► Audi Q6 e-Tron SUV review
► First Audi based on new PPE platform
► First UK drive of important new electric SUV
Our experiences of the Audi Q6 e-tron electric SUV have been positive so far, but came with a giant caveat. While Launch Edition cars came with cushy air suspension that gave a pillowy ride, the only model available with air in the UK is the sporty SQ6. After a few months of bugging Audi’s press office, we’ve finally got our hands on a coil-sprung model that’s far more representative of what you can order today.
It’s certainly taken a long time to get to this point. The first PPE-based cars were originally due in 2023, but it was only in late 2024 that it finally landed in the UK – the new Audi Q6 e-tron launching at a similar time to the Porsche Macan EV, though each takes a rather different approach to the electric SUV formula.
Whereas the Macan is a bit swoopier styled and has a strong focus on driver thrills, as it should be, Audi plays it safer and more sensible with the Q6 e-tron. You already know exactly what it is, even before so much as clap eyes on it. The Q6 does indeed straddle the middle-ground amid Ingolstadt’s assault on the electric SUV market, slotting seamlessly between the full-size Audi Q8 e-Tron and Audi Q4 e-Tron junior crossover. Think of it as Audi’s challenger to the BMW iX3, Mercedes EQE and Polestar 3.
We’ve now driven the Q6 and SQ6 abroad, and spent a few days with air and coil sprung cars in the UK. Don’t miss our star ratings, specs, driving impressions, electric range test and a verdict you can trust. If you’re curious about how we test, we’ve a page that explains everything.
At a glance
Pros: slick Audi quality; spacious interior, very refined
Cons: poor efficiency, stiff ride on coils, glitchy software, interior doesn’t feel a big step forward
What’s new?
What is less clear on first appearance is the hardware underpinning this 4.8m-long newcomer, which is rather more revolutionary than the same-again design of the classy but conservative wardrobe. This is very much Modern Face Of Audi and it fulfils its brief of slotting betwixt Q4 and Q8 with few surprises.
As we’ve mentioned, the Q6 is based around the group’s latest PPE architecture, which is also used on the A6 e-Tron. The first electric Bentley, now due in 2026, is also expected to use the same underpinnings.
PPE is significant because engineers claim that range has leapt by around a third compared with the first e-Tron products of five years ago. It also ushers in the latest wave of infotainment and digital services. In layperson’s language, that means niceties like the ability to reserve a hotel room through Booking.com straight from the touchscreen onboard.
What are the specs?
Audi originally launched the Q6 e-tron with two models – the standard car and the sportier SQ6 – but this has expanded to four versions. The line-up starts with a ‘Sport’ powertrain, which has a rear electric motor producing 288bhp and a 7.0-second 0-62mph time. Up next is ‘Sport Performance’, which gets a 321bhp motor and a bigger battery, which drops the 0-62mph time to 6.6 seconds.
Here we’re concentrating on the ‘Sport Quattro’ model, with twin electric motors producing 383bhp and allowing all-wheel-drive. It drops the 0-62mph time to 5.9 seconds, though it’s not a patch on the sportier SQ6 that tops the line-up. This produces up to 510bhp with launch control and drops the 0-62mph time to 4.3-seconds, but is still some way off the figures of a Porsche Macan Turbo Electric.
Range and charging
It’s only the entry-level ‘Sport’ powertrain that uses the smaller 83kWh battery (75.8kWh usable), which Audi claims for a range of up to 326 miles. All other Q6 e-Trons get a larger 100kWh battery (of which 94.9kWh is usable), which allows for a claimed range of up to 392 miles.
All are somewhat optimistic figures given how inefficient the Q6 e-tron is. We struggled to get even 3mi/kWh (miles per kilowatt hour) in our mild-weather testing abroad and in an Autumnal UK, with a real-world range of around 265-300 miles likely. In terms of efficiency, it’s certainly a step up the abysmal Q8 e-tron, but still lags behind rivals that’ll manage 3.5mi/kWh with ease.
If you aren’t a fan of stopping to charge for a long, though, the Q6 e-Tron might be worth a look. Its 800-volt architecture enables a maximum charge speed of 270kW, Audi claims just 21 minutes is possible to get from 10 to 80 per cent. There are charging flaps on both flanks, too (only one is for DC fast charging; either side can be used for AC charging at home). Why the fuel flaps are motorised is beyond me; is this how lazy we’ve become as a species?
How does it drive?
All Q6’s should share the same rear motor and suspension hardware, although spec differences can make a huge difference to how different versions drive. Air suspension was fitted as standard to Launch Edition cars and is still fitted on the SQ6, yet currently you can only have two coil-sprung suspension systems on Q6s.
Air-sprung Q6s are comfortable, hushed and won’t disgrace themselves in corners, where PPE’s more rear-biased power delivery reflects this car’s DNA shared with the Macan. It’s more fun to throw this 2.4-tonne SUV around than it should be, although isn’t as playful as the Porsche. Sadly, this isn’t all true of cars fitted with the steel sports suspension.
Body control is excellent from the fixed dampers, with an overly firm ride the big penalty. You’ll feel most lumps and bumps pass under you, with corrugated country roads feeling quite unpleasant. Even a Fiat 500e I drove straight after the sport suspension equipped Q6 felt significantly more comfortable. Yes, it does mean minimal body roll and far greater agility than you’d expect from such a heffer, but the Macan is even better here and is available with adaptive dampers which help the ride a little.
Performance is brisk in the Quattro, and it has that effortless shove that typifies EVs and it won’t give up the ghost at motorway speeds, either. Step up into the SQ6 and that extra hundred horsepower is instantly felt; response to the accelerator is sharper. You’ll either love or hate the e-Tron sound generator available on the Edition 1 models, providing a more dynamic engine rumble. I’d personally turn it off…
Another grumble: unless you’re in B for Braking mode (akin to other brands’ one-pedal driving), the car constantly reverts to auto regenerative braking. That said, the auto regen does work cleverly and smoothly, so many people will probably leave it be.
Refinement is good, with little wind and motor noise, although coarsely paved surfaces do generate a bit of roar. We had a few software related grumbles with our first UK Q6 test car, if none with the second a few months later. Hopefully that’ll mean a less frustrating life for customers.
What about the interior?
Climb onboard and you’re met with more familiar Audi motifs: the interior is made of mostly plush materials give or take the odd surface like the sliding centre console cubby lid whose piano black finish is a little cheaper than you might like. We also found lots of hard cheap plastic at the bottom of the door cards that feel out of place in an £80k SUV.
The Q6 is roomy in both rows, if not that much bigger than a Q4, and the boot is generously proportioned. I was shocked that the ‘frunk’ front boot (below) is a £500 option, as part of the storage and luggage pack, and there’s another hidden cubby below the main boot floor for charging cables and the like.
The big news onboard is the latest group infotainment system boosted by Audi’s updated E3 1.2 electronic architecture. We’ll forgive you if incremental updates sound as scintillating as your latest iOS or Android update, but the logic and speed of the MMI touchscreen is impressive and Audi continues to push out over-the-air updates to release extra functionality (alert: Microsoft Teams integration coming soon… not all upgrades are good in our book!).
Notice how twin 11.9in and 14.5in digital screens are integrated into a curved dashboard display, for a cocooning look and easy access to data galore. If anything, there’s too much information: I counted 21 different data points on the driver’s display alone, when all I wanted to know was which regen braking mode I was in. Such is modern life – and that’s before we even mention the optional 10.9in third screen in front of the passenger…
The haptic sliders on the steering wheel; along with the ‘virtual’ buttons on the driver’s door panel, are both a backwards step and I miss the simplicity of the physical switchgear that Audi used to do so well. The Q6’s cabin certainly looks better than those of last-gen Audis, but it’s now harder to use.
That said, new high-definition head-up display (HUD) is fab and includes clever augmented-reality turn arrows for sat-nav instructions. The field of view is 30% larger than earlier Audi HUD systems and, when parked up, you can even see Audi letting its hair down by introducing video games via the projected image beamed on to the windscreen. How very Tesla.
Before you buy (specs and trims)
Q6 prices start from just under £60,000 for the smaller battery and £63,475 for the bigger 100kWh unit, and it’s available in three specs – Sport, S line and Edition 1. Confusingly, the latter is different to the Launch Edition.
Sport models come with 19-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry, heated front and rear seats and adaptive cruise control. Popular S line trim brings a heated steering wheel, bigger 20-inch wheels and a sportier bodykit. At the top of the range, Edition 1 packs Matrix LED headlights, electric sports seats and a touchscreen in the dash for the front-seat passenger.
And how does it compare with rivals? Well, not badly at all. It usefully undercuts the £68,500 Porsche Macan Electric and overpriced £75,495 Mercedes EQE SUV, and even the £65,160 BMW iX3, which is soon to be replaced by BMW’s Neue Klasse SUV.
Verdict
The Q6 may not revolutionise the electric SUV class, but it certainly underlines Audi’s ambition. Expect more incremental designs, longer battery range and more swollen RRPs before we start seeing smaller, lighter and – hopefully – more radical electric Audis in future.
The Q6 is an important next step for Audi’s electric car journey, but perhaps isn’t quite the step forward it could have been – at least given how long it took to develop. The efficiency is disappointing, the cabin not quite as intuitive as we’ve come to expect, and Edition 1’s sports suspension is jarringly stiff.
That said, the Q6 e-Tron’s tidy handling and classy styling are a welcome change from the norm in this class, and are good enough reasons alone to make you consider it.