Audi A6 E-tron and S6 E-tron review

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Audi’s larger executive car turns electric - and natively rear-drive - but retains other Audi-typical traits

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Whatever other decisions may yet be made in the busy corridors of power at Audi’s Ingolstadt headquarters, we know one thing for sure: this is the new, all-electric Audi A6 E-tron - and it’s just touched down in the UK, in right hand drive form.

Soon enough, however, another new Audi A6 will be unveiled that you can have with a combustion engine if you prefer. That will, no doubt, leave some a little confused.

The latter car was all set to be a new A7. But the idea, as Audi originally planned, that A6 devotees might willingly switch to an A5 or A7 in order to avoid inadvertent electrification - and that even-numbered Audis would, for the sake of simplicity, hence force be electric - has proven too much for the company’s customer base and dealer network to accept.

So, rather than adjusting the entire model nomenclature strategy to make room for a growing number of EVs which European buyers remain stubbornly slow to warm up to, Audi’s had a rethink. A sensible one, it seems to me. Right now, lots of people instinctively know what an Audi A6 is; likewise an A4, a Q2, etc. That’s money in the bank that, frankly, Audi can ill afford to lose.

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DESIGN & STYLING

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Audi A6 E Tron review 2025 002 side panning

This new A6 E-tron, however, doesn’t look much like an A6. It looks, to me, like a car that could have had several proposed identities during the course of its gestation; and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that ‘Audi Axolotl’ was one of the more leftfield ones. There’s a certain similarity with the platform-related Q6 E-tron; but also a slightly strange, pumped up, lizard-featured look to it which I’m not sure that Audi’s long-standing, design-loving clientele will instantly appreciate. At any rate, at least it isn’t ‘evolutionary’.

This car joins the ranks of the BMW i5, Mercedes EQE and perhaps even the Porsche Taycan, then, in the pursuit of the well-heeled executive’s company-car dollar. Available as either five-door Sportback or Avant estate, it can be had with one motor or two; with either 75.8- or 94.9kWh of usable battery capacity; and from a UK-market departure price of £62,500.

Audi says the A6 is significantly more aerodynamic as a Sportback than an Avant (Cd 0.21 vs 0.24). So the sleeker hatchback, with the big battery, on the smallest wheels available, ought to be the smartest buy in the range.
Matt Saunders
Road test editor

Uncharacteristically, Audi has made the single-motor versions rear-wheel drive - but the same is true of last year’s new Q6 E-tron SUV, and will continue to be so of other Audi EVs built on the same PPE platform; so we’ll doubtless get used to that idea. 

Suspension will be via steel coil springs and multi-link axles on all UK-market A6s, with adaptively damped air springs reserved for the range-topping S6 E-tron - which will also offer close to 550-horsepower, and a sub-4.0sec 0-62mph sprint. Through the lower tiers of the model range, you can have 322-, 376- or 456bhp, lastly in the twin-motor A6 E-tron Quattro version; but ours was a mid-level 376bhp A6 Avant E-tron Performance.

INTERIOR

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Audi A6 E Tron review 2025 011 interior

Audi's designers have somehow made this look like quite a low, ground-hugging car from the kerbside; so when you get into it and feel as high-perched as you do, it’s something of a shock. Audi has never traded in particularly low, sporty driving positions, to be fair - and the A6’s seat itself is widely adjustable and supportive, and comfy over distance. You just don’t feel like you can put it quite where you’d like to - relative to the beltline of the car, the nearness of the panoramic glass roof, or the primary controls in front of you.

Audi’s latest cabin design and digital technology philosophy relies a great deal on a 14.5in central multimedia touchscreen that has no separate cursor controller, so it demands plenty of your attention while driving. There are no physical heating and ventilation controls, though there are a few useful physical buttons (for ADAS systems management and drive modes); and that touchscreen does have a permanently displayed shortcut zone as a usability aid. 

Cabin quality is good enough, albeit not at the lofty level, relative to the executive class norm, that we’ve known of big Audis more traditionally. And some of the car’s technological features (camera-based door mirrors that don’t grant a sufficiently adjustable field of vision, and a head-up display that likes to blind you with red light if you get an arbitrary centimeter too close to the car in front) seem a bit gratuitous and self-serving.

There's reasonable leg and head room in the rear seats, unless you’re very long-legged, that is - when you may find your knees bent up due to a fairly high floor. Still, kids are well catered for with three sets of Isofix seat anchorages (two in the back and one in the front passenger seat) and some usefully practical plastic backings to the front seats that will wipe clean of the inevitable shoe scuffs.

There’s also a compact ‘frunk’, which is good, because space isn’t as ample in the boot as you might expect. The 502-litre luggage space in the Avant is actually the same as the Sportback’s, which is a bit disappointing. The floor is deep and wide, and you will get your double buggy or duo of labradors in there, plus there’s some underfloor storage pace. But the sloping rear windowline eats into overall boot capacity; the i5 Touring (570 litres), ID 7 Touring (605 litres) and Macan Electric (540 litres) all offer more outright cargo space.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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audi s6 E tron front apn

On UK roads, the A6 E-tron has some familiar Audi dynamic traits, despite its decidedly un-Audi mechanical layout: good low-speed ride isolation (even in 21in wheels), lightish and filtered-feeling steering, and fine high-speed stability. Performance is strong and accessible, with easy paddle-based control over brake energy regeneration.

That it doesn't feel like much of a driver’s car is unlikely to surprise very many people, but it is exactly what you want from a big Audi estate. There’s a cohesiveness to it that soothes and impresses, and the refinement is strong.

Funnily enough, even the S6 feels similarly controlled. Yes, it’s rabidly fast as a point-to-point machine, as you would expect of a car with 496bhp (543bhp in launch mode) and a 3.9sec 0-62mph time. But there’s none of the explosive, aggressive attack on the senses that some electric cars revel in. As with the rest of the A6 range, the S6 is quite a suave beast that has a long-legged, refined attitude, with linear yet potent power delivery.

Decent brake pedal feel in the standard A6 and the S6 models is also useful for giving confidence if you do decide to plunder a bit of Dynamic mode on a fun stretch of road.

The regenerative braking is controlled via steering-wheel paddles, with two fixed levels plus a one-pedal mode; or there’s the option of an adaptive mode or turning regen off completely for unfettered free-wheeling.

One aspect of the A6 that will definitely gain it fans is the towing capacity of up to 2.1 tonnes, which makes this one of the best electric tow cars currently on offer.

RIDE & HANDLING

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Audi A6 E Tron review 2025 025 front cornering

There’s an oily progression of weight to the A6's steering as you add lock, a good sense of how much grip you’ve got, and an easy nonchalance to the way the big Audi can be placed precisely on the road. There are more tactile steering set-ups out there, though: just ask Porsche and BMW.

The A6 never feels remotely scrappy or wayward, despite the rear-wheel drive. It’s characterised by its resolute composure. Its body control becomes more fiddly, restless and firm when the surface underneath is uneven, but it keeps staunch check on lateral body movement in fast corners, and handles quite keenly for such a big, heavy exec - though not in a way you’d call involving per se.

As for the S6? Well, if you really push into a corner (and if you’ve remembered to opt for Dynamic mode and the Sport setting for the stability control to give yourself a bit more freedom), there is fun to be had.

With it being four-wheel drive and a hefty 2.3 tonnes, it won’t come as a surprise that it tends to understeer a bit. But you can trim the line very predictably on the throttle; there’s enough feedback through the steering to inspire confidence; and you can even provoke a cheeky chirrup of mobility from the rear tyres if you’re so inclined.

Even then, though, the car feels controlled and capable rather than encouraging. You can almost feel it admonishing you for behaving like a juvenile when there’s a board meeting to get to.

It’s not one to make your heart race, the S6. But it is certainly one that melds executive slickness and laugh-out-loud pace in an impressively cohesive package.

The air suspension is a big part of that, as it keeps body control neatly in check but softens the road surface very nicely for rather impressive ride comfort.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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Audi A6 E Tron review 2025 001 front tracking

The A6 is far from cheap, but it’s also comparably good value when stacked up next to the obvious alternatives.

Pricing starts at £62,500 for the Sportback, which gets 20in alloy wheels, leather upholstery, heated front seats, tri-zone climate control and adaptive cruise control, so it’s hardly poverty spec.

S Line trim ups the ante with sports seats, privacy glass and fancier style tweaks for both the inside and outside.

Edition 1 tops the line-up and is the only trim you can get on the S6. It gets 21in alloys, matrix LED lights, an additional 10.9in touchscreen for the passenger, electrically adjustable front seats and heated rear seats.

The big-battery Performance in S line trim (in which we spent most of our time) is likely to be a fairly big seller and comes in at over £75,000. 

So by the time you’ve added a few packs, it’s not going to be unusual to see an A6 Avant with a transaction price of £80,000. Ouch. And yet it's no different to the much shorter-range i5 or less practical Mercedes-Benz EQE saloon. So if you look at it like that, the A6 actually looks like relatively decent value.

Real-world efficiency, meanwhile, averaged around 3.1mpkWh from our single-motor, high-spec, bigger-batteried, 376bhp UK test car, making for dependable range of almost exactly 300 miles; and DC charging speed is strong, up to a claimed 270kW.

VERDICT

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Audi A6 E Tron review 2025 028 rear static

'Good' feels like damning the Audi A6 E-tron with faint praise. It's EV-class-competitive, for definite. But does that sound like the kind of ‘Vorsprung Durch Technik’ on which to stake the reorganisation of an entire brand’s model nomenclature? To remake Audi’s reputation for a new generation of EV-suggestible heartland buyers? 

Three years ago, when the car’s engineering targets were likely signed off, it might have. But today? Suddenly those nomenclative second thoughts make a lot more first-hand sense.

By current EV class standards, this is certainly a capable executive option. It has plenty of usable range, is a genuine pleasure to spend time in, and is competitive value for money in at least key relative terms. Some may be disappointed by the Avant’s underwhelming boot, and that the i5 has the edge on perceived quality; others, that you don't get quite the practical executive car here you used to in an ICE-powered A6.

Audi A6 E-tron news

Audi abandons split model names for ICE and EV models
Audi abandons split model names for ICE and EV models

The range-topping S6 would also be a peachy car to live with: properly muscular, brimming with tech, seriously refined and comfortable. With ultra-rapid charging from the 800V electrical system and plenty of real-world range, it’s not hard to see why you would opt for an S6 as your next director-grade company car.

If you’re hoping for Porsche Taycan-style handling finesse or Hyundai Ioniq 5 N-style drama, you will be disappointed. But if you can afford an S6, you can afford a Porsche Taycan or an Audi E-tron GT, so the fact that the more practical S6 feels demonstrably different - executive with a dash of sports, rather than sporting with a dash of executive - is no doubt entirely deliberate and a very good thing.

To an enthusiast audience, the S6 is perhaps a bit too calm and undramatic for its own good. As a rapid, lustrous, long-legged electric business express, however, the S6 is probably – just like its A6 siblings – exactly what the target audience will want.

Matt Saunders

Matt Saunders Autocar
Title: Road test editor

As Autocar’s chief car tester and reviewer, it’s Matt’s job to ensure the quality, objectivity, relevance and rigour of the entirety of Autocar’s reviews output, as well contributing a great many detailed road tests, group tests and drive reviews himself.

Matt has been an Autocar staffer since the autumn of 2003, and has been lucky enough to work alongside some of the magazine’s best-known writers and contributors over that time. He served as staff writer, features editor, assistant editor and digital editor, before joining the road test desk in 2011.

Since then he’s driven, measured, lap-timed, figured, and reported on cars as varied as the Bugatti Veyron, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Tesla Roadster, Ariel Hipercar, Tata Nano, McLaren Senna, Renault Twizy and Toyota Mirai. Among his wider personal highlights of the job have been covering Sebastien Loeb’s record-breaking run at Pikes Peak in 2013; doing 190mph on derestricted German autobahn in a Brabus Rocket; and driving McLaren’s legendary ‘XP5’ F1 prototype. His own car is a trusty Mazda CX-5.