Understated? On the evidence of three weeks with the Audi (how I managed to wrench the keys from Harry's tightly clenched fist I'll never know) I'd beg to differ.

So many people know what it is! I've been stopped in the street and questioned exhaustively, given a test drive to my estate agent who followed me into the drive after 'seeing the car around'. I've even been snapped by a mobile phone camera from another car whilst travelling on the A3 - however this could simply have been the paparazzi thinking they'd spotted Lord Metcalfe.

The halo, hype and aura built around this car is a phenomenon. This Audi has 'A' list celebrity. It seems to be up there with, say, Ferrari or Lamborghini, but folk appear to be comfortable about approaching you to ask questions. Audi drivers must seem like 'nice' people, I guess. If I'd stepped out of a dream-marque supercar I don't imagine intrigued onlookers would have been quite so ready to get chatting.

The excuse for taking the RS6 was a holiday that would take in Cheshire, Snowdonia, then finally the south coast for my brother-in-law's 30th. I needed a car that would carry the family (four of us) and also hold the associated kit and paraphernalia for seven days away with small kids. The RS6 was indeed the ideal choice.

I kept the gearbox in auto for the motorway stuff, but once onto Snowdonia's wonderful ribbons of precipitous tarmac, I opted for the sequential mode, activating the wheel-mounted gearchange paddles and livening up the journey.

To be honest, I had been a little apprehensive about the RS6's supercar specification and the problems it might create in everyday driving. I needn't have been concerned. You only have to breathe on the throttle for day-to-day use. Cruise here, cruise there. No rush - but you do need to ensure the window's down to revel in the wonderful rumble created by that marvellous twin-turbo V8 and its two huge tailpipes.

The mountain roads simply weren't big enough for the RS6. Pick a gear, any gear, and the Audi will erupt in a fury of accelerative force; the horizon arrives very quickly. Dull steering proves to be the only downer on the whole experience.

Back to the understated bit. It's a stroke of marketing genius as far as I'm concerned. Audi claims to have taken the subtle approach, but has added enough visual tell-tales (big front grilles, fat arches) that you can't help but know that this is the 'real deal' version of the A6. Clever.