Audi has raised its game with the new A6 Avant, says Edward Stephens

You know how it is. You have your arms full of shopping when you reach your car and you either have to put everything on the floor or do a juggling act while you try to find your keys to open the boot.

Well not any longer, if you happen to be in the market for Audi’s new Avant that is.

With the latest Avant – that’s estate to you and me – all you do is wave your foot under the rear bumper to activate two sensors, which then automatically open the rear tailgate so you can deposit your parcels without dropping anything.

It might sound like a small thing but small things such as this make a car easier to live with.

The new Avant bears a striking resemblance to the car it replaces but the design is sharper and crisper and it’s packed with a host of new options.

It’s slightly shorter in length but there is a longer wheelbase and that brings with it a larger carrying capacity of some 565 litres, or 1,680 litres if you fold the rear seats down.

Everyone’s conscious of current fuel prices so the new range has the double bonus of more powerful engines and more miles per gallon.

The expected best seller in the range for example, the 2.0-litre TDI, jumps from 170 to 177bhp and boasts an average fuel consumption of more than 56 miles per gallon.

The boost in economy is also helped by the fact that the new cars now weigh significantly less, thanks to more use of aluminium components. In fact these now make up 20 per cent of the body and the 2.0-litre TDI version is now 15 per cent lighter than an all-steel equivalent.

The bias towards diesel means that the new line up consists of three diesel models and just one petrol.

Apart from the 2.0-litre TDI there are two 3.0-litre V6 TDI models, one offering 204bhp and one offering 245bhp. The petrol model is also a 3.0 litre.