ALMOST as if accompanied by the strains of the legendary "Autumn Concerto" the latest Audi A6 Avant smoothly slid into the UK as last year drew to a close,

For some years now the German car giant has been renowned for its ability to produce an almost unceasing line of excellent new cars, resulting in Audi recording a best ever worldwide sales figure of 1,302,650 in 2011, which included some 113,703 models in Britain.

However, this latest line-up of Audi's A6 Avant range, estate car to the uninitiated, was a car I had awaited with great expectation.

I was not to be disappointed, "lovely to look at, delightful to hold," saying it all for this strikingly sculpted load carrier.

Comfort was all around in a cabin which, from a hugely comfortable Nougat Brown Valcona heated, leather driver's seat, proved well equipped and thoughtfully laid out in very user-friendly fashion.

The kit manifest proved more than comprehensive with all A6 models getting Audi's Driver's Information System, electromechanical parking brake, dual zone climate control, auto dimming rear view mirror, cruise control, rain sensor, parking system, tyre pressure monitoring and anti theft alarm, plus those all-important anti theft wheel bolts.

However, while the A6 Avant multitronic entry level model driven here is priced at £36,970, Audi's optional extras box bulges with goodies such as the likes of easy to operate MMI Navigation plus including MMI Touchpad, 18-inch alloys, electrically adjustable front seats, bi-xenon headlights, DVD/CD changer in glove compartment and much more, all of which can boost the asking price to a whopping £48,745.

Also a standard feature is the Audi Drive Selective Dynamics System which allows drivers to fine tune the car's steering, air suspension, throttle pedal etc via the MMI screen while a notable line-up of safety items includes Audi's Pre Sense which helps to sense dangers in advance and take appropriate action.

Seated behind a four-spoke leather trimmed steering wheel there is splendid all round vision and occupant room is certainly not at a premium.

The Avant is accommodatingly roomy for luggage with 565 litres of boot space with all seats occupied while easy to fold down rear seats boost the carrying capacity to a hefty 1,680 litres.

With an impressive 3.0-litre diesel engine this A6 comes very much into its own on the road and paired with an amazingly efficient eight-speed multitronic transmission this is one of the most reassuring of cars to drive as it responds to the throttle and introduces extra power to use the overtaking lanes in effortless fashion.

This latest A6 Avant also produces some quite surprising levels of efficiency. What is quite a decent sized estate car proved capable of introducing a level of fuel usage over a combined driving route of over 54mpg, assisted, of course, by the smooth operation of Audi's clever stop/start technology.

With the assistance of traction control provided by the ESP it also handles well whatever the surface, the powerful surge of engine combining well with a highly effective suspension set-up to make this new executive estate very much a smooth operator.