Audi A6 e-Tron Review | Specs | Price | Interior

Introduction: Audi’s Legacy in Estate Cars

Audi and estate cars have a very long association, and that looks set to continue into the electric future. In fact, the Audi A6 e-tron could be the most family-friendly and one of the quickest estate cars Audi has ever made. Today, we’re in Munich to see it.

Recap of Audi’s Electric Cars

Let’s start by having a recap on what electric cars we’ve seen so far from Audi. Things started with the e-tron, which was a big, fully electric SUV that was brilliant in many ways, but it had a pretty terrible range and was also very expensive. After that, we saw the e-tron GT, which was a low-slung sports car very closely related to the Porsche Taycan. Then, things went a bit more mainstream and sensible with the Q4 e-tron. Following that, the e-tron was facelifted to become the Q8 e-tron, and now, most recently, we’ve driven the very, very promising Q6 e-tron.

Introduction to the Audi A6 e-tron

So, lots of electric SUVs, even a sports car, but not much in the way of saloons and estates until now, because this is the A6 Sportback e-tron, and that is the A6 Avant e-tron, which feels like much more familiar Audi territory. Now, there already is an Audi A6, of course; it’s a fuel-powered executive saloon that rivals the BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes E-Class. This, however, is not just a fully electric version of that car; it’s a completely different, brand-new electric car built on Audi’s so-called PPE platform, which stands for Premium Platform Electric. It’s the same platform that’s going to be shared with the Q6 e-tron and also the Porsche Macan.

Audi A6 e-Tron Comparison with the Fuel-Powered A6

Now, the fuel-powered A6 is still around, and it will be sold alongside this A6 e-tron. That will be until probably towards the end of next year, when that A6 will be replaced by an A7, which will still have petrol and diesel options. That transition will be similar to what we’ve seen from the A4 into the new A5.

Audi A6 e-Tron Design and Dimensions

In terms of dimensions, the A6 e-tron is a little bit bigger than the fuel-powered A6, and it obviously looks quite different as well. You’ve got a very different-looking front end, with some more curves than you might notice on the regular A6, as well as these very slim headlights at the front. Audi’s particularly pleased with this latest generation of LED lighting technology, which gives you up to eight different light signatures to choose from at the rear of the car. You can also have a full-width light bar with some illuminated Audi rings. That won’t be standard; it will be part of an optional pack, but it still does look pretty interesting, doesn’t it?

Audi A6 e-Tron Wheels and Exterior Differences

In terms of alloy wheels, the smallest size available is 19 inches, but you can go up to these 21 inches. Now, let’s show you the main difference between the A6 Sportback e-tron and the A6 Avant e-tron. We’re essentially talking about a hatchback and an estate. Here we have an A6 Sportback, and you can see it’s got this strong, sloping roofline towards the back of the car. But if we go to the A6 Avant e-tron, then you can see the roof is much higher and offers a lot more space up here. Overall, the dimensions are really quite similar between the two cars. The only real difference to point out on the outside is the fact that this estate version is 40 mm higher, and that is only because this antenna is now the highest point of the car, whereas in the A6 Sportback, it isn’t because of the sloping roofline.

Audi A6 e-Tron Battery and Range Options

Now, for the all-important numbers. The A6 e-tron will be quite similar to the Q6 e-tron, so there’ll be a choice of two different batteries. The bigger one is 100 kWh, with a usable capacity of 94.9 kWh. The smaller battery will have 83 kWh, with a usable capacity of around 79 kWh. It looks like most versions of the A6 e-tron are going to come with the bigger battery, but if you want the cheaper version of this car, it’s going to be a rear-wheel-drive A6 e-tron that comes with an official range expected to be around 380 miles. That’s the cheapest version of this car, so that is very, very impressive. If you want the longest range possible with your A6 e-tron, then it’s likely it will have an official range of up to 460 miles, which is really, really very impressive and pretty much 100 miles further than the official range of a BMW i5.

Audi A6 e-Tron Charging Capabilities

It will also feature 800V electric architecture, which means that the A6 e-tron is capable of accepting super-fast maximum charging speeds. Audi says it can accept up to 270 kW, which is faster than the 205 kW BMW i5 and also the 170 kW Mercedes EQE. The problem is, though, finding public chargers that can deliver those incredibly fast charging speeds is still quite rare. If you do manage to find one, then you’ll be able to get a 10 to 80% charge in just 21 minutes, which, for a battery this size, is really, really impressive. If, however, you can only find a 400V charger, then the maximum charging speed this can accept is 135 kW, which is still fairly fast, but obviously not quite as impressive as a 270 kW charge. When it comes to AC charging, this can charge at 11 kW as standard, but there will also be an optional 22 kW charger available.

Audi A6 e-Tron Performance

The range and charging seem very promising indeed compared to its rivals, and it’s safe to say this will be pretty good on performance as well. With a lineup of rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive versions, the quickest regular version of the car will be able to cover 0 to 62 mph in a pretty swift 5.4 seconds, with a 130 mph top speed. But there will also be a more performance-focused S6 Quattro for both body styles. It will cover 0 to 62 mph in a rapid 3.9 seconds, with a top speed around 150 mph and beyond. There may well be an even more powerful RS6 e-tron in the future. If it’s quicker than the 3.4-second petrol-powered RS6, then it will become Audi’s quickest-accelerating estate.

Audi A6 e-Tron Boot Space and Practicality

Now, let’s look at the boots, and we’re going to start with the Sportback. So, this is not the estate. In theory, this will be the smaller of the two boots, but it is still absolutely massive. You get 502 liters of overall capacity, and really, this is bigger than a BMW i5. It’s comfortably bigger than a Mercedes EQE as well. You can see there’s a big open storage space in here, which is very simple and very practical. There is a bit of a loading lip, but you do have some underfloor storage, which is just about big enough to leave a charging cable in. So overall, even if this is not an estate, this is still a very practical boot. You can also have a hands-free tailgate opening, and if you have that on the options list, then you get a projected light to show where you need to kick to open the boot.

Audi A6 e-Tron Estate Version Boot

Now, we are at the estate version of the A6, the A6 Avant. You might assume, being the estate version, this will have a significantly bigger boot than the regular Sportback, but in fact, the official storage capacity for this car is exactly the same as the Sportback—502 liters. However, that doesn’t tell the full story. Yes, below the parcel shelf where those official figures are taken, the storage is the same, but above the parcel shelf, where you’ve got that extra height and extra room, it is quite a bit more practical than the regular Sportback version of the car. Ultimately, that means if you’re going to pile loads of suitcases one on top of the other, then it’s going to be easier to do that in this estate version of the car than it is in the Sportback. Also, if you fold down the rear seats, they split-fold 40/20/40, which is nice and practical. In total, you’ll have an extra 90 liters of storage in this estate version compared to the Sportback.

Audi A6 e-Tron Other Practical Features

Another difference to point out is the fact that you can see there is no loading lip at the front of the A6 Avant, and that is because you have a height-adjustable boot floor as standard in this car. That is something that you can’t get with the Sportback. So overall, the estate version of this car isn’t a wildly more practical version of the A6, but it is helpfully more practical in a couple of different ways. There’s also some front storage, and there’s quite a nifty way to open it conveniently as well. Normally, to open the front trunk, you’ve got to go into the car, find the bonnet release, pull it, and then come back. But in this A6 Avant e-tron and in the Sportback, if you’ve got the key on you and you approach the car and wipe the nose here, you will find 27 liters of storage up front, which is going to be just about enough for a charging cable. Whether you go for a  rear-wheel-drive model or a four-wheel-drive model, this storage is exactly the same.

Audi A6 e-Tron Rear Seats

Now, let’s look at the rear seats, and we’ll start with the estate car, which is more practical and more spacious in these rear seats than the Sportback, as we’ll show in a moment. So, sitting back here, you’ve got a very, very long wheelbase—massive distance between the front and rear wheels—and that means that legroom is pretty good. If you’re sat behind an adult, then an adult can be sat in these rear seats with a lot of knee room and legroom left over. But the actual sitting position is a little bit odd here. It does feel like the floor is high relative to this low bench back here, so you can see my knees are rather high up. It’s not the most natural or comfortable sitting position back here. When it comes to headroom in the estate, it’s okay. If I were taller than 6 feet, I’d probably be a little bit cramped in here. If you do go for an Avant with a sunroof, you get a little bit more headroom because of the way that it’s carved into the roof lining.

Audi A6 e-Tron Sportback Rear Seats

In the Sportback, it’s clear that even for someone of average height, sitting up straight in the back is difficult without craning the neck.

Audi A6 e-Tron Interior Features

Now, let’s talk about the interiors, and whether you go for an estate version of the A6 or the regular car, the interior up front is exactly the same. Indeed, you probably recognize this from the Q6 e-tron as well because you have an identical screen layout. That means you’ve got an 11.9-inch fully digital driver display attached to this 14.5-inch touchscreen infotainment, and you’ve also got this separate screen to keep your front passenger entertained. There is a mode that you can put this in so that the driver is unable to see what’s going on here, so you won’t be distracted using it.

Audi A6 e-Tron Infotainment System

Now, we have used this infotainment setup in the Q6 e-tron already, and even though there aren’t any physical buttons to help use it, which is a real shame, in terms of usability, we have found this to be among the most responsive touchscreen infotainment setups out there. Of course, all infotainment systems would be better if they had a physical rotary dial or more physical shortcut buttons, but to be fair, by touchscreen standards, this is really pretty good. It has very nice graphics and a relatively simple layout to get your head around as well.

Audi A6 e-Tron Interior Quality

Overall, the quality in here does seem reasonably good. You’ve got these gloss blacks in the interior, and you’ve also got some nice fabric on the dashboard as well, although this is just a kind of thin layer over what does feel like pretty hard plastic underneath it. Really, this is kind of similar to a Mercedes EQE and a BMW i5 in that we’re talking about car interiors that are reasonably good, but given the price of what is being asked for these interiors, it does seem a little bit disappointing that the interior quality isn’t at a higher standard for that kind of money.

Audi A6 e-Tron Digital Door Mirrors

Other things to point out in this interior are the fact that you have some snazzy digital door mirrors, which have been pretty hit-and-miss in terms of usability so far. We’ve already seen these on the Q8 e-tron, but this is the next generation of them, and there has been an improvement. In the Q8, the actual screen was quite low down, so whereas you’d normally look to see the mirror on the outside, in the Q8 e-tron, you’d have to actually take your eyes further down to see the screen. Now, Audi has realized that that wasn’t ideal, and for this new generation of this technology, they’ve moved the screen higher up to make it a bit more intuitive for drivers.

Also Read: 2024 Audi A4: Release Date, Price, Specs

Audi A6 e-Tron availability and Pricing

The A6 Sportback e-tron and A6 Avant e-tron are available to order from September 2024. UK pricing will be announced closer to the car’s launch, with a starting price around £62,000 expected and a difference of £2,000 between a Sportback and an Avant. Top-end S6 models are likely to be closer to £100,000. That’s very expensive, of course, but so too are rivals like the i5 and the EQE. Will the new A6 e-tron be worth the money? We’re looking forward to driving it to find out. 

S M Jabid Hasan