Audi Q6 e-tron Review 2025

Some cars are extraordinary by sheer dint of being significantly better or — less fortunately — worse than our preconditioned experiences of other models from the same brand had steered our expectations. Others embody their makers’ hallmarks so completely that their road tests could have be written in advance of being driven yet be largely accurate. Find out which is more befitting of the electric SUV under scrutiny here in our full Audi Q6 e-tron review.

Spoiler alert — it’s the latter statement that applies here. Hardly a surprise that Audi’s familiar crushing competence is almost entirely omnipresent in its Q6 e-tron, the battery-powered, five-seater family SUV which is likely to become an important keystone in its line-up in the years, if not decades, to come.

Even before you drive it your expectations are shaped by an immediate understanding of where the Audi Q6 e-tron sits within the overall range. It’s a smidgen longer and girthier than the combustion-engined Audi Q5 which in turn makes its interior a little more capacious, while its higher badge numeral as well as the e-tron label, also mean it’s pricier. Hierarchy maintained. 

A cursory glance around the showroom confirms that the Q6 e-tron is a high-rise evolution of the electric Audi A6 e-tron range, not solely in terms of its Premium Platform Electric (PPE) underpinnings but also its overriding styling themes inside and out. Diversions from the newer Audi norms of the split-level headlights and full-width rear light bar are few — the body-coloured ribbed grille panel being the most significant talking point.

That PPE foundation beneath the Audi Q6 e-tron is set to remain the preserve of more expensive EVs within the Volkswagen Group, so don’t expect to see any models wearing the VW roundel using it anytime soon. One model that does share the Q6’s starting point is also one of its key rivals — the Porsche Macan Electric.

Naturally there are also direct alternatives to the Audi from outside of the manufacturing group, although curiously none are currently produced by its usual opponents. Both the replacement for the BMW iX3 and the EQC-succeeding Mercedes GLC with EQ Technology are still in the pipeline, as is the all-new Volvo EX60.

That leaves the recently refreshed Genesis Electrified GV70, the bold Lexus RZ and the sportier Maserati Grecale Folgore to vying for consumers’ attention.

Four drive systems are available for this Audi starting with the 252PS rear-wheel drive Q6 e-tron, paired with a 75.8kWh battery for a best WLTP Combined cycle range of 325 miles. Next up is the Q6 e-tron performance with its power output and battery swollen to 306PS and 94.9kWh respectively, the latter delivering a range of up to 391 miles.

All-wheel drive becomes standard with the dual-motor Q6 e-tron quattro with its grunt elevated to 388PS. As it uses the same battery as the e-tron performance models, although the additional speed available trims the maximum range down to a high of 382 miles.

Topping the range is the Audi SQ6 e-tron quattro with its twin motors ramped-up to 490PS ordinarily and 517PS when launch control’s activated — that enables a 4.3-second 0-62mph time. Once again there’s no increase in the 94.9kWh battery’s capacity, paring the potential maximum driving range back further still to 360 miles.

Equipment levels are generous across the Audi Q6 e-tron’s familiar trio of trim levels — Sport, S Line and Edition 1 are each available with the three lowest-powered motor arrangements, while the SQ6 e-tron is only sold in Edition 1 guise.

For those who don’t need the outright practicality afforded by the Q6 e-tron’s more upright tailgate design, as with other SUVs in its line-up, a slinkier coupe-shaped sibling is also available in the form of the Audi Q6 Sportback e-tron. We’ll review that range separately.

For the most part the Audi Q6 e-tron is biased towards a comfortable ride quality rather than a firmer, sportier set-up, as is sensible for a family-focused SUV.

Reinforcing that notion despite the trim level names and the athletic styling details, Q6 e-trons in both Sport and S Line specifications have conventional coil spring-based Comfort suspension, paired with 19- and 20-inch alloy wheels, respectively.

Additional firmness comes the way of the Q6 e-tron Edition 1 not only to its larger 21-inch alloys but also its switch to Audi’s tauter Sport suspension arrangement. So far our experiences have been confined to the adaptive air suspension package that’s fitted as standard to the Audi SQ6 e-tron and isn’t even optionally available on lesser Q6s.

In its softest setting the Q6 e-tron’s impressive at urban speeds and over rough surfaces but keep it there along several miles of fast, undulating B-roads and you risk making yourself queasy let alone inducing Technicolor yawns from passengers.

Personal preference is all, of course, but even at the firmest end of the scale ruts and ridges feel rounded-off, their jolting potential expertly cushioned, while amplifying more of a sense of being connected to the road.

That link to the asphalt isn’t overly communicative via the steering wheel but there’s a sufficient sense of what the front wheels are up to grip-wise to generate confidence through faster, sweeping corners, aided by the Q6’s body composure and its tenacious tracing of the road’s arc.

So, while it’s not an SUV you’ll relish getting behind the wheel for the fun of it, you’ll do so in the assurance that its comfort and competence will get you to your destination feeling unruffled.

Four levels of power are available across the Audi Q6 e-tron line-up all of which channel their power to the driven wheels via a single-speed transmission that’s essentially operated like an automatic gearbox.

Entry-point to the range is simply titled Q6 e-tron, with its electric motor positioned under the boot floor propelling the rear wheels. Under normal circumstances it produces 450Nm of torque and 252PS of power but when switched to launch control mode that’s temporarily upped to 292PS. Doing so trims the standard 7.6-second 0-62mph time down to 7.0 seconds flat.

Such numbers will be more than adequate for most customers but we’re championing the next model up — the Q6 e-tron performance — as the sweet spot in the range. Not because of its extra grunt, which we’ll come to momentarily, but thanks to its 94.9kWh battery providing a far greater driving range potential than the cheaper e-tron’s 75.8kWh alternative’s capable of.

It’s still just the one rear-drive motor hauling the e-tron performance along, with torque only modestly increased to 485Nm. Power on the other has a welcome boost, with 306PS on tap in normal circumstances and 326PS for launch control, dropping the 0-62mph benchmark to 6.7 and 6.6 seconds respectively.

Those seeking the security of all-wheel drive traction will need to climb another rung of the Audi ladder to get their hands on the Q6 e-tron quattro. Here a second motor is installed, nestling below the bonnet to send its drive to the front wheels. Torque output’s now a walloping 580Nm at the rear wheels and 275Nm up front, with overall power increased to 388PS, all of which results in a 0-62mph best of 5.9 seconds.

Fastest of the range is the SQ6 e-tron quattro which is also a dual-motor model producing all-wheel drive. It’s identically torquey to the Q6 e-tron quattro but the ‘S’-prefix escalates its power to 490PS, with a further jump to 517PS when launch control’s engaged. Doing so sees the 0-62mph benchmark shaved to 4.3 seconds from 4.4 seconds without it on.

As you’d expect it to be the drive system is smooth and urgent, with no appreciable lag between the accelerator being prodded and the Q6 e-tron surging forwards. It’s also easy to modulate its action, with plenty of pedal travel at your right foot’s disposal, preventing it feeling like a wheel-scrabbling all-or-nothing on-off switch. Swapping into it from a combustion-engined car won’t feel like an alien experience.

Mushing the pedal towards the footwell carpet for a brisk climb from a standstill to 60mph does push you back into your seat without feeling like you’ll need to visit a chiropractor, although as with many EVs, the linear nature of its power makes it feel less urgent once you’re approaching the legal motorway limit.

When the safety experts at Euro NCAP assessed and crash-tested the Audi Q6 e-tron in 2024 it evidently left them impressed judging by its full five-star overall rating.

Of particular note are the 91% score for adult occupant protection and 92% rating for child occupant protection. Protection for vulnerable road users achieved 81% while the Audi’s on-board safety kit was given 80%.

Among the safety kit fitted as standard to all Q6 e-trons are LED head and tail lights with automatic main beam, a 360-degree parking camera system, adaptive cruise control, lane-change assistance and a driver fatigue monitoring system.

A manually folding tow bar option at £1050 is required should you want to haul a trailer along with your Audi Q6 e-tron.

Rear-wheel drive e-tron and e-tron performance models can tow a braked trailer with a maximum capacity of 2000kg while the quattro-equipped all-wheel drive versions, including the SQ6, are able to manage 2400kg.

There’s little to grumble about when it comes to the capaciousness of Audi Q6 e-tron’s passenger compartment, with ample room for heads and limbs for those sat up front and behind. Matters become somewhat cosier with three adults sat upon the rear bench, although the central position is broad enough for most — if flat and featureless — while the virtually flat floor ensures there’s adequate foot room.

With the rear seats in place the Q6 e-tron’s boot capacity is a useful 526 litres, although that figure’s trimmed by eight litres in the flagship SQ6 model. Those volumes compare with 480-540 litres for the related Porsche Macan Electric and 535 litres in the rear of the Maserati Grecale Folgore. Despite its rakish lines it’s the Lexus RZ with the most commodious boot at 586 litres.

Aiding the Audi’s flexibility its split-folding rear seat is divided in a 40/20/40 configuration but countering that benefit are the facts that it doesn’t lie either completely horizontal nor along a continuous plane with the boot floor, meaning long loads have to be hoicked over a small step.

Once folded the Q6 e-tron’s boot capacity expands to 1529 litres (1517 litres for the SQ6), placing it comfortably ahead of the Porsche (1288-1348 litres) and now trumping the Lexus’s 1515-litre maximum. Pop the Audi’s bonnet open and there’s a useful lidded ‘frunk’ available with a 64-litre capacity.

Storage nooks and crannies in the passenger carrying area are fine rather than novel with sensibly sized and shaped door bins, a useful glovebox, a hinged armrest lid for the front central storage cubby, two cupholders hiding behind a roll-back cover ahead of that and nestled further forwards beneath the main dashboard is a shallow tray that doubles as the wireless smartphone charging pad.

Slotted into the remaining slither of space around those is what initially appears to be a chunky push-pull switch to change between different driving modes only for closer inspection to reveal the R, N and D/B signatures of it being the drive selector. It’s easy enough to use but looks unimportant not being fashioned into a more substantial lever or knob — better still, why not migrate it onto the steering column to free up even more space on the centre console?

One especially welcome bonus are the Q6 e-tron’s pair of charging ports situated in both rear wings. Their electrically operated flaps are overkill and the CCS port for rapid DC charging is only integrated into the left-hand side, but dual Type 2 points for wallbox connections are a neat touch. Other car manufacturers please take note.

For a brand whose name was once a paragon for deeply impressive interior quality, the Audi Q6 e-tron feels less imperious than we both expected and liked.

Make no mistake, in the main it feels sufficiently upmarket with plenty of indulgently plush feeling materials, soft surfaces and a massive array of display screenage. It’s the latter facet, together with copious amounts of glossy black plastic trim on the centre console, which imbues an aura of techno-chintz to the Q6 e-tron which feels rather, well, un-Audi.

It’s a shame, especially because switching those unconvincing piano black-impersonating decor panels for alternatives such as a cool veneer of brushed aluminium or even an open-pore wood finish would lift the sense of occasion inside the Audi no end.

Atop the Softwrap styling of the Audi Q6 e-tron’s dashboard is an enormous, curved panel with chamfered-off corners.

It’s host to a pair of OLED displays — an 11.9-inch Virtual Cockpit immediately ahead of the driver displaying all manner of key information, but no longer the navigation mapping as it used to. To its left is a 14.5-inch multimedia touchscreen that allows you to access almost every possible function, including choosing the pattern of your daytime-running lights.

In fact, thanks to its Google Maps integration plus the carefully designed icons and menu pages, it’s one of the few manufacturer systems that we would default to using instead of automatically hooking up a wireless smartphone mirroring connection. For reference, it worked effortless when called upon.

We’ve no gripes about the clarity of the displays, the speed at which they operate or the ease at which the menus are navigated despite the vast array of settings you can access through them. The grid of shortcut buttons to the right of the multimedia screen is handy, although as with the permanently on show climate settings beneath, we’d rather have real, physical controls instead.

Our main gripe with the screen panel is more aesthetic — they’re so large as to feel constantly in your face, lacking the elegant grace of the slender solution as seen in the latest Genesis Electrified GV70.

Those clipped corners on either end of the Q6 e-tron’s displays look even more unnecessary when the screens are illuminated because the extent of their imagery is rectangular rather than following the contours of the frame. Something feels like it’s been lost between the initial design sketches and productionisation.

Standard on Edition 1-grade models and optional on other Q6 e-trons is a third, 10.9-inch screen immediately ahead of the front passenger. This supplementary multimedia touchscreen is more for showboating than anything else, although Audi points out that it’s useful for allowing the driver to concentrate on the road while the front passenger fiddles with the navigation settings or choice of audio.

Whether it’s genuinely any more convenient than them using the central screen to do that is a moot point but there’s an irony that rather than some kind of afterthought, the third screen’s the most neatly integrated of the lot.

You’re unlikely to be under any illusions that the Audi Q6 e-tron is going to be a bargainous electric SUV given its upmarket brand origins, but if you are permit us to shatter them by confirming the line-up starts at £60,515. That gets you the smaller-batteried, lower-powered, rear-wheel drive Q6 e-tron Sport — usefully, Audi has made the steps up to other power choices and trim levels consistent across the range.

Using that entry-level model as the starting point, e-tron performance versions add a further £3500 to the price while the e-tron quattro is £9000 costlier. For trim levels, upgrading to S Line will set you back an extra £3000 with Edition 1 being £8000 more expensive. So, yes, the Q6 e-tron quattro Edition 1 is £17,000 pricier at £77,515.

Breaking the pattern is the range-topping Audi SQ6 e-tron quattro Edition 1 — before considering any optional extras that car will set you back £92,990, some £32,000 more than the entry-level model and over £15k dearer than the second-most expensive Q6. Baffling.

In terms of the competition, the closely related Porsche Macan Electric starts at £68,500, while the recently re-fettled Genesis Electrified GV70 costs from £65,915.

Significantly undercutting the Audi pricewise is the Lexus RZ which kicks off at £50,145, while at the opposite end of the scale deep pockets are required for entry to the Maserati Grecale Folgore club at £99,175.

In order to make electric car running costs as low as possible get a domestic wallbox installed if at all possible — the Audi Q6 e-tron is no exception to this rule. Such a piece of hardware will give you access to cheaper EV tariffs where you’ll typically pay around 7p per kWh — that’s a full-charge for under £7.00.

Given the expense of public ultra-rapid charging facilities we recommend only using these for as short a time as possible and as infrequently as you can. They do not represent a cost-effective alternative to a domestic wallbox.

From April 2025 EVs are no longer VED car tax-exempt, incurring the same £195 annual fee from year two onwards as all other cars. They’re also liable for the Expensive Car Supplement — also known as the luxury car tax — when they cost £40,000 or more, a figure all Q6 e-trons are comfortably north of. At current rates, that’s an extra £425 to shell out annually from the second to the sixth anniversary of your car’s first registration.

Company car drivers do win by choosing EVs thanks to the ow Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) taxation rate levied upon them — for 2025/26 it’s just 3%. Even for those whose earnings place them into the 40% rate bracket, the entry-level Q6 e-tron would still only cost in the region of £60.50 each month.

Audi Q6 e-tron: Range and charging

With four electric drive options across the Audi Q6 e-tron line-up, combined with a trio of trim levels, there’s a broad range of scope when it comes to the officially quoted WLTP Combined cycle driving range figures.

Entry-level Q6 e-tron models have a 75.8kWh lithium-ion battery pack providing a range of 290-325 miles depending on trim level. These versions have the shortest driving range of all Q6s.

Our pick would be the Q6 e-tron performance with the benefit of a battery capacity increase to 94.9kWh — specification dependent it’s capable of a range of between 350-391 miles. Adding all-wheel drive to that battery with the Q6 e-tron quattro reduces the potential down to 340-382 miles.

For the flagship Audi SQ6 e-tron quattro, its elevated performance figures limit the potential drive to 354-360 miles despite also using the 94.9kWh battery.

Using an 11kW AC connection a flat-to-full recharge of the Q6 e-tron’s 75.8kW battery takes 8 hours, so expect it to take around 11-12 hours using a more typical 7kW domestic wallbox most UK residences are limited to. That same recharge on the 94.9kWh battery will be done in 6 hours 15 minutes using an 11kW AC hookup, so you’ll be looking at closer to 14 hours using a wallbox connected to a British home.

For ultra-rapid DC charging at a public facility, the smaller battery’s on-board charger limits the electricity flow to 225kW, equating to a 10-80% recharge in 21 minutes. Compare that with the rear-wheel drive Q6 e-tron performance’s 260kW on-board charger allowing the same 10-80% zap-up in 22 minutes. Choosing a quattro version increases the on-board charger to 270kW but the time save that generates for the 10-80% replenishment is a solitary minute.

For the core Audi Q6 e-tron range there are three trim levels as seen elsewhere in the brand’s model line-ups — Sport, S Line and Edition 1. Essentially a standalone model, the faster Audi SQ6 e-tron is only available in Edition 1 specification, with more equipment than non-‘S’-prefixed versions.

Standard equipment for the Audi Q6 e-tron Sport includes:

• 19-inch 5-twin-spoke dynamic-style Graphite Grey and gloss turned-finish alloy wheels
• LED head and tail lights including automatic main beam and headlight washers
• Electrically adjustable, folding, heated and auto-dimming door mirrors
• Electrically operated tailgate
• Black roof rails and side window surrounds
• Heated front Sport seats with Twin Leather upholstery and electric lumbar support adjustment
• Heated outer rear seats
• Heated, multifunction steering wheel with leather trim
• Anthracite matte brushed aluminium trim inlays
• Three-zone climate control
• Auto-dimming interior rear-view mirror
• 11.9-inch OLED Virtual Cockpit display screen
• 14.5-inch OLED multimedia touchscreen
• Wireless smartphone mirroring
• Digital key using compatible Apple iPhone 2 (or higher) or Apple Watch 2 (or higher)
• 360-degree parking camera system
• Adaptive cruise control

Upgrading to the Audi Q6 e-tron S Line adds:

• 20-inch 5-arm structure-style Graphite Grey and gloss turned-finish alloy wheels
• S Line-specific sportier front and rear bumpers
• Dark-tinted rear privacy glass
• Heated, S Line-specific, multifunction, flat-bottomed steering wheel with perforated leather trim
• Front door sill trims with aluminium inlays and illuminated ‘S’ logo
• Stainless steel pedals and left footrest

Progress to the Audi Q6 e-tron Edition 1 if you also fancy:

• 21-inch 5-Y-spoke dynamic-style Metallic Black and gloss turned-finish alloy wheels
• Sport suspension
• Matrix LED headlights
• Active digital light signatures with eight pre-set daytime-running light patterns
• Black Exterior Styling Package Plus
• Red brake callipers
• Body-coloured wheelarch surrounds and lower bumpers
• Heated front Sport seats with Dinamica microfibre and Leather upholstery with full electric adjustment, pneumatic massage system and memory function for the driver’s seat
• Anthracite high-tech mesh trim inlays
• 10.9-inch front passenger multimedia touchscreen

Topping the range is the Audi SQ6 e-tron Edition 1 with the following further items of kit:

• Adaptive air suspension
• Panoramic sunroof
• Heated front Sport seats with Fine Nappa Leather upholstery with full electric adjustment, pneumatic massage system and memory function for the driver’s seat
• Electrically adjustable steering wheel
• Sound and Vision Pack incorporating a Head-Up Display (HUD), 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system and 30-colour interior ambient lighting