First Drive: Audi tackles electric executive car class with excellent A6 e-tron

Audi hasn’t exactly been racing to get a pure-electric executive saloon out of the door. The German brand has been occupied in producing a range of electric SUVs over the past few years, and considering how fashionable these are it’s an understandable move.

But now, at long last, Audi has something to compete with the BMW i5 and the Mercedes-Benz EQE – the A6 Sportback e-tron.

The badge may be old but the car is as new as it could possibly be. Audi has switched to a new naming strategy whereby the even-numbered models (such as the A6) will become pure-electric, while the odds will be powered by petrol and diesel engines. It’s why the A4 has been replaced by the new A5, and explains the outgoing A6’s place in the range will be covered by a new A7. Still with us? Good.

The A6 e-tron is one of a pair of new Audis that use an electric car platform that it has designed. The PPE architecture has already been slung under the Q6 e-tron and also the new Porsche Macan Electric, and comes in a rakish hatchback-cum-saloon form known as Sportback, and as a traditional Avant estate.

There’s quite a lot to get your head around here, so pay attention. For the first time ever, the A6 is rear-wheel drive – the entry-level version gets 322bhp, while the Performance-badged models are boosted to 375bhp. The Quattro version is naturally four-wheel drive, so an extra motor is attached to the front axle and packs 456bhp.

That 322bhp entry-level car, badged just A6 e-tron, gets its juice from an 83kWh NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) battery and 225kW charging from an 800V electrical system, while the Performance and Quattro cars get a larger 100kWh battery and 270kW charging capacity (meaning a 10-80 per cent top up takes just 21 mins). Range is quoted as 383 miles for the entry-level Sportback, and an impressive 463 miles for the Performance. The Quattro can travel up to 438 miles before it needs to be replenished. This means that the A6 has its rivals licked in terms of the outright on-paper driving range.

Oh, and there’s an S6 e-tron Sportback and Avant, too – 543bhp, twin motors and 405 miles of range – but that’s for another time.

We drove the model Audi is most proud of – the Performance – with the promised 400-plus mile range and very healthy 375bhp under your right foot. Acceleration is pretty potent, but when we stopped charging between switchback corners on our mountain road test route in Tenerife, the power is progressive and measured. The steering weights up well when cornering and there’s decent ‘feel’ – which is unusual for an Audi – and the chassis has a real agility to it – the car dives into corners with confidence. But a BMW i5 is still sharper.

The A6 is a hugely cosseting and smooth car to travel in, and fit for family life should you tow – it has a remarkable 2.1-tonne towing capacity, for example. But we can’t comment on how it rides as our car had air suspension, which is an option Audi doesn’t reckon Brits will choose. UK cars will get standard passive suspension when they arrive early in 2025, so we’ll have to re-evaluate it on British roads later. Also, a proper efficiency test is needed as our test drive yielded a real-world range of 310 miles compared to the 463 claimed, but our test route was made up of mountain roads.

The new A6 is a far smoother, more shapely car than the car it replaces, and there’s a very good reason for that. Audi is trying to make EVs cut through the air as cleanly as possible, as it believes the effects of drag are more detrimental to an EV’s efficiency than they are to a petrol or a diesel car’s. So the A6 has become the most aerodynamic car Audi has ever built (0.21 Cd if you’re interested), which explains that curvy shape. Audi is so fanatical about drag that it is, again, offering digital door mirrors as it improves the range by four miles, apparently. Happily, they are better designed compared to ones fitted to the e-tron SUV, which debuted this tech on an Audi.

A flared-in ‘grille’ and split headlights give a futuristic look, and the Sportback has a really coupe-like feel thanks to that sloping roofline. There’s the inevitable rear light bar that runs across the back of the car, and the four-rings badge illuminates – the first time on an Audi. Speaking of the lights, the design front day-running lights and rear lights can be changed from an Audi so owners can ‘personalise’ their car, if they wish.

If you’ve been in the new Audi Q6 e-tron recently then you’ll be getting a sense of deja vu. The interior is dominated by a massive 14.5-inch OLED touchscreen that features amazingly sharp graphics. The system itself is easy to use, which is good as there are hardly any physical controls inside the A6, and the voice control actually responds to your commands for a change. Speaking of tech, the glass panoramic roof is lovely as different segments (or the whole thing) turn opaque when you want to shield the interior from the sun.

Build quality is exemplary and up front is a roomy place to be. The back seats, however, aren’t as comfortable as they should be with flat and short seat bases, and headroom isn’t the best thanks to that sloping roofline. Boot space is good at 502 litres and there’s a handy ‘frunk’ (front storage area under the bonnet) for charging cables.

Prices kick off at £62,000 for the Sport model, with Performance commanding a £7,400 premium, while the four-wheel drive Quattro starts at £75,500. Sport gets 20-inch wheels, those fancy front and rear LED lights, heated front seats, the OLED touchscreen with wireless phone charging, and a 360-degree camera.

Desirable S line trim costs between £3,000 and £3,500 depending on the powertrain and adds sportier styling inside and out, while top drawer Edition 1 cars feature matrix headlights, electric front seats, 21-inch wheels, and a touchscreen for the passenger. In typical Audi fashion, the options list is long and pricey.

It’s hard not to be impressed by the new A6 e-tron. Audi has taken its time to enter the cut-throat electric executive car class, but it’s certainly been worth the wait. It shows up its rivals in a number of areas, not least in terms of pure on-paper electric driving range.

More than that, though, the new A6 feels like a properly premium piece of kit, with great tech and very sophisticated driving manners. A full test in the UK on non-air sprung suspension is needed, but on this first drive, the A6 is mightily impressive.