Audi A6 e-tron Review2025: Price, specs & boot space

The Audi A6 e-tron is well worth a look if you’re seeking a premium electric executive car that is sure to turn heads. This is a really good-looking car, in both Sportback and Avant guise, with the sporty Audi S6 e-tron enhancing it yet further. 

The Audi A6 e-tron has some highly impressive maximum range figures, so it’s a great choice for long-distance drivers. The most efficient version can cover over 460 miles between charges – and benefit from speedy ultra-rapid charging on the move, too. 

As mentioned, the Audi A6 e-tron is available in Sportback hatch and Avant estate guise. Both have five-door practicality. Interestingly, they both also have an identical boot capacity – the Avant’s shape is a bit more practical, but there’s no difference in space. 

We’d therefore choose an Audi A6 e-tron Sportback, not least because it’s more aerodynamically efficient than the Avant – meaning you’ll go further for a given battery charge. We’d pick the larger 100kWh battery, rather than the 83kWh, and take S line trim instead of standard Sport. 

To further maximise the range, we’d stick with the standard rear-wheel drive chassis, rather than quattro four-wheel drive. This would give is an Audi A6 e-tron with the potential to cover over 460 miles between charges – a pretty formidable proposition. 

The Audi A6 e-tron has a talented rival in the form of the BMW i5. This is the electric alternative to the BMW 5 Series and, unlike the Audi A6, both BMW models are the same basic car, just with different powertrains. 

The Mercedes-Benz EQE is another rival but, unlike the Audi and BMW, this is only available as a four-door saloon. As for the Porsche Taycan, you can have this as a saloon, sporting estate or crossover-style estate – and the Audi A6 e-tron’s premium pricing means the Porsche Taycan certainly comes into its orbit. 

Fundamentally, the Audi A6 e-tron is a very high-quality car that’s built to a high standard of finish. From the outside, it looks solid and precision-built, with sparking paint and perfect panel gaps. 

It has a feeling of substance inside too, with solid and well-built major controls that have plenty of integrity. It’s the swathes of gloss black plastic that let it down, as they’re a magnet for dust and fingerprints, and also seem to scratch easily. You’ll need to keep a microfibre cloth in the centre console…

Oh, and it’s a shame some of the plastics in the rear of the Audi A6 e-tron are harder than those in the front. Some of the soft-touch plastics you get in the front are absent, and the door bins don’t get a plush lining either. 

The Audi A6 has an impressive-looking infotainment system called Audi Multi Media Interface, or MMI. Within the freestanding panoramic display, there’s an 11.9-inch Audi virtual cockpit driver display and a 14.5-inch MMI touch screen. This includes MMI navigation plus (which has a dedicated e-tron EV route planner), Audi connect internet-based services, the Audi smartphone interface and wireless smartphone charging all as standard. 

The OLED displays are bright and crisp, with modern-looking icons and graphics. The menu format differs to previous Audis, but it becomes logical with a bit of practice. Ther’s also an AI-supported, self-learning Audi Assistant to help out with voice control. 

The system is based on Android Automotive OS, and will improve all the time thanks to over-the-air updates. The Audi app store also lets you download a host of third-party apps. 

The regular Audi A6 e-tron has a decent stereo, but we love the outstanding Bang & Olufsen 3D sound system that’s available as an option. It’s part of the Sound & Vision option pack and, on S line and Edition 1 models, even includes headrest speakers, for an uncannily enveloping sound. 

The Audi A6 e-tron Edition 1 also includes an additional front passenger display. This is linked to the car’s MMI infotainment and allows passengers to take over responsibility for setting the sat nav and other functions… or simply use the Android Automotive OS’s app store functionality to download streaming apps to while away the miles. A clever screen filter means the driver can’t see them when on the move. 

The Audi A6 e-tron is a large car, measuring over 4.9 metres long in both Sportback and Avant guise. It feels a large car when you get in too, not least because the floor is higher than on a conventional car. Despite its car-like profile, it feels a bit crossover-like when you get in, with the seats positioned higher than a regular car – and you’ll notice you step down a little when you exit. 

It's the same in the rear of the Audi A6 e-tron. There’s ample knee room and headroom, even with a panoramic glass roof fitted (the option price is nearly £2,400, but it does include clever ‘switchable’ transparency). However, because the floor is rather high, those in the rear can feel a little ‘perched’ on the seat, with their knees in the air. This lack of under-thigh support could impact long-distance comfort for taller passengers. Some may have to dip their head slightly for a clear view out of the side windows, too. 

The Audi A6 e-tron has a 502-litre boot – fascinatingly the space is exactly the same, down to the last litre, in both Sportback hatch and Avant estate guise. Both have a fairly rakish rear end, with the Sportback being more coupe-like than the Avant. 

The Audi A6 e-tron Sportback boot is an open-plan space to access, thanks to that gigantic rear hatchback. But while the space is the same, the Audi A6 e-tron Avant will be the more practical load-lugger, as larger, squarer and more upright items will fit behind its rear door. 

There’s no load lip, so it’s easy to slide things in, and while the space could be deeper, it’s very practical overall. The remote seat-fold levers in the boot are handy, and the electric fold-back parcel shelf is a smart premium touch that’s a useful everyday convenience feature. Further marks for dual (and extra-bright) LED lighting as well. 

A small point on practicality – while the Audi A6 e-tron Sportback and Audi A6 e-tron Avant both have hatchbacks, only the Avant has a rear wiper. This will make all the difference in poor weather conditions and when reversing out of driveways in the morning. Indeed, it could be the difference between someone paying extra and choosing the Avant over the Sportback. 

The Audi A6 e-tron offers a choice of two batteries and three different types of electric motor setup. The regular models are rear-wheel drive (Audis have traditionally been front-wheel drive), with higher-performance versions having quattro four-wheel drive. 

The base Audi A6 e-tron has an 86kWh battery (the useable capacity is 75.8kWh) and this is paired with a 286PS electric motor. Interestingly, power is upped to 326PS when launch control is used – and this cuts the 0-62mph performance time from 7.0 seconds to 6.0 seconds. 

The Audi A6 e-tron performance battery has a 100kWh capacity (94.9kWh usable) paired with a 367PS electric motor. 0-62mph takes just 5.4 seconds. The Audi A6 e-tron quattro pairs this battery with front and rear electric motors, for a total of 428PS – or 462PS with launch control. 0-62mph performance takes 4.7 seconds, dropping to 4.5 seconds with launch control. 

There’s also a range-topping Audi S6 e-tron, which blends the 100kWh battery with two electric motors producing a total of 503PS. 0-62mph acceleration takes just 4.1 seconds. 

Needless to say, all Audi A6 e-tron feel swift and effortless, with enough performance to out-accelerate a hot hatch at the traffic lights. There’s an abundance of pulling power easily on tap. There’s also that powerful brake recuperation system, which can recuperate at up to 220kW (the equivalent of almost 300PS!). It’s active in 95% of all everyday braking processes, topping the battery up with energy that would otherwise be lost. 

An 800V architecture means the Audi A6 e-tron can use ultra-rapid chargers at speeds of up to 270kW. If you find such a public rapid charger fast enough, it means you can charge from 10-80% in just 21 minutes – which, when you consider the size of the battery, really is very impressive stuff indeed. Audi reckons you can add enough power for up to 192 miles in just 10 minutes. 

Intriguingly, the Audi A6 e-tron has dual charging ports – one on each side, at the rear. One is for both AC and DC, with the other simply for AC. Both are hidden beneath electric flaps, which you press in to activate. They do whirr open rather slowly, though, and closing them isn’t quite as slick as opening them. 

The Audi A6 e-tron 83kWh has a range of up to 382 miles in Sport or S line guise. The bigger 21-inch wheels of Edition 1 variants cuts this to 355 miles. Meanwhile the Audi A6 e-tron performance 100kWh battery has a range of up to 461 miles, while even the high-performance Audi S6 e-tron can officially cover more than 400 miles, according to WLTP figures. 

The Audi A6 e-tron has a superb five-star safety score from Euro NCAP. It’s rated 92% for adult occupant protection, 91% for child occupant protection, 75% for vulnerable road users and 80% for safety assist. 

Standard safety assist tech includes front and rear emergency brake assist, swerve assist and turn assist, plus intersection assist that helps you spy crossing traffic from the front. There’s an intelligent speed limiter as well, linked to the traffic sign recognition system, and adaptive cruise control. 

Front and rear parking sensors come with a 360 degree display and a top view camera, with further assistance from parking assistant plus. When driving at slow speed, an e-sound acoustic vehicle alert system should help ensure pedestrians who haven’t heard you don’t step in your way. You’ll notice this, albeit distantly, from the inside – as soon as you select ‘D’, the noise begins. 

The Audi A6 e-tron Edition 1 adds extra safety tech on top of the comprehensive standard haul. This includes enhanced adaptive cruise assist plus, lane departure warning with emergency assist, a clever lane change assistant, cross traffic turn assist that extends to the rear plus an extended array of airbags. 

Our test car, an Audi A6 e-tron Edition 1, also had the firm’s virtual door mirrors. A live camera feed is displayed on a monitor in the door instead of regular glass door mirrors. They make the car more aerodynamic… but we simply did not get on with them. It’s hard to gauge depth with them, and they made parking close to walls and other cars tricky. We’d rather stick with regular mirrors. 

As you'd expect for an upmarket electric SUV, the Q6 e-tron will come with an extensive list of driver-assistance tech as standard. Highlights include the parking system plus with a 360-degree display, swerve assist and turn assist, top-view camera, traffic-sign-based speed limiter, adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking in front and rear and camera-based traffic sign recognition. The Audi Q6 e-tron also gets intersection assist, lane departure warning, lane change assistant and exit warning system, rear cross traffic assist, rear turn assist, and an advanced driver attention and fatigue monitor system as standard.

The Park Assist Plus feature, meanwhile, enables the vehicle to fully take over the entering and exiting parking manoeuvre for forwards and reverse parking into kerbside and bay parking spaces between vehicles - the vehicle steers, accelerates, brakes and switches off the motor

Those who choose the Edition 1 trim with their Audi Q6 e-tron also benefit from lane departure warning with emergency assist, occupant detection in rear seats and a proactive passenger protection system.

Euro NCAP has awarded the Audi Q6 e-tron a maximum five stars for safety.

The Audi A6 e-tron has a regular three-year, 60,000-mile warranty. It can be extended to four years and 75,000 miles, or five years and 90,000 miles, as an optional extra. The battery has an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty. 

Audi has been moving up the rankings in the HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index in recent years. It now has a mid-table 18th-place score, with a reliability rating of 89.03%. That’s just two places behind arch-rival BMW – and well clear of Mercedes-Benz, which is down in 30th place. 

The Audi A6 e-tron has premium electric car levels of insurance. Even the entry-level version has a group 43 rating, with the 100kWh battery jumping up to group 48. The top spec Audi A6 e-tron has a group 50 insurance rating, currently the highest possible. 

As an electric car, the Audi A6 e-tron has a £10 first-year road tax rate. After that, it costs £195 a year. However, as the prices are (well) above £40,000, the £425 a year ‘Expensive Car Supplement’ also applies in years two to six. 

The Audi A6 e-tron is offered in three different trim levels, called Sport, S line and Edition 1. Sport is entry-level, sportier S line is very popular with British buyers, while Edition 1 is a range-topping version with a huge array of features as standard. 

Mind you, even the Audi A6 e-tron Sport is well-equipped, featuring 20-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights with matrix functionality, flush doorhandles and front acoustic glazing. Keyless entry and the Audi Digital Key are included – and the Audi logo is projected at night from the door mirrors. Inside, ‘Twin Leather’ upholstery is standard, offset by matt brushed aluminium inlays and a double-spoke leather steering wheel. 

The Audi A6 e-tron has three-zone climate control, heated front seats, an electric tailgate, the Audi Virtual cockpit with 11.9-inch driver display and 14.5-inch touchscreen, Audi Sound audio and white ambient lighting. 

The Audi A6 e-tron S line boasts S line front and rear bumpers plus a bespoke set of 10-spoke trapezoid 20-inch alloys. There are sports seats included, trimmed in leather and artificial leather with contrast stitching and an Audi ‘S’ badge. The headliner turns from grey to black, there are aluminium door sills with illuminated S badge, and a three-spoke flat-bottom steering wheel, again with S badge. 

The lavishly-equipped Audi A6 e-tron Edition 1 has 21-inch alloys, red brake calipers, full Matrix lights, LED signature package, illuminated Audi rings and a black styling package. ‘Super Sports’ seats are included, trimmed in Dinamica with contrast stitching. They are ventilated as well as heated, while the rear seats are heated as well as the front. 

The Audi A6 e-tron Edition 1 includes the front passenger display, plus high-tech mesh trim inlays, adaptive cruise assist plus and an exit warning function that flashes the ambient lighting in red if a passenger goes to get out when a vehicle or cyclist is approaching from behind.