There is a fondness among some of us lucky enough to earn our livings as motoring journalists to judge a car on its ability to get from one place to another fast. The tendency is something I have consciously to suppress each time I sit down at this computer.

We can hardly be blamed: when we’re invited to drive a new car we are usually taken to some far-off automotive utopia where the roads are empty, the weather perfect and the local police encouraged to look benevolently upon our trifling excesses. In such conditions it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that this is as far from the real world as England are from winning the World Cup.

No manufacturer suffers more frequently under this attitude than Audi, which continues to make cars to appeal to its customers rather than journalists, not one of whom is faced with a daily two-hour slog in and out of some traffic-choked city. Indeed I’ve often thought we’d be almost as surprised to find how most people get to work as most people would be to see how we go about our business.

So I’ll tell you now that driving this Audi A6 Avant with its 3 litre turbodiesel engine over the empty, open roads of the true enthusiast’s dreams is about as much fun as stubbing your toe.

But back in the real world this A6 is the embodiment of what Audi does well. If you took all the ingredients that have helped bring Audi from the imageless wilderness in which it found itself 20 years ago to its current and coveted position as a prestige manufacturer and distilled those qualities into one car, it would probably look much like this.

The A6 is classy and distinctive, better even as an estate than as a saloon. But it is inside where the money has been spent. Audi has ensured that everything the driver feels or sees smacks of a quality quite beyond that of the opposition.

From the polished aluminium around the gear selector to the sound of the indicators, there’s not a cheap component in there. And it doesn’t just look right — it works, too. Audi’s MMI operating system remains the best out there, exposing BMW’s iDrive for the confusing nonsense that it is, and the traditional Mercedes approach of chucking hundreds of buttons at the problem as ugly and messy. Everything is where you need it to be, feels as you hope it might feel, works as you want it to work. Only the driving position falls down and then only for tall drivers like me, who’ll find they cannot pull the steering wheel nearly close enough to their chest.

Move away from the cabin and the Audi finds it much harder to score points over its rivals. The load area is impressively uncluttered and, unlike the BMW 5-series Touring, the rear seat does at least fold completely flat. But compared with the BMW it offers precious little extra room for your luggage, seats up or down. And the cavernous boot space of the Mercedes E-class estate dwarfs both the Audi and the BMW.

On the move, the A6’s 222bhp 3 litre diesel accelerates so well it’s tempting to heap praise upon it, especially when you consider its 0-62mph time of 7.3sec and top speed of 149mph would be very respectable for a sporty car. In fact the performance reflects simply the astonishing progress made in diesel technology in the past 10 years. The equivalent BMW and Mercedes produce similar power and accelerate at least as quickly to fractionally higher top speeds. And, to my ears at least, the Mercedes and BMW engines sound a little quieter, a shade sweeter and a dash less, well, diesel.

The A6 also has the least pleasing ride and handling of the trio. Neither aspect is bad, but unlike the Mercedes, which offers almost limousine comfort, or the BMW, which focuses on grip, poise and balance, the Audi has no outstanding qualities. Its redeeming feature is its all-wheel-drive capability, which gives wet weather reassurance.

But drive the A6 Avant on its door handles and you’ll never appreciate its finer points, any more than you would doing the school run in a Ferrari. If you won’t compromise on the driving experience, but need some extra space, buy the BMW. If you need a huge estate, the Merc is the best in the business. But if you require a capacious family hold-all that will never annoy you like the 5-series can and takes you about your business without making you feel you live in a style vacuum — a sensation that may be familiar to E-class estate drivers — then this Audi, despite its dynamic limitations, is for you.

VITAL STATISTICS

Model Audi A6 Avant 3.0 TDI quattro SE
Engine type 2969cc, six-cylinder
Power/Torque 222bhp @ 4000rpm / 332 lb ft @ 1400rpm
Transmission Six-speed tiptronic
Fuel/CO2 34.9mpg (combined cycle) / 218g/km
Performance 0-62mph: 7.3sec / Top speed: 149mph
Price £32,315
Verdict A reasonable estate, but a great Audi
Rating 3/5

THE OPPOSITION

Model BMW 530d SE Touring £35,215
For Excellent handling, frugal yet punchy engine
Against Rear seats don’t fold flat, poor ride quality

Model Mercedes E 320 CDI Elegance estate £38,045
For Fantastic load lugger, excellent ride
Against Lacks style and feels cheap next to the Audi