SNOWMOBILE WITH A V10! Audi S6 is laugh-out-loud fun, even when the flakes fly.(News)

Byline: Wendy Warren Keebler

Our Audi S6, with its terrific cabin and its sweet and savage V10 power, got lots of requests for "extended stays'' during its second quarter. And it served especially well when winter hit.

First, though, came the Saga of the Snows. The only available 19-inch snow tires weren't the extra-load sort required to handle the V10. But our pals at the Tire Rack came through with a solution and an education. They advised us to go with 18-inch tires, and they made sure the tire-pressure monitoring system would still work, the rims would clear the brake calipers (very important for high-performance cars with giant brakes) and the tires could handle the S6 load. "If we hadn't talked to those guys,'' said one editor, "we would have had inadequate snow tires that would have blown out on us.''

Instead, our S6 sleigh was unstoppable. As one happy driver put it: "The heft of the car, the quattro and the grip of the snow tires made snow a nonfactor.''

Two editors have gone on record saying they would take this Audi over a BMW M5. Wrote one of them: "The V10 is a sweet and smooth beast, laugh-out-loud fun when you stomp the throttle. The ride is a tad harsh, but it's an absolute joy when you have smooth pavement ahead of you.'' And from the other: "The seats rock, and the power from the V10 is good once you git 'er up over three grand. The body is nice and subtle, stealthy. The cabin is great. I'm no MMI fan, but I'll take it all day over iDrive.''

In another comparison-with our long-term Lexus LS 460 L-the Audi's roomy trunk was praised, a ...