THERE'S nothing flash about Audi's A6.

No dramatic spoilers or eye-catching body kit, just an elegant, timeless design that says the buyer has refined good taste rather than garish desire.

What you get is a car that has evolved over a number of years so that the latest generation has been honed to close on perfection.

It's large, spacious and offers the kind of sporting drive that has made the marque so popular in this country.

There's a very good reason why the majority of people who win the lottery say their car of choice now they are in the money is an Audi.

But while the new A6 offers a sporty drive the 2.0 TDI model also offers sensible economy as more and more people are conscious of the number of pounds spent at the pumps.

Averaging more than 57 miles to the gallon - which is impressive for such a large car - the new A6 is also environmentally friendly with CO2 levels of just 129g/km so you won‘t be paying an extortionate amount of road tax.

But don't let all this frugality make you think that it must be lacking in performance.

Boasting some 177bhp this latest model is capable of whisking you from standstill to 62 miles per hour in a very creditable 8.7 seconds, helped by a reduced body weight thanks to the use of more aluminium. It will go on to a top speed of more than 140 miles per hour.

The 2.0-litre turbocharged engine is refined and quiet, although when a power plant of this size is engineered to develop so much power you do pay a slight penalty in noise levels.

Inside the A6 is as refined as the outside. The six-speed manual gear shift sits high on the centre console which also houses the controls for the satellite navigation touch screen which is also used for operating numerous other systems on the car.

One of these is Audi's jukebox, which offers a wide variety of music to suit most people's tastes. You just scroll down to the title which suits you.

On the road this beefy diesel is sharp and responsive with plenty of pulling power when you need it.

Even with five people on board it's a car which is never struggling and pulls with gusto.

This car came with all-LED headlights, a £1,570 option but one which was a real bonus on dark country roads as they emit a strong white light similar to daylight. The A6 was the first executive saloon to offer this feature.