the car you want to use for it.

Cargo and pricing

Model	Loading capacity	Base price
Audi RS6 Avant 2020	20	$ 105,000 (est.)
Mercedes-AMG E63 S 2019	35	$ 108,850
Porsche Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo 2019	18.3	$ 155,500

Price

This is the part of the fast wagon argument that is the most difficult to live with. These products are not cheap, partly because of their performance, partly because they are German and lastly because they are niche vehicles with weak sales figures. Nevertheless, if you are shopping between these three cars, you will want to know how much they will cost.

First, we have no price for the RS6 because Audi has not yet published, but we can deduce a number of things before starting to speculate savagely. The C7 generation RS6 was sold in the UK for around £ 80,000, or around $ 97,000. If we take into account some price spike, technology and added features, we bet that the RS6 will start around $ 105,000 in the United States. It is a lot of money, but it only goes up from there.

The Mercedes-AMG E63 S car starts at just under $ 109,000 before options or fees. Of course, no one would buy a basic model E63 S, so that according to our preferred specifications, with some comfort options, carbon-ceramic brakes, all the driving assistance and sports exhausts, it is would be around $ 130,000.

One of Porsche's oldest slogans was "There is no substitute" and, based on the prices of the Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo, we are going to assume that she still believes it a lot. The entry price of the Turbo Sport Turismo is $ 155,000. This is before any option, and you know that the list of options is really long.

To get the Panamera with features similar to those of the Audi and Mercedes, we would have easily exceeded $ 200,000. Do not forget either that it is not even about the prominent panamera. There is the extremely powerful Turbo S E-Hybrid model that is even more expensive, starting at $ 190,200 before options, although it produces 677 hp.