The 2014 A6 TDI is available with a number of active safety features that help prevent collisions by warning the driver and/or taking evasive action. The optional Driver Assistant Plus Package ($2,300) on our test car includes adaptive cruise control which maintains a driver-selected distance from the car, and Audi Pre Sense Plus which automatically brakes the car should another car in front stop suddenly. As well, Audi Side Assist monitors the car’s blind spots and fast-approaching cars to the rear, warning the driver of a possible collision. Active Lane Assist ($600) vibrates the steering wheel if you begin to wander into the next lane at speeds over 60 km/h without signaling. It then steers the car gently back into your own lane. If you’re in the habit of changing lanes without signaling, be prepared to be educated by your car.

2014 Audi A6 TDI. Click image to enlarge

When parking, front and rear parking sensors emit audible warnings as the car approaches another car or wall and Audi’s 360 degree camera system lets the driver choose a rear view, rear side view, front view, front side view, or top-down view, courtesy of cameras mounted in the mirrors, and front and rear bumpers. Though the A6 is a big car, these technologies allow most drivers to park in places they wouldn’t have attempted otherwise! However, you’ll have to pay to park this well: the cameras are part of the optional Vision Package ($4,000).

Our test car had the optional LED headlights with High Beam Assist ($1,700). These provide a wide swath of low beam illumination and an all-encompassing panorama of brilliant white light in high beam mode. The high beams lower automatically as other cars approach and raise again after they pass. The LED headlights consume up to 50% less energy, but I’m not sure they’re really much better than Xenon HID headlamps – although they certainly look cool.

2014 Audi A6 TDI parking aid – composite view, parking aid – top view, parking aid – corner view, thermal vision. Click image to enlarge

Our test car also had the optional thermal imaging camera which displays the heat signatures of people and animals up to 90 metres away in the instrument cluster. While driving at speed, the image turns from yellow to red if there is a risk of a collision. This feature is useful for revealing pedestrians, cyclists or animals that might be beyond the range of the low beams or for displaying animals on the side of the road that might be preparing to cross in front of the car. The disadvantage of this system, in my mind, is that the driver has to look down into the instrument cluster display for a moment while driving – which effectively takes their eyes off the road. Perhaps Audi can incorporate the thermal camera into the head-up display which currently projects speed and vehicle information onto the windscreen in front of the driver. Oh, and did I mention the thermal camera option is expensive? It’s part of the Night Vision Assistant option ($4,000).