Audi impressed me last summer with its redesigned compact A4 — a rare intersection of elegance and driver-friendliness among entry-level luxury cars — but I can't get fired up about the A4's larger sibling, the midsize A6. The elder Audi has no shortage of clever innovations, and its styling is vintage Audi: unassuming at first, then desirable in all its subtleties a day or two later. Alas, for a number of reasons — most of them related to the driving experience — it can't combine driving thrills with cabin quality like a number of its competitors do.

2009 Audi A6	Side-by-Side Comparison
Starting MSRP $45,100 – $60,950	Change Vehicle