Audi A6 e-tron Avant Review 2025

There’s potential for confusion if you wander into an Audi showroom intent on shopping for a large estate car as there are two largely unrelated models that happen to share the same name. One is propelled by combustion engines featuring varying degrees of hybrid assistance, whereas the other is fully electric. It’s the latter, the Audi A6 Avant e-tron, we’re concentrating on here.

This lack of clarity is due to Audi’s original intention of labelling its new petrol and diesel models with an odd alphanumeric, while its electric cars would have evens. So when the A6 Avant e-tron was launched, the plan meant the next combustion-engined estate would be the A7 Avant. Fine — except it wasn’t. On the eve of that car’s debut, a change of heart meant it stuck with its existing Audi A6 Avant name.

Almost every electric car has its batteries sited beneath the passenger compartment and luggage area, which can nibble away at the available space above for people and their stuff. This tends to explain why taller SUVs have effectively become the default bodystyle of EVs.

Courtesy of clever packaging courtesy of its dedicated electric car underpinnings, the A6 Avant e-tron estate — and its five-door hatchbacky coupe sibling, the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron — cater for those who don’t want an SUV without compromising the space available inside the car.

With the rear seats in place, the A6 Avant e-tron’s 502-litre boot is only a solitary litre shy of its combustion-engined cousin’s cargo capacity. Fold them over and the difference is greater at 1422 litres and 1534 litres, respectively, but the e-tron claws 27 litres back with its under-bonnet frunk — or froot if we’re Anglicising it.

How do those numbers compare with the A6 Avant e-tron’s rivals? Well, the truth is that there aren’t many true alternatives to the Audi. With a greater focus on speed and handling than practicality, the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo is significantly more costly and less spacious.

Within the realm of fully electric estates, that only really leaves two others. The BMW i5 Touring and the Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer, which is unrelated to the Audi in terms of platform and drive system. Both outscore the Audi in the load-swallowing stakes — 570 litres seats-up and 1700 litres with them lowered in the i5, while the ID.7’s corresponding figures are 605 litres and 1714 litres.

Styling-wise, the Audi A6 Avant e-tron has a strong family look, with the only real clues to its electrification being the body-coloured blanked-off grille and a contrasting panel along the lower portion of the doors to help disguise the visual bulk created by housing the battery pack low down in the car’s structure.

Inside, there’s space for five, albeit with the usual caveat that the central rear seat is narrower and less comfy for adults, although the flat floor means whoever draws the short straw doesn’t have to straddle a transmission tunnel.

With what Audi terms Softwrap, the A6 Avant e-tron’s dashboard and door panels have a gently cocooning effect upon occupants, while the fascia itself is punctuated by up to three screens, depending on the trim level and options you pick between. The third of them is for the front seat passenger, allowing them to control functions such as navigation and media, with any video being played cleverly obscured so as not to distract the driver.

Four levels of power are available for the Audi A6 Avant e-tron, meaning plenty of choice as well as mutterings of further befuddlement as everyone tries to get their heads around them, so strap yourselves in:

• A6 e-tron — single-motor rear-wheel drive, 326PS, 6.0-second 0-62mph, 75.8kWh battery, 323-363 miles of range
• A6 e-tron Performance — single-motor rear-wheel drive, 380PS, 5.4-second 0-62mph, 94.9kWh battery, 390-437 miles of range
• A6 e-tron Quattro — twin-motor all-wheel drive, 462PS, 4.5-second 0-62mph, 94.9kWh battery, 376-417 miles of range
• S6 e-tron Quattro — twin-motor all-wheel drive, 551PS, 3.9-second 0-62mph, 94.9kWh battery, 378-391 miles of range

Recharging the 75.8kWh battery in the A6 Avant e-tron, erm, e-tron using an ultra-rapid DC connection at up to 270kW requires 21 minutes to jump from a 10% to 80% state of charge. Using an 11kW AC connection, such as a domestic wallbox, needs eight hours for a flat to full replenishment, although remember most UK residences are limited to 7.4kW, so you can realistically add three to four more hours to that time.

Audi claims other A6 Avant e-trons with the 94.9kWh battery also require 21 minutes for a 10%-80% recharge with a 270kW DC hook-up, although the 11kW AC connection needs 10 hours for a 0%-100% zap-up. Again, for a 7.4kW wallbox, you’ll be looking to add four to five more hours to that.

Trim levels within the A6 Avant e-tron range follow Audi’s usual hierarchy starting with Sport, progressing through S Line — likely to be the most popular choice — with Edition 1 crowning the trio. For the more performance-focused Audi S6 Avant e-tron, Edition 1 is your only option.

Order books for the Audi A6 Avant e-tron opened in summer 2024 with customer deliveries getting underway in early 2025. Prices start at £64,340 for the Audi A6 Avant Sport e-tron, rising to £110,115 for the Audi S6 Avant Edition 1 e-tron Quattro. For reference, the BMW i5 Touring starts at £69,955, the VW ID.7 Tourer from £51,795.

Keep this page bookmarked for our comprehensively detailed full Audi A6 Avant e-tron review.