2014 Audi A6 TDI Outperforms EPA Grades by 50 Percent in Cross-country Test

The four-rings brand is bolstering its lineup of clean-diesel entries this year with the debut of players like the 2014 Audi A6 TDI, A7 TDI and Q5 TDI, and all three promise to combine superior fuel economy with an unmatchable driving experience. And the trio doesn’t just promise that performance, it delivers, as Audi found out during its recent “Truth in 48” efficiency challenge.

The event saw a team of eight drivers attempt to pilot a 2014 Audi A6 TDI, as well as a diesel-powered A7 and Q5, from Audi’s West Coast HQ in Torrance, Calif., to Manhattan in under 48 hours—without sacrificing their EPA-certified fuel-efficiency ratings. Needless to say, the results were stunning, with each vehicle significantly besting its EPA highway and combined fuel-economy ratings during the 2,850-mile trip. By making the jaunt in 46 hours, 9 minutes, at an average speed of 62.44 mph, and achieving 43.561 mpg, the 2014 Audi A6 TDI bested its EPA highway mark by 15 percent and topped its combined rating by 50 percent; the A7 TDI ran the distance at an average speed of 62.17 mph, while achieving 42.653 mpg that’s 12 percent better than its EPA highway grade and 47 percent ahead of its official combined rating; and the Q5 TDI successfully completed the challenge with an average speed of 61.9 mph at 38.623 mpg, exceeding its EPA highway/combined grades by 24.5 percent/43 percent.

As an FYI, the EPA ratings for the troika are:

• 2014 Audi A6 TDI—24 mpg city/38 mpg highway/29 mpg combined
• 2014 Audi A7 TDI—24/38/29
• 2014 Audi Q5 TDI—24/31/27

“Crossing the United States in fewer than 48 hours is a hurdle few have ever contemplated let alone completed,” said Wayne Gerdes, one of the nation’s leading high-mileage driving experts and owner of CleanMPG.com. “To complete that journey while also beating an automobile’s EPA highway fuel economy rating seemed even more impossible.”