By David Haueter

Like many new drivers, my transportation options as a teenager were limited to the cars my parents had in their garage. In my case, it was a Mercury station wagon with chrome wheel covers, fake wood paneling - the works. It was a real land barge and though I was thankful for something to drive, it was not exactly the coolest car to pull up in front of the high school with. My disdain for station wagons continues to this day and can be traced back to the years spent driving that land yacht while dreaming of Porsches and Ferraris. Given that history, it was with a great deal of skepticism that I approached the Audi S6 Avant, the latest in a line of wagon's based on the successful A6 platform.

The S6 Avant is no ordinary station wagon. You see, it carries the "S" badge on its trunk, which in Audi-speak means performance. Audi is the only German manufacturer today that sells an ultra high-performance wagon. You won't see any BMW M or Mercedes AMG wagons on any roads in the States. Wagons are big business for Audi, and the addition of the high-performance S6 into the line gives them a nice niche to sell in for buyers that need the utility of a wagon but want sports sedan performance. Its closest competitor is the BMW 540i Touring wagon with the Sport package. The two are nearly a match in performance, with both cars posting 0-60 times in just a tick over 6 seconds.