Audi will tell you to look at the product. The company's desire to move things on dynamically can be recognised in the new A6 Avant, which has undergone a raft of chassis improvements resulting in crushingly superior on-road dynamics compared with the outgoing model. The body is 25 per cent stiffer, the wheelbase is increased by 83mm, and front and rear track increase by 72mm and 49mm respectively, all of which helps give the suspension a much larger footprint to work from. Wheel travel is dramatically better too, thanks to the new trapezoidal-link rear suspension, which is beautifully fashioned out of aluminium.

When the Avant is launched this April there will be a choice of four V6 engines (2.4 or 3.2 petrol engines and 2.7 or 3-litre TDI units), plus a range-topping 4.2-litre V8. It's a bewildering choice so, applying some sort of logic, let's start with the V8.

The quality of the latest Audi interiors is amazing, a blend of B&O mixed with a whiff of Bentley, a fusion of wood and aluminium. Keyless-go is standard on the V8, so a prod on the button next to the auto gear selector (auto only on the V8) sparks the engine into life. No distant grumble on offer here, just a solid push towards the red line with no particular spikes along the way. The steering feels disappointingly light though, offering little in the way of feel either side of straight ahead, despite being quicker geared compared with the rest of the A6 range. There's 330bhp on offer, but this range-topper still manages to be a distinctly unsporting drive, so we move on to a 3.2-litre model with S-line suspension.

Fortunately the 251bhp V6 more than makes up for the disappointing V8 with a sonorous exhaust note that delivers power all the way up to the 7000rpm redline. The steering is still irritatingly light but the nose is keener to turn into the corner, especially when fitted with the optional S-Line suspension that lowers the body by 20mm over standard as well as increasing spring rates and roll stiffness.

The 3.2-litre V6 has a 55/45 F/R weight distribution - as close to the ideal 50/50 set-up as Audi can go with the current quattro drive train. That's because it also has to engineer the cars for front-wheel drive so a certain amount of front weight bias is needed to help traction on the 2WD versions.

The new, optional, air suspension for the A6 offers three modes, comfort, dynamic and automatic. Dynamic gives a 15mm lower ride height but stiffens the damping accordingly, while the automatic setting offers the best of both worlds in terms of road holding and comfort.

What it will feel like on UK roads will have to wait until the car arrives here later this spring, but on broken Spanish tarmac the air suspension made a much better fist of filtering out the bumps than the S-line suspension did. That said, the S-line set-up does tighten the body control considerably, so it comes down to personal taste in the end. Try before ordering. Audi admits it doesn't test any of its cars in the UK - it has no test facilities over here and our roads are considered too crowded for dynamic testing. So, getting the set-up perfect is a bit of a leap of faith.

The new V6 diesels deserve a brief mention here, as they're the first diesels to match the refinement of Jaguar's new V6 diesel. With a single-turbo set-up they deliver massive torque from low down the rev range but, frustratingly, tend to fade well before the 4500rpm rev limit.

Whatever your view of the huge front grille, the A6 Avant is a good-looking family holdall - beautifully equipped and reasonable value compared with the opposition. Pick of the range is the V6 3.2 petrol quattro - I would suggest specifying a manual gearbox and air suspension if you're planning to carry passengers regularly. In Audi speak that would make it a right 'sporty' little number, assuming that's what they mean.