Audi A6 vs Hyundai Sonata

The 2025 Hyundai Sonata presented a striking appearance with its new face harmonizing well with the car's curvy bodywork, giving it a long, sleek, and well-proportioned profile. However, the rear styling updates were less successful, with angular lighting and multiple character lines creating a somewhat incongruent look. The Sonata's appearance varied with trim levels, with the Preferred-Trend and N Line trims offering different aesthetic touches. The interior of the Sonata N Line was notable for its dark grey colour scheme, which contrasted with the typical black interiors of sport-tuned vehicles. Despite the good quality of materials and user-friendly switchgear, the interior could have benefited from more colour contrast to enhance its stylistic appeal.

The 2026 Audi A6, while handsome, did not make a visually striking impression. Its design featured a lower "singleframe" grille and fender flares inspired by the Quattro rally car, providing definition along the sides. The A6's lighting included programmable LED headlights and taillights, although the symbols for different functions were similar and could be confusing. The A6 was available in base, Progressiv, and Technik trims, with the Technik trim offering a sportier appearance through the S Line Black package. Despite its sporty exterior, the interior materials of the A6 were disappointingly bland and cheap-feeling, detracting from the overall luxury experience.

The 2025 Hyundai Sonata offered a base 191-horsepower, 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine with optional AWD for the Preferred-Trend models. The Sonata Hybrid, set to arrive in 2026, promised a 192-hp drivetrain with impressive fuel economy. The Sonata N Line, however, was the performance highlight, featuring a turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine producing 290 hp and 311 pound-feet of torque. This engine, paired with a dual-clutch automatic transmission, delivered a brash and boisterous driving experience, although it lacked AWD. The N Line's sport-tuned suspension and other performance enhancements provided athletic handling, but the car's torque often led to a loss of grip. Despite this, the N Line remained comfortable for urban driving, with firm suspension tuning offering impressive ride isolation.

The 2026 Audi A6 featured a turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 engine, producing 362 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque, paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and standard quattro AWD. This powertrain made the A6 feel energetic, although there was a notable hesitation from the transmission under heavy throttle. The A6's handling was enhanced by brake-based torque vectoring and an optional sport rear differential, which improved cornering performance. The Sport Plus package offered additional handling improvements, but the trade-off was a degradation in ride quality. The A6's steering system provided excellent precision, although the artificial heft in Dynamic mode was noticeable. Overall, the A6 was better suited for highway driving than spirited canyon carving.

The 2025 Hyundai Sonata N Line featured a standard panoramic glass sunroof and a grey interior, creating a spacious and welcoming atmosphere. The heated and power-adjustable front seats offered good comfort and support, although seat ventilation was only available on the Preferred-Trend model. Rear passengers benefited from air conditioning vents and USB charging ports, with ample headroom and legroom. The Sonata's storage solutions were thoughtful, with a roomy bin under the centre armrest and a wireless smartphone charger. The trunk offered 441 litres of cargo space, with enclosed hinges making packing easier.

The 2026 Audi A6, despite being six centimetres longer than its predecessor, did not offer increased passenger space. The panoramic glass roof added front-seat headroom, but rear-seat dimensions remained similar. The A6 provided comparable space to a BMW 5 Series, with heated rear seats and climate controls. The trunk, with 382 litres of cargo space, was smaller than the previous generation but still competitive within its class. The 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats allowed for flexibility in accommodating longer items.

The 2025 Hyundai Sonata came equipped with a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a digital instrumentation panel, both housed under a single curved display. Standard features included wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, SiriusXM, and Bluelink, offering a range of remote services. The N Line trim added navigation, wireless charging, and a Bose sound system. Hyundai's infotainment system was praised for its intuitive interface and responsive voice recognition.

The 2026 Audi A6 introduced the Digital Stage setup, featuring an 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster and a 14.5-inch touchscreen. An optional front-passenger touchscreen was available, but the main screen's driver-oriented tilt limited its usability for passengers. The MMI infotainment system was criticized for its oversimplified layouts and inconvenient pop-up menus. Audi planned to roll out an updated interface mid-year, addressing some of these issues. The optional Bang & Olufsen audio system offered unique headrest speakers for navigation directions.

The 2025 Hyundai Sonata earned a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS, thanks to improvements in rear-seat passenger protection and structural integrity. Standard safety features included forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and lane-keeping assist. The Sonata N Line featured Highway Driving Assist, a semi-autonomous system that combined adaptive cruise control with lane-centring assist. The Sonata also received five-star crash-test ratings from the NHTSA, with the exception of a four-star rating for driver-side frontal-impact protection.

The 2026 Audi A6 came standard with a comprehensive suite of driver-assist features, including adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, and lane departure warning. However, the lane centring feature allowed for some lane wobble, and the driver monitoring system was robust. Crash-test ratings from the IIHS and NHTSA were not available at the time of writing, as is typical for a new model year.