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Audi’s late entrant to the electric SUV segment avoids the polarisation that has dogged electric rivals in the BMW iX and Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV
The electric Audi Q6 E-tron looks awfully like the forthcoming, third-gen, combustion-fuelled Audi Q5 — and that’s no mistake. Despite the fact that the Ingolstadt brand says its customers are techy and progressive, they also prefer to fly under the radar.
The deeply polarising BMW iX and aero-before-all Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV? They aren’t for Audi people.
By contrast, the upright Audi Q6 stands out in the luxury electric SUV segment precisely for its conventional features, including an upright wagon-like stance and a long bonnet that looks like it could house a V8.
Like the sublime Polestar 3 in the same segment, the Q6 is handsome and burly, sidestepping risky design entirely.
And so what? We’re more interested in substance than pick-me looks. While the BMW iX’s superb dynamics lead this segment, we’re almost embarrassed to pull up in one.
If the Q6 can pull off Audi-typical solid ride and handling while managing to maintain the sort of cabin quality we hope for from the four-rings, that could be enough to convince.
Matters look initially positive. Rather than borrowing a downmarket chassis from cousin Volkswagen, Audi instead pinched from the posh end of the Group.
The Q6 sits atop the Premium Platform Electric toolkit of which Porsche was the lead developer—and on which this Audi and the new Macan are the sole current recipients.
It doesn’t mean the Q6 is a cut-price Macan, but it should result in hard points, packaging and basic suspension hardware that are a clear cut above emerging Volkswagen Group EV choices like VW’s ID4 (from $59,990), the Skoda Enyaq (from $69,990) and Audi’s own Q4 (from $84,900).
From early on in a drive of the silken Q6, that much is true — and it had better be, because the new Audi doesn’t come especially cheap. It does undercut the (admittedly slightly larger) iX and EQE SUV, but the $115,500 (plus on-roads) price of entry of a rear-drive Q6 Performance still punts this crossover into extremely challenging terrain.
Buying data reveals that Australians are simply not purchasing EVs priced above the luxury car tax (LCT) threshold of just under $100,000 on-road in any great number. That is because an enormous buying advantage — a full waiver of fringe benefits tax for company car operators — is unavailable for EVs priced above the LCT limit.
Unsurprisingly, our sources tell us that base-grade iX and EQE SUV units are being sold to company car buyers for one dollar below LCT just to clear stock.
If the Q6 is to succeed without that kind of debilitating discounting, it will need to be exceptional. To evaluate its chances in the tough Australian market, we chose a mid-tier and dual-motor Q6 Quattro (from $122,500 plus on-road costs) for a thorough test.
First, it’s helpful to understand where the Audi Q6 sits price- and size-wise in the luxury electric SUV segment, because it’s effectively an in-betweener.
It’s noticeably larger than familiar petrol midsizers like Audi’s own Q5 while remaining half-a-size smaller (and meaningfully cheaper) than its clearest rivals:
The midsize BMW iX3 and Mercedes EQB were the only vehicles on the above list to — officially, at least retail for less than the LCT, and they chalked up 1092 and 504 sales respectively in 2024 (1596 registrations total). Meanwhile, the set of higher-than-LCT models on the above list that were available in 2024 managed just 1679 registrations in total.
Without a dramatic increase in customer demand, product pricing or available subsidies, the Audi Q6 lands in a seriously tough and competitive segment with buyers able to choose among seven rivals.
So, what does Audi have to compete with? Our $122,500 (plus on-road costs) Q6 Quattro was heavily optioned to $146,000. First, its standard features:
Three option packages are available and our tester featured all of them:
Individual cost options include cooling for the front seats ($2100), front head rest speakers ($950), and sun blinds for the rear windows ($500). Once again, our tester had the lot, plus Mythos Black paint, a metallic hue for which Audi charges another $2000.
So, while the Q6’s starting price is attractively lower than most of its segment rivals, the optional nature of desirable features like air suspension (you’ll want it), a good stereo (ditto) and cooled seats (standard on a $60K Tesla Model 3) make this a big purchase.
Rather than optioning a Q6 Quattro to the back teeth, it probably makes more sense to splash for the SQ6 for another $5000 or thereabouts—it has all the option packs standard, looks better, is much faster, and is a genuine Audi Sport product.
On paper, value is acceptable against the EQE SUV and iX and similar the Polestar 3 — and only the Audi has an 800-volt platform. But if the brand intends to chase volume, we would not be surprised to see the brand mimic BMW’s approach by adding a stripped-down variant ready to limbo beneath the (currently) all-controlling LCT threshold.
Audi’s fully-electric range ushers in a compelling dynamic change that’s invisible from outside the car: Ingolstadt’s EVs now use rear-wheel drive platforms. It’s a huge change: apart from a couple of enthusiast-special R8 supercar variants, the last rear-drive Audis were sold in the late 1930s.
For decades, two-wheel drive Audis have meant front-wheel drive—and that meant drivers keen on performance would need to spec Quattro AWD, normally linked to more power.
Audi has shifted torque bias to the rear on its bigger Quattro models in recent years, but even all-paw Audis have never enjoyed the reputation for verve that rear-drive BMWs have.
Is that about to change? Perhaps, though the 2400kg Q6 crossover isn’t the vehicle to usher in a reputation for oversteering Audis.
While the cheapest Q6 is exclusively rear-drive with a 240kW motor feeding the rear axle, the Quattro beefs up the aft engine and adds a smaller unit at the front to make a total of 285kW/855Nm with a 33:67 rear-biased torque split.
That mountain of torque available from rest defines what is a confident and muscular character—the Q6 Quattro feels like it has plenty of motivation in reserve—though the 118kW/tonne power to weight ratio helps to reveal why this SUV isn’t especially quick: a 5.9 second 0-100km/h time is brisk but way off a Tesla Model Y Performance (3.7 sec).
You’ll get closer to those manic Tesla dragsters by opting for the aluminium-decorated SQ6 grade ($151,400 before on-road costs) that boosts power significantly to 380kW, slashes the 0-100km/h time to 4.3 seconds while upgrading the interior materials even further.
Still, working with Porsche to develop the Q6’s 800-volt architecture meant the ability to design motors from scratch, resulting in superior packaging to the now-discontinued Q8 E-tron model but also superior refinement.
The Q6 has silky-smooth throttle response, zero perceptible motor whine and a lush creaminess to its acceleration.
If only the regen was as perfect. Q6 drivers can pick from adaptive regen, no regen, two manual settings or a strong ‘B’ mode but none of them felt right.
The failure to nail regen might stem from the fact that Porsche doesn’t believe in it (and it’s not available on the Macan) — leaving Audi to retroactively engineer the feature in. Still, brake pedal feel is okay.
Steering weight is adjustable through the Audi Drive Select menu and we enjoyed the lightest ‘Comfort’ setting—the rack is largely feel-free but it’s twirlable with an intuitive ratio. ‘Balanced’ or ‘Dynamic’ adds artificial weight to make the Q6 feel burlier on country roads for those that prefer such responses.
Handling at all sensible speeds is neutral, balanced and safe. This is a heavy car with adequate (and not overwhelming) power, easy steering and good levels of grip.
Turn-in is confident, with predictable reactions from the body. Dial up the pace and the suave Q6 hints at real chassis brilliance and even a hidden fun side—but you have to go looking for this.
The real standout to the Q6’s dynamics is its ride quality. There’s a caveat: our tester sported the adaptive air suspension, standard on the SQ6 but which can only be added to a Q6 by ticking the Tech Pro Package ($4900).
Having experienced it, we’d have to have it. Despite being further optioned with the largest possible 21-inch wheels—normally that would be a fatal blow to ride quality on Australian roads—the Q6’s compliance on air deserves the highest credit.
The ride is simply awesome, ironing out imperfections while retaining appropriate road feel and good body control.
Refinement was also excellent, with a hushed cabin no doubt dampened further by our tester’s acoustic-glazed front windows (part of the $8900 Premium Package). In fact, it’s so quiet and comfortable on the highway that, when using the well-calibrated lane keeping assistant and adaptive cruise control, it’s effectively a sensory deprivation chamber.
Two seemingly contradictory findings about the interior are true simultaneously. First, compared to a number of rival models, the Q6 has a well-made, easy-to-understand interior with excellent build quality. Second—and despite the first point — Audi’s interiors have stepped back in terms of their perceived expense.
If you own an older Audi, you may well be rightly disappointed by the appearance of shiny black plastic where once there were clicky buttons or knurled metal controls.
Like so many carmakers, Audi has been starved of discretionary funds — once used for plush materials — by electrification and autonomy investment expenses, and has gone looking for savings.
And it isn’t great news for Audi that the company’s own executives are already briefing media on a plan to reverse these perceived quality setbacks.
With that sort of communication out in the market, why would you buy a Q6 — or any of Audi’s forthcoming new-generation models with the same interior — now, if upgrades are on the agenda? Hmm…
Well, one reason would be if you need to upgrade your vehicle now and you’re shopping in the Q6 segment because it’s not all bad.
Sure, we’d prefer physical climate knobs, fewer controls in the touchscreen, and softer plastics where the Q6 splashes hard — but at least the Audi is well made. Our tester was rock-solid with no creaks or rattles. There is a difference between material quality and build quality, and on the latter front, the Audi is up to scratch.
That’s more than we can say for creaky current-gen Mercedes products (including the EQE SUV) or the unacceptably sloppy Cadillac Lyriq. That said, the Polestar 3 and BMW iX are plusher than the Audi — and both are well-built, too.
While we’re picking bones, we didn’t find the Q6 Quattro’s sports seats especially comfortable. They’re Teutonically firm (which is generally good), but the backrest feels hard after a few hours. There’s a lack of lateral support (and no BMW-style inflatable bolsters), while the (potentially) relieving massage function is exclusive to the SQ6.
And isn’t it a bit nickel-and-dimey to charge $2100 for cooled front seats in a luxury car? Not to mention that those seats are finished in a pretty tough-grain leather for an easily-$150K vehicle.
Surely Audi is walking people up to the SQ6 here, given it exclusively deploys fine nappa-quality hide…though the SQ6’s ‘sports plus’ seats can’t be had with cooling at all.
Leaving seat-land behind and moving to the front cabin’s technology, there’s a proper visual allure to Audi’s new MMI system, which combines a 14.5-inch touch-driven central screen that curves into the driver’s 11.9-inch OLED Virtual Cockpit. Carmakers are finally starting to use proper graphics chipsets and the new Audi system is very snappy.
We have not sampled the standard Audi 10-speaker stereo but the optional 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen hi-fi is crisp and customisable; further speakers in the headrest are a cost option. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are wired and wireless; four USB-C ports are standard but those wishing to charge laptops will want the higher-power charger upgrade.
Moving to row two, the Q6’s headroom is good but kneeroom is cramped if everybody in the car has long legs. Perhaps it’s the Audi’s 4771mm length, although that is hardly poky.
Maybe it’s the cab-rearward proportions: the stretched bonnet (which packages a 67-litre frunk) looks great but probably robs the cabin of length. Sun blinds are another $500.
As for the boot: a power tailgate is standard; space at 526 litres is decent.
For Q6 models fitted with air suspension, ride height can be lowered from within the boot to make loading heavy things easier; the back seats can be released. While the discontinued Q8 E-tron was a rare EV that sported a space-saver spare wheel, the Q6, like its rivals, uses a tyre repair kit.
Australia’s new car crash and safety assessment body ANCAP has not yet crash tested the Audi Q6 and it probably won’t. Instead, it’s likely to transpose the Q6’s European result onto local criteria. Euro NCAP scored the Q6 five stars in that market’s 2024 test. That is not a guarantee of five stars in Australia, but the European scores look good:
In our road testing, the Q6 mainly demonstrated the kind of subtle and sophisticated safety system tuning we have come to associate with the premium European brands: it’s clear that Audi (and BMW, and Mercedes) are spending time and money honing the responses of the technologies to make them less annoying — and therefore less likely to be switched off.
Standard safety features on the Q6 include:
Adaptive cruise control worked smoothly and swiftly while lane-centring was great on the highway. The only exception was the lane departure system while driving in town or on fun roads, which we turned off because it was quite sensitive — however, this may well be the broad width of the Q6 interacting with narrow road lanes.
Audi does not go as far as BMW in deactivating the speed limit warning noise for the Australian market, even though this technology is not currently legally mandated locally. Our tester required clicking a button on the steering wheel to silence a ‘ding’ if the (detected — but not always accurate) speed limit was exceeded.
Audi has not yet released servicing costs for the Q6 in Australia, though it is very likely that buyers will be given the option to purchase an up-front service plan packaging a number of scheduled maintenance stops — required every 24 months/30,000km — into the cost of the vehicle purchase.
The warranty on the Q6 is Audi’s standard five year/unlimited kilometre arrangement except where the high-voltage parts are concerned — these are covered for eight years/160,000km.
In terms of energy consumption, our testing revealed that the Q6 is reasonably efficient compared to its midsize to large electric SUV rivals, though it’s hard to match the car’s official numbers.
The Australian-spec Q6 Quattro (on 20-inch wheels) claims 542km range, which equates to consumption of 17.5kWh/100km. Our tester had 21s, which increase consumption a bit.
Our urban loop yielded 19.5kWh/100km (486km urban range) while sustained 110km/h on the highway saw us record 21.9kWh/100km (433km highway range).
Home charging can be completed at up to 11kW speeds with a compatible wallbox, meaning full replenishment of near-500km overnight is possible. A regular household power point would add about 100km range while you sleep, making for painless commuting.
Public charging can be very rapid indeed if you find a compatible charger. The Q6’s 800-volt platform unlocks peak DC charge speeds of 270kW, with a 10-80 percent session (which means recharging from 43km at 10 percent to 344km range at 80 percent) requiring a pit stop of 21 minutes.
Who is the Audi Q6 for at the time of writing? Probably existing Audi customers who are ready to upgrade their petrol or diesel Q5 — or downsize from a Q7. For that group of customers, the suave, silken, and generally likeable Q6 would be a comfortable transition to full electrification. This EV looks like a normal luxury SUV — and it drives like one, too.
For buyers brave enough to sink six figures into an EV right now — damn the depreciation curve — the Q6’s appeal is mixed. It’s not particularly inexpensive once you add desirable options, and a couple of rivals are noticeably plusher. But it’s handsome — and if you’re a ride quality junkie, you’ll love the Audi.
But the elephant in the room is that the overwhelming proportion of Australians ready to buy a fully electric car right now want the tax advantages of sub-LCT EVs.
Audi has its smaller Q4 in that price range, but that car isn’t particularly luxurious — especially since BMW and Polestar have sub-LCT electric options with noticeably more premium cabins.
The volume potential of the Q6 is doubtful in the current market environment and at its current prices. Will Audi need to introduce a stripped-out base model to get some runs on the board? Will it be content to attract the well-heeled, for whom tax concessions don’t even register? Or will the market dynamics shift on us yet again? Maybe they will.
Key specs (as tested)
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