Audi A6 e-tron review – refined EV, but not the most practical

Verdict – is the Audi A6 e-tron a good car?

The Audi A6 e-tron is a great electric executive car that not only looks the part, but also sports a class-beating range thanks to large batteries and great efficiency. It’s comfortable, refined and full of technology, but its only achilles’ heel is a disappointing amount of interior space and the fact that it’s not the most fun car to drive. It’s a great all-rounder, though, and well worthy of your consideration.

Audi A6 e-tron models, specs and alternatives

Audi has been reorganising its lineup and naming system of late, so now the even-numbered cars are electric and the odd-numbered powered by conventional petrol or diesel engines. The new Audi A6 e-tron, therefore, is now a fully-electric executive car, and unlike the old petrol-powered A6, it’s actually a ‘Sportback’, meaning it has a hatchback boot and is also available as an ‘Avant’ estate.

If you do want a petrol engine, then you’ll now be served by the upcoming A7, which is its combustion-engined counterpart. The A6 e-tron is based on Audi’s own platform which also underpins the Porsche Macan Electric and Audi Q6 e-tron, whereas other previous ‘e-tron’ EVs used many of the same underpinnings as Volkswagen cars.

There are three versions of the A6 e-tron available, with the car starting from £62,500 and the most expensive model costing from £83,500 in Sportback form – these are called simply e-tron, e-tron Performance and e-tron Quattro. The Avant joins a currently very small electric estate car market and commands a £1,800 premium over the hatchback. Three trim levels are available, too: Sport, S line and Edition 1. As with many of Audi’s cars, there’s also a sporty S6 version costing a hefty £97,500.

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The Audi A6 e-tron is fully electric and boasts range figures that are extremely competitive against rivals. There are two battery options on offer: an 83kWh unit in the base car and 100kWh battery in the Performance and Quattro models. Not only are those huge batteries, but they’re also very efficient, with official ratings of 4.4miles per kWh – that means you’ll get more out of the amount of electricity you pay for.

Even the smaller-battery option will be plenty for most buyers with that impressive range – it’s important to note that as with any other electric car or otherwise, the four-wheel drive version suffers in terms of efficiency somewhat, so despite the Quattro’s large battery, range is significantly lower than in the Performance model.
 

How efficient is the Audi A6 e-tron in the real world?

While range and efficiency figures can dramatically differ when you put them to the test in the real world, those of the Audi A6 e-tron still impressed us. Our Performance model achieved around 3.9 miles per kWh, which we think was pretty good given its large 21-inch wheels and the demanding roads we drove on as part of our test route.

What will the Audi A6 e-tron cost to insure?

Insurance groupings are yet to be confirmed for the Audi A6 e-tron. For context, its close rival, the BMW i5 ranges between groups 43 to 49 out of 50, so the A6 e-tron is likely to be similarly expensive to insure.

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The Audi A6 e-tron is built not on existing Volkswagen electric car underpinnings, but on its own new platform, which has already been utilised by the Porsche Macan Electric and Audi Q6 e-tron. While we like the way the Macan drives, the Q6 e-tron was less enjoyable but at least smooth and serene, so it really was unclear what the A6 e-tron’s driving experience would be like.

We’re happy to report that it’s good news, because the entire A6 range feels punchy enough in terms of the electric motors on offer, and overall the car feels meticulously well engineered for driving feel and comfort.

Kicking off the range is the standard single-motor rear-wheel-drive e-tron car which boasts a substantial 321bhp. Despite being entry-level, that will be more than enough for most buyers, and acceleration figures are impressive. Springing for the Performance retains just the single motor, but ups power to 374bhp, bringing down the sprint time, while the top-of-the-range Quattro gets two electric motors for four-wheel-drive and 455bhp. That makes it grippier and as a result acceleration times are even quicker.

To be frank, though, the effortless power provided by electric cars these days means that pure performance numbers are redundant – what’s more impressive about the A6 e-tron is how it feels to drive.

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It’s clear Audi has put a lot of thought into this, because the A6 sports very precise, responsive steering and the brakes feel very good to use. While the transition between regenerative braking and mechanical braking can sometimes feel unnatural, that’s not the case in the A6 – here, it’s seamless. 

Refinement is similarly impressive and the A6 feels smooth and quiet to drive. Through the corners it handles its weight well – it’s lighter than its Mercedes EQE rival and weighs the same as the BMW i5. There’s no rear-wheel steering or overly hi-tech solutions to make the A6 e-tron feel more agile, and as a result it feels more natural to drive than many rivals.

Is the Audi A6 e-tron good to drive in town?

The Audi A6 e-tron is smooth and easy to drive, which means it will be good to drive in town. It rides well, so it should be able to smooth out potholes around town easily.

Is the Audi A6 e-tron good to drive on long journeys?

The A6’s range of punchy powertrains all offer instant shove, which makes it capable of overtaking easily on the motorway. There’s very little by way of road noise and the suspension helps the car glide along comfortably.

Is the Audi A6 e-tron good to drive on B-roads?

The Audi A6 e-tron feels like it’s been designed from the ground-up to handle the weight of its large batteries, and feels well planted and agile on the move. The sharp steering feels easy to place and braking feels very natural. That said, it’s not the most entertaining car to drive, so it will be interesting to see if the S6 e-tron improves on that front.

Carbuyer notes

“The A6 e-tron is a big car, but there’s depth to its engineering, because every aspect of the driving experience feels resolved and well considered.” Jordan Katsianis, senior staff writer 

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The Audi A6 e-tron is the latest model in the brand’s lineup to get its new design language. Audi has traditionally been very conservative in its approach to design with an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary approach – while the A6 doesn’t necessarily stick out with a radical daring look, its sleek slim two-piece headlights, rakish overall silhouette and new hatchback Sportback body style present a larger step away from the conventional Audi look than ever before.

On the inside, Audi bucks the recent trend for minimalist interiors and instead pushes forward with a complex cabin dominated by screens, buttons and various surfaces and yet it’s still tasteful in the way you’d expect from the brand. Material quality is good, aside from some of the glossy black pieces around the centre console, which are bound to attract fingerprints, but it all feels well put together.

Is the Audi A6’s infotainment and navigation system easy to use?

There’s a lot to take in once you step into the Audi A6, with the whole dash getting a large curved dual-screen panel which spans it, comprising a 14.5-inch infotainment screen and 11.9-inch driver’s display. Despite its size, it’s easy to reach given its curvature, and it’s set low enough that it doesn’t block visibility from out of the windscreen.

The software’s graphics are actually very simple and clean, which helps to make it easy to navigate, so while the interior has a lot going on, the infotainment interface is at least less intimidating. It takes some initial getting used to, but it’s highly configurable and easy to set up your own shortcuts, making it more intuitive to your preference. The system feels responsive to your inputs, though perhaps Tesla’s system is crisper.

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One side effect of the curved display is that it’s not so easy for passengers to access, but higher-spec modes get a dedicated display for the front passenger, which is something we’ve already seen in the latest Porsche Macan and Taycan cars. It allows the passenger to change radio stations or input sat-nav destinations without interfering with the driver’s infotainment screen, but it’s not compatible with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay (the rest of the system is), which can mean its functions are limited.

We’re glad that Audi has kept some physical controls, such as a volume dial, and even though the climate controls are virtual, they’re at least permanently displayed on the screen. There’s even a physical button to tweak the lane-keep assist settings, and Audi has implemented a row of buttons on the driver’s door panel to control the lights, mirrors, windows and door locks.

Is the Audi A6 well equipped?

The Audi A6 is a premium car that does feel well equipped with the aforementioned driver’s and infotainment displays. There are three versions starting with Sport, moving up through S Line and a limited Edition 1. Entry-level cars get large 20-inch alloy wheels and all versions look the part, though S Line adds a few subtle exterior styling features and Edition 1 cars get the all-black treatment and larger alloys for a more striking look.

What options should you choose on the Audi A6 e-tron?

There are a few options you can add to the A6, including the Band & Olufsen premium sound system and head-up display as part for the Sound and Vision Pack, costing £3,000. This also adds an upgraded ambient interior lighting system and higher-spec USB-C charge ports.

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Unfortunately, practicality is one of the weakest points for the latest Audi A6. While it’s quite a large car on the outside, it feels rather cramped on the inside, and the culprit here is the large battery – to accommodate it, Audi has had to raise the floor, meaning it’s quite high and eats into leg and foot room. To make matters worse, the A6 e-tron’s attractive low roofline unfortunately comes at the compromise of headroom.

The Avant estate does help somewhat in this area, as the roofline is less restrictive, so it’s worth considering this model if you need more rear-seat space, as well as a larger boot.

Does the Audi A6 e-tron have a big boot?

The Audi A6 e-tron’s boot is decent, with up to 502 litres available in the Sportback – intriguingly, you get the same amount of boot space in the Avant, though the taller roof will make it easier to load taller items and is still the more practical option. In the BMW i5 Touring, however, you get 570 litres compared to the 490 litres of the standard saloon. Fold the seats down in the Audi A6 e-tron and you get up to 1,411 litres to play with.

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Audi performs rather poorly in terms of customer satisfaction in recent years. In 2024 the brand came in 27th place out of 32 brands in our Driver Power survey, which is behind all its Volkswagen Group sister brands apart from Volkswagen, which placed in 29th. Buyers expect a lot from premium products like Audi’s cars, and the brand fell behind because of its perceived lack of value for money and poor handling. Its best-rated category was interior design and quality. Reliability was better than average but nothing to write home about, with 21.3% of owners reporting an issue in the first year of ownership.

How safe is the Audi A6 e-tron?

The Audi A6 e-tron is yet to be tested by Euro NCAP, but we would expect it to perform well given the brand’s great safety record over the years. The car comes with a plethora of active and passive safety equipment which we’d expect will pay dividends once it’s put through its paces.

What is the warranty on the Audi A6 e-tron?

Audi offers a frankly mediocre warranty on its cars. The A6 e-tron is covered under warranty for up to two years with unlimited mileage, with the third year covered for up to 60,000 miles. This has typically been the industry standard, but many premium brands are covering their cars for much more generous lengths of time, such as Lexus with its warranty of up to 10 years or 100,000 miles, so long as you keep its cars serviced via a main dealer annually.

Should you buy an Audi A6 e-tron?

The Audi A6 e-tron is a sleek, attractive, comfortable and refined all-round executive electric car and it’s well worth your consideration up against rivals. It’s a little lacking in the practicality side of things, but we’re glad there’s an Avant estate variant that addresses this issue somewhat.

What is the Carbuyer pick of the Audi A6 e-tron range?

Unless you really need the added performance and range of the Performance and Quattro versions, we think most buyers will be best served by the entry-level version with the 83kWh battery. It’s very efficient and has a crisp driving experience thanks to its lighter weight, though we will reserve full judgment on its drive until it comes to the UK.

Audi A6 e-tron alternatives

The Audi A6 e-tron goes up against other electric executive car rivals such as the Mercedes EQE and BMW i5, while the i5 Touring is an alternative to the A6 e-tron Avant estate car. While the i5 is the driver’s pic, the Audi A6 e-tron is arguably a better all-rounder against all the upmarket competition. Buyers may also be considering mainstream models like the Volkswagen ID.7.

• BMW i5
• Mercedes EQE
• Volkswagen ID.7

How we tested the Audi A6 e-tron

We drove the Audi A6 e-tron in November 2024 in Tenerife, Spain on smooth, flowing roads in moderate temperatures.