THEY have a brain the size of a hazelnut in the body the size of a large seabird, so is it any surprise that pheasants are one of our greatest hazards at this time of the year?

Handsome they may be, but why do they always seem to run across the road in front of you, pause, then back-track right into your path?

I 'collected' one particularly fine male specimen the other evening, but it wasn't until I got home that I noticed one of the Audi's front quarter grilles was missing. My friendly pheasant must have punched it out in retaliation for its trip to bird heaven. A return to the scene of the crime failed to find either the bird or the grille. Strange what the Wombles are picking up these days.

After almost 22,000 miles, the Audi is due for its first service according to the 'Variable Service' indicator. Other than routine checks, I will ask Cook's of Peterborough – our local Audi dealer – to try to sort out the infuriating dash rattle, which I have traced to the passenger side air vent.

This has got steadily worse over time and I seem to notice it more than some other drivers who don't appear to mind. In fact, some say 'it's a rattle – but it's a quality rattle', but my belief is it shouldn't be there at all in a car of this calibre. Let's hope the garage can sort it.

It's also time for new front tyres. At 22,000 miles, the fronts are down to the wear bars though there's still plenty of meat on the rears. But I'm not looking forward to the bill as a pair of 235/50 ZR 17s won't be cheap.

The A6 has also proved its versatility lately with a house move making full use of the load area. I've also used the detachable tow bar for the first time. It is a nifty piece of engineering that doesn't leave the back of the car blighted by an ugly tow ball and electrics when not in use.

The forged steel tow ball locks into a chassis socket, while the electrics simply swivel down from their place behind the bumper. The 2.5-litre TDI engine and Multitronic box is well-suited to towing too, with plenty of torque available to cope with a fully-loaded trailer.

That's the thing about the Audi. It is as well-suited to load-lugging as a practical family workhorse as it is to cruising the motorways as a prestige executive.