AUDI has everything to play for in the mid-size luxury car segment. In Australia its A6 achieves only about half the volume of the rival BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-class, but hopes are high that the frugal, keenly-priced new four-cylinder variants will help to reverse that trend.

The Ingolstadt insurgent is already stealing market share from its German rivals, sustaining growth in the shrunken Australian market while both BMW and Mercedes sales have slipped more than five per cent.

Has Audi cracked it this time with the A6 and come up with a challenger that can be considered a true equal to its critically-acclaimed four-cylinder luxury rivals on the road as well as in the showroom, or will traditional shortcomings like a hard ride and iffy handling spoil the party?