There’s no escaping that a V8 estate car closing on 600bhp is going to cost a lot to run. A steep price tag and emissions of 223g/km mean big tax bills for company car drivers, while trips to the fuel station will be regular and costly if you use the car's maximum potential.

Audi claims combined economy of 29.4mpg for both the standard RS6 Avant and Performance version on the NEDC test cycle. This is helped by the engine’s cylinder-on-demand technology which automatically shuts down four of the eight cylinders when you’re coasting on the motorway or in slow traffic.

This means, with a very light right foot, you could potentially eke the range out to 480 miles between fills of the large 75 litre tank. The reality of day-to-day driving is likely to be quite a bit different, of course, and we suspect the average RS6 owner will rarely see more than 300 miles out of a tank.

At least Audi’s fixed-priced servicing deals allow you to budget for maintenance, although it’s worth noting that if you drive the RS6 Avant hard or head to a track day, consumables like tyres and brakes are very expensive to replace. Ceramic brakes were available as a pricey option, but mean that the discs should never need to be replaced if the RS6 they're fitted to is only used on the road.

.imgHideOnJavaScriptDisabled_eexbs15mdk56bv3 { display: none !important; }

When compared to some more exotic two-seater sports cars with similar performance, the RS6 could be justified as something of a bargain. That’s because the extra practicality could mean it’s all the car you’ll ever need, while a sports car owner will likely have to buy a family run-around too.

Insurance groups

No surprises here - the Audi RS6 Avant falls into the top insurance group - 50. Budget for big annual premiums.

Depreciation

It's unlikely you'll be in line for a significant discount when buying an RS6 Avant, so even though it's a solid performer on the depreciation front, you're going to take a big cash hit at resale time.

With a predicted residual value of around 45 per cent after three years and 30,000 miles, it's going to be a sobering experience whatever happens. Even more so if you've piled on the expensive options up front, so make sure you really want all those bells and whistles...

That does mean buying a pre-owned RS6 will get you something of a performance car bargain, though, and with later models still under warranty or sold via the Audi approved used network, this could be a more affordable route to RS6 ownership - although the everyday costs remain steep.