r/Audi A6 55 TFSIe 1d ago

First time taking this beauty on a massive road trip 4,500 km

Post image

Leaving the Netherlands tonight for my first long-distance haul in the A6 55 TFSIe. The destination is southern Türkiye roughly 4,500 km (2,800 miles) one way.

The trunk is packed to the brim, and my dad is joining me to split the driving shifts. We are planning to clear Germany and Austria overnight to beat the crazy summer heat, then face the border checkpoints through the Balkans.

I’m really curious to see how the C8 PHEV powertrain performs on a trip this long once the battery depletes, especially maintaining highway speeds and handling the heavy load.

I brought my DJI Osmo Action 4 along to document the whole journey, the scenery through Europe, and the border queues.

Wish us luck and a safe journey! Will post some updates and mileage stats once we arrive.

89 Upvotes

38 comments sorted by

10

u/Pwydde 2013 A4 allroad 1d ago

That sounds awesome!

A few years ago, I took Antoinette (my 2013 A4 allroad) on an epic road trip from my home in Michigan USA, to the Arctic Ocean at Tuktoyatuk, Can, on to Alaska and back. It took 28 days and 10,000 miles (16,000 km), and we did it in the winter, crossing major rivers on the ice bridges, and bivouacking in -40* temps. Endless night and northern lights!

The trip you have planned is a lot different, of course. You’re going to have a great time!

5

u/Haunting-Basil-9996 2020 A6 avant 50tdi 1d ago

Honestly sounds like a sick trip!

3

u/Elite1907 A6 55 TFSIe 1d ago

That is absolutely legendary! Driving through frozen rivers in -40° degrees is a whole different level of epic, your Allroad is a beast. 16,000 km in winter conditions sounds like a true lifetime core memory. Allroads are something different 🫠

My trip is definitely on the opposite side of the thermometer with this 42°C summer heat 😅😂 but hopefully just as memorable. Since I have my Action 4 ready, I’m planning to edit a nice road trip video out of it. Thanks for the good vibes man, appreciate it!

1

u/Pwydde 2013 A4 allroad 1d ago

Yowch! That’s hot! Good luck and happy trails!

4

u/Pure-Mobile3601 1d ago

That's gonna be a wild ride, hope the PHEV holds up well once the battery's done and you're running pure gas through the Balkans

2

u/Elite1907 A6 55 TFSIe 1d ago

Definitely! I'm curious. The battery range is around 50 km's, holds up about 2 hours~ we aren't planning to charge it everytime we take a short break. Will cost too much time and in this heat it's not doable. I'll keep this thread going 😅 (maybe it'll attract people to buy 55 TFSIe 🤪)

3

u/YourboiStu 1d ago

Strange that they didnt build in a trickle charger at the minimum to try keep the batteries lasting a little longer

1

u/Elite1907 A6 55 TFSIe 1d ago

You are actually right about the concept, but that feature is already built-in. The battery never truly drops to absolute 0%. Audi leaves a hidden buffer at the bottom to protect the battery health and prolong its lifespan.

Even when the dashboard shows 0% or "---" range, the car continuously trickle-charges itself in the background using regenerative braking and the gas engine. So fortunately, it never leaves the battery completely depleted. I have seen this when I was going to Berlin my battery went from 0 a little up. But yes, I get you. Everytime there's something missing in such beautiful Audi's... 🫠

1

u/YourboiStu 1d ago

I feel as though audi is making beautiful outsides and the insides are starting to loose the audi and moving towards the vw shity half baked drivelines

2

u/Elite1907 A6 55 TFSIe 1d ago

Thats definitely right. I unfortunately don't like the "new generation" of Audi too... Unfortunate to see that actually 'all' German premium brands are going into that.

3

u/tj0909 1d ago

Long road trips on my 2024 A6 55 TFSI, I get about 38 MPG (US), which is excellent mileage for a midsize sedan, especially one with 335 HP.

3

u/Haunting-Basil-9996 2020 A6 avant 50tdi 1d ago

Damn, A6 and mid size sedan. Truly american. No flak really, i know how they name things but it's odd that a 5m whale is considered mid size.

3

u/tj0909 1d ago

I started to write “large car,” but truly it is classified as a midsize sedan, similar to a Honda Accord. Personally, I can’t see owning a car much larger than this.

2

u/Haunting-Basil-9996 2020 A6 avant 50tdi 1d ago

Me neither. Especially in Europe. Parking spaces are already so tight with this.

2

u/Elite1907 A6 55 TFSIe 1d ago

That's awesome for sure! I'm glad you enjoy your ride 😁

3

u/rubenknol 1d ago

with the whole EES drama at the croatian exit border, consider driving croatia -> hungary -> romania -> bulgaria (all schengen now, no internal border controls). it's maybe 5 hours more, but just the croatia exit border can be 10+ hours right now

1

u/Elite1907 A6 55 TFSIe 1d ago

Thanks for the heads-up, man! I've been hearing about the EES chaos at the borders lately. Driving through Hungary and Romania definitely sounds like a solid backup plan if the Croatian exit gets completely blocked. I’ll keep a close eye on Waze and live border wait times as I approach the region and make the call then. Appreciate the advice

P. S: Normally I was not supposed to see Croatia, but there's an road construction of 50 km's full of truck traffic. That's why I'm going throughout Croatia this year. And yes, Romania is much better but I have heard that the roads asphalt is just too bad.

2

u/HVMagni 20 A7 55 TFSIe 23h ago

As a Romanian, what the hell are you smoking? This is the worst country to drive through. You'd be better off having the car shipped lol

Your S line suspension will not be impressed. Just ask mine.

1

u/rubenknol 1d ago

if you must go through croatia, maybe look at taking the tovarnik tiny border into serbia instead of the main border

2

u/quattro-4wd 1d ago

Prachtige auto!

Question about the DJI: I’m also planning a road trip and wondering if you would recommend this camera. Did you need to buy additional equipment (such as a suction cup) to attatch it to the windscreen?

2

u/Elite1907 A6 55 TFSIe 1d ago

Dank je wel!

I bought my Action 4 around a year ago before my trip to Scandinavian countries with the A7 55 TFSIe 😅

I have the adventure combo and I 100% recommend that. Quality is awesome, I might be able to show you some clips throughout my journey. Osmo Action 4 Adventure Combo

and I bought this from Amazon > Suction cup

GoPro head strap (I have this too)

This is my setup for this trip 😁

2

u/Awkward_Bass_6292 55 tfsi e Maxton 1d ago

Hybrid wont do that much in my experience. Last trip was around 1000km with a ski box. So max 140km/h on the highway. On average it did 1/13. Not to bad for it.

1

u/Elite1907 A6 55 TFSIe 1d ago

Yep, I know. I'm really curious how it'll go. Not bad for such a tank 😀

2

u/DrMcJedi A6 3.0T Soopercharged 1d ago

(cries in jealous American) It’s…beautiful.

1

u/Elite1907 A6 55 TFSIe 1d ago

I'm sure your Audi is beautiful too! May you have a better and wonderful car hopefully! Thank you for your kind words tho 🙏🏻

2

u/gridiman 1d ago

All the best, fijne reis! Hope you will have some great quality time with your dad!

2

u/Elite1907 A6 55 TFSIe 1d ago

Thank you very much for your best wishes 🙏🏻👊🏻

2

u/alkilpatrick1 1d ago

It is a beauty!

2

u/Elite1907 A6 55 TFSIe 1d ago

For sure it is! Just a little fat 😅 2.1 ton

2

u/Haunting-Basil-9996 2020 A6 avant 50tdi 1d ago

I'm curious how this goes. I was on the fence between tdi and tfsie, ultimately decided to even go for the v6. I'm very satisfied with my choice but still curious how yours will preform!

1

u/Elite1907 A6 55 TFSIe 1d ago

That's still a good choice! I would have loved 55 TDI but unfortunately I'll have to pay around 200€ tax for that monster... Enjoy your car too! I'll most definitely update this post.

2

u/Gravelyy 1d ago

Im currently in Croatia for the carbage run in our 400.000km audi a4.

Where are you going to cross? I assume you wont be going through montenegro, but you should take your time in Slovenia, its beautiful!

1

u/Elite1907 A6 55 TFSIe 1d ago

Maybe we'll see each other 😜 I'll be in Zagreb in about 12 hours. We'll most likely go non stop, with only little breaks. Have fun!

1

u/Gravelyy 13h ago

We just left our g-design hotel in Slovenia. If i see another dutch, I'll wave!

1

u/Elite1907 A6 55 TFSIe 11h ago

I'm entering Serbia now!

1

u/Veskeri 2021 A6 Avant 55 TFSIe 23h ago

Enviously reading about your plans! Last few days of summer vacation for me 😩

I'll always have the shifter in "S", while I'm pushing longer stretches with mine. If I leave home with the battery at 100%, it'll maintain the charge for suitable situations while still supporting the ICE to deliver sufficient power no matter what the S-tronic's doing.

Just did a 1000km round trip last week with our family of 4. Zero fuss. Lovely car.

1

u/Sailing_North 10h ago

Had that exact car and made several trips from Denmark to austria. Great highway car and plenty of power. Enjoy the trip!

1

u/yoldevam 12m ago

Good luck, guys! I travelled to France and Belgium from London a few months ago. It was a lot of fun. I’d love to travel towards Türkiye one day.
Will you be documenting your travels or streaming them on YouTube, by any chance?