Audi A6 Sportback e-tron 2025 review: Up to 463 miles range and excels in tech ... but is that enough?
It's A6, Jim, but not as we know it
Plenty of people — The Sunday Times’ very own Jeremy Clarkson included — have expressed concern about how the electric cars of the future will differentiate themselves. After all, with few particularly discernible differences between electric motors, in terms of the way they deliver power, a key part of what makes a car special, terrible, kooky or conventional is essentially eliminated from the formula. Perhaps power outputs will differ, and layouts will change, but the fact remains that electric cars are naturally less diverse than those powered by internal combustion.
And with the ever-growing availability and reliability of computer modelling and data, there’s a suggestion that cars might start to look more similar, too. The most aerodynamic shape is decided by data, not desire, and the laws of physics are not about to change.
There will still be opportunities to stand out, of course. Technology offerings and chassis engineering both represent opportunities to broaden appeal, while customisation is also likely to play a part. And Audi, a brand that until fairly recently quite literally made technology part of its motto, has decided to target all three of those aspects with the new A6 e-tron — the electric executive car that replaces the more conventionally powered A6 to which we’re so accustomed.
A shining example of this is the A6’s new lighting system that’s derived from technology in the Q6 e-tron and A5, and offers drivers the chance to play a little. The narrow light strips on the corners and the wide light bar across the back all come with customisation options, offering owners a choice of eight different light patterns (or “signatures”). So, if you don’t like the lighting design when you take delivery, you can always swap it with something completely different.
Admittedly, such technology has its downsides. Most people will find patterns they like and simply leave them alone for the rest of their time with the car, but at least second-hand buyers will be able to take advantage. Then there are concerns about complexity, and some will worry that it’s just something to go wrong.
Audi has pressed on regardless, and it has made the lights do more than just paint pretty pictures on the ends of the car. The main headlights, cunningly hidden in the A6 e-tron’s front bumper, are offered with LED Matrix technology, which allows them to change the shape of the main beam, effectively blotting out the light heading towards oncoming cars to avoid dazzle, while still providing maximum illumination of everything else.
And at the rear, the lights can “talk” to other vehicles, with warning triangle graphics popping up when you put the hazard lights on and another warning to tell other road users when someone is opening a door. It’ll apparently warn other drivers if they get too close to your rear bumper, too, although that seems quite ironic given the non-indicating, tailgating reputation of many Audi drivers in the UK.
Joking aside, it’s clever stuff, although some of it will require everyone else to look out for and spot the symbols, then identify them correctly. But the idea is probably praiseworthy, at least in its intentions.
The lights aren’t the only tech-based selling points, either. The new A6 e-tron is available with a massive head-up display that projects certain graphics onto the windscreen in such a way that they appear to be superimposed on the world outside. There are arrows to tell you which road the navigation system is sending you down, for example, and the lane departure warning system picks out lines in the road when you wander out of lane.
Other neat little tricks include the availability of a panoramic glass roof with electrically adjustable opacity, rather than a conventional roller blind, and an additional touchscreen for the front-seat passenger to play with.
But for all this, Audi is aiming to draw customers in with some good old-fashioned engineering, too. Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed the new shape, which has seen the A6 e-tron discard the traditional three-box saloon profile of the old A6 and the newcomer’s arch rival, the BMW i5, in favour of a svelte fastback silhouette. It’s more than just a style decision because Audi reckons aerodynamics are key to making electric cars efficient and therefore appealing to customers.
Hence the rounded look and sculpted “grille” panel on the front, as well as the air intakes that channel air smoothly along the car’s flanks. It’s also the justification for the optional digital side “mirrors”, which apparently improve the car’s range slightly, and the big diffuser on the rear bumper, which helps to clean up the airflow at the back of the car.
The result is visually fairly pleasing — aerodynamic things often are — but the real appeal comes from what all that effort means for the A6 e-tron’s efficiency. With a big battery pack slotted under the floor (apparently the black trim down the car’s flanks is supposed to highlight its presence and position), the A6 e-tron has a highly competitive range that should put at ease the minds of any previous A6 customers worrying about range anxiety.
In basic form, the A6 e-tron has a single 322bhp electric motor at the rear, and a underfloor battery with 83kWh of energy storage, giving it similar capacity to a Volkswagen ID.7. That combination allows the A6 e-tron to claim an extremely useful official range of 383 miles in five-door Sportback form, although the Avant estate version cuts that range by a little over 20 miles.
The really impressive option is the Performance model, which produces 375bhp and features a larger 100kWh battery pack, increasing the range noticeably despite the uplift in performance. A 463-mile official range for the Sportback model is really something — it’s theoretically enough to get from London to Edinburgh without stopping — though as always, we advise you to take it with a pinch of salt. Real world ranges tend to be less, particularly in cold weather and at motorway speeds. Still, our test suggested a range of well over 300 miles would be achievable without breaking a sweat.
As the name suggests, the Performance model is also pretty quick, accelerating from 0-62mph in less than five-and-a-half seconds, which makes it very nearly as fast as a Honda Civic Type R. And that’s only the third most potent model in the A6 e-tron stable, with a brace of dual-motor versions sitting above it.
Both the 456bhp quattro model and the 543bhp S6 version are thoroughly rapid, with the latter accelerating faster than a Porsche Panamera, even though it doesn’t feel that fast on the road. There is a bit of a range penalty, though, with the quattro managing “just” 438 miles on a charge and the S6 topping out at 405 miles (again, those are the official lab test figures).
Those ranges are still respectable, mind you, and nobody will complain about the A6 e-tron’s performance or efficiency, or the way in which the A6 e-tron drives. Audi has been working hard to improve its cars’ handling of late, and that has meant changes to the steering and suspension for the new A6 e-tron.
It’s true that the new steering still doesn’t feel that engaging — there’s little in the way of feedback through the wheel — but it doesn’t feel too light, either, and the response from the front wheels is linear and predictable. It feels safe, and that’s exactly what 99.9 per cent of Audi customers will want. Even in the S6, which is supposedly that bit sportier, the steering doesn’t have all that much feel, but it’s still nicely weighted and the response is still sharp. It’s like a pint of Doom Bar to a real ale enthusiast: fine, but not especially exciting. I reckon keen drivers will make a beeline for the much more poised BMW i5.
But the suspension is a slightly more complicated story, because the ever-helpful Audi engineers decided to fit all the A6s we tested at its international launch with air suspension, which is only available on the S6 in the UK. So, while the A6 Sportback e-tron and Avant e-tron models we drove were quite comfy (in a very Teutonic, still-a-bit-firm-in-places kind of way), we’ve no idea how British-specification cars, with their steel springs, will ride.
We do, however, know what the S6 is like, because Audi is fitting that car with air suspension as standard. The answer is: still quite firm. It isn’t firm in a jagged kind of way, but the ride is more of an informative experience, letting you know how the bumps are affecting the car without putting too sharp an edge on them.
Body control is good as a result, and the car feels really stable, but the ride isn’t exactly smooth. It feels safe, mature and a little bit sporty, but doesn’t quite have the comfort we’d have liked, even on smooth European roads.
We can’t complain about the quality of the interior, which has long been a big plus point for Audi, despite the changes the company has made. Screens dominate these days, with a massive central touchscreen joined by a huge digital instrument display. Yes, the latter screen feels a bit dumbed down compared with its predecessor because there’s less in the way of customisation, but the former is big and clear, if not always that easy to navigate.
We will reserve some praise for the A6 e-tron’s climate control system, which is now housed in the central touchscreen. Other manufacturers have tried this with limited success, but the Audi system is better. The temperature controls are always accessible, along with other key functions, making it one of the better implementations of that technology. We’d still prefer proper buttons but this is the next best thing.
If there is a real weak spot in the cabin, though, it’s the optional digital door mirrors, which exist to reduce air resistance but actually just prove a bit awkward to use. Audi has been trying this trick for a while now, and while the cameras are smaller and sharper than before, and the screens their images are displayed on are in better positions, they still don’t feel as simple or as natural as a proper mirror. They play with your depth perception and they’re fiddly to adjust.
But with proper mirrors also available, they’re only a problem if you want them to be and, given the overall quality of most of the Audi’s in-car tech, that’s a minor issue indeed. Tech is clearly still the focus for this car — it seems to be Audi’s chosen method of differentiating itself — and in the case of the A6 e-tron, that’s a good thing.
Because while the range is impressive, the car doesn’t really stand out on the road. Its competence is beyond question, and it will doubtless satisfy thousands of buyers, but the quality of the opposition means it’s very difficult to stand out.
Fortunately, Audi already has a loyal following, which means plenty of customers simply wouldn’t be seen dead in anything else, and the brand’s continuing innovation means it’s sure to keep attracting new blood. Even if, when judged solely as cars, the product isn’t all that exciting.
Related articles
- If you found our review of the Audi A6 e-tron interesting, you might like to read our review of the also-new Audi S5
- Or check out the best-selling new cars of 2024 in the UK
- And we also have a review of the related Audi Q6 e-tron
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