Audi A6 Avant e-tron review

Despite the ever-growing number of electric cars on sale, electric estates are still only slightly more common than unicorns. So, you might expect the Audi A6 Avant e-tron to have a really easy job of dominating its market.

The thing is, though, most of the other electric estates you can buy want a piece of the same upmarket, executive car pie. And that means the A6 Avant e-tron needs to be special enough to see off the BMW i5 Touring and Volkswagen ID 7 Tourer.

On paper things look promising, with Audi letting buyers choose from three well equipped trims and two sizeable batteries. But how does the A6 Avant e-tron measure up in the real world, and which version is best?

Range remains one of the most important considerations when choosing an electric car, but how far the Audi A6 Avant e-tron can travel between charges depends not only on which battery you go for, but which model.

The entry-level Sport e-tron comes with a 75.8kWh (usable capacity) battery, which gives it an official range of up to 364 miles; that's farther than you'll get in the rival BMW i5 Touring eDrive40, but some way short of the 424 miles that the cheaper VW ID 7 Tourer Pro S promises.

To beat that ID 7, you'll need to go for the Sport e-tron Performance version of the A6, which has a 94.9kWh (usable) battery and an official range of up to 437 miles. Or you might want to consider the Sport e-tron quattro, which gets a slightly less impressive 418 miles from the 94.9kWh battery, but adds a second electric motor, to transform the car from rear to four-wheel drive.

On top of extra range, the bigger battery models increase the amount of power you have, with the Sport e-tron Performance serving up 362bhp and the quattro 422bhp. As you might expect, that makes them properly quick; they can sprint from 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds and 4.7 seconds respectively.

Alternatively, if performance is your top priority, there's the flagship S6 e-tron model, which has 543bhp and can hit 62mph in just 3.9 seconds (the official range of this is 391 miles).

We suspect, however, that even the 281bhp Sport e-tron will keep most prospective buyers happy. It’s about a second slower to 62mph than an i5 Touring, but still responds eagerly when you put your foot down on the move.

Like many electric cars, the A6 Avant e-tron feels a little unsettled over patched-up urban roads, due to the firm suspension that's needed to cope with its heavy drive battery. However, it settles down nicely as your speed increases, so it makes a very comfortable motorway cruiser.

In addition, it stays nice and upright through corners – something that combines with well-weighted steering to gives you plenty of confidence. Indeed, the only thing that slightly lets the side down on winding roads is the brake pedal, which could do with offering more feedback.

Not that you always have to press this in order to slow down. In addition to its regular friction brakes, the A6 Avant e-tron has several different levels of regenerative braking, including a one-pedal driving mode (which can bring the car to a complete stop by itself). You adjust the strength of the regen effect via paddles behind the steering wheel.

Wind and road noise are well contained at all times, and you don't hear much in the way of motor whine.

“I love the regen paddles behind the steering wheel, because they let you slow the car as you approach a corner in much the same way as you would by changing to a lower gear in a petrol or diesel car. As a result you feel more in control.” – Steve Huntingford, Editor

Every version of the Audi A6 Avant e-tron offers a wide range of steering wheel and seat adjustment (including for lumbar support) to help you find a comfortable driving position. The sports front seats that come with S line cars are especially supportive, though, while top-spec Edition 1 trim adds electronic adjustment to these.

The other thing that you'll probably notice is that you sit higher than you would in a conventionally powered estate car, due to the battery being located beneath the floor. This isn't necessarily a good or bad thing; whether or not you like it is more a matter of personal taste. But it does improve your forward view.

As a bonus, over-the-shoulder vision is much better than it is in the Avant's hatchback sister – the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron – thanks to larger rear windows and the less plunging roofline.

Every A6 Avant e-tron also comes with front and rear parking sensors and a 360-degree view camera to help with parking. Meanwhile, bright automatic LED headlights with high-beam assist are welcome at night, and Edition 1 trim includes matrix LED headlights that can remain on full beam without dazzling other road users.

The dashboard is dominated by screens; there's an 11.9in digital driver’s display and a 14.5in infotainment touchscreen. Fortunately, both are high definition, making them easy to read at a glance.

The touchscreen is pretty easy to operate, too, responding quickly to all your prods and featuring a logical menu structure. That said, the system in the BMW i5 Touring is even more user-friendly – not least because its backed up by physical controls, unlike the A6 Avant e-tron's.

In Edition 1 models, there’s another (10.9in) touchscreen in front of the passenger. Because the main infotainment screen is angled towards the driver, it’s harder for the passenger to use – and the extra screen solves the problem.

Add in dramatic ambient lighting, and you can’t argue with the showroom appeal of the interior. It’s just a shame that while the dashboard is covered by either faux leather or suede, the hard plastic underneath is obvious when you touch it.

“For me, the best thing about the extra touchscreen in front of the passenger is that you can watch videos on it. And, helpfully, it's polarised, so the driver can't see what you're looking at and become distracted.” – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

There's plenty of head, leg and shoulder room in the front of the A6 Avant e-tron. Plus, Audi has provided a decent amount of storage, including a couple of cupholders, generous door bins, a cubby beneath the central armrest and a spot for a phone under the centre console.

As a bonus, space in the rear is more generous than it is in the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron, with the Avant’s extended roofline giving you more rear head room. Indeed, unlike in the sleek Sportback, a pair of six-footers can sit in the rear of the Avant without their heads rubbing on the rooflining. Knee room is plentiful, too, although there isn’t much space under the front seats for your feet.

Versatile 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats are standard with every A6 Avant e-tron, letting you load long items through from the boot and still carry two rear passengers in comfort. The BMW i5 Touring gets this set-up, too, whereas the VW ID 7 Tourer makes do with just 60/40 rear seats. 

At 502 litres, the A6 Avant e-tron’s boot space is far from poky but it's not as impressive as those of rivals: the i5 Touring offers 570 litres while the ID 7 Tourer is even better, with 605 litres. Given that practicality is one of the most important qualities of an estate car, that’s a bit disappointing.

More positively, the A6 Avant e-tron gets a second, 25-litre luggage area under its bonnet, meaning you don't have to clutter up the main boot with the charging cables.  

“The under-bonnet storage space might not be huge, but the fact that it means you don't have to unload your luggage when you stop to charge makes it a huge plus for me.” – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

You'll pay less for an Audi A6 Avant e-tron than you would an equivalent BMW i5 Touring, but the A6 is quite a bit pricier than every VW ID 7 Tourer, except the sporty GTX version.

More positively, thanks to strong resale values, the gap to the ID 7 closes if you're buying on PCP finance. And company car drivers will find the A6 Avant e-tron tempting because, like all electric cars, it attracts much lower BIK tax than petrol, diesel and even hybrid alternatives.

Entry-level Sport trim gives you 20in alloy wheels, heated front seats, three-zone climate control, a 10-speaker stereo system, adaptive cruise control and an EV heat pump to improve efficiency in cold weather.

We'd be tempted to upgrade to S line, though; this mostly brings styling upgrades, but it won’t cost you too much more and includes those more supportive seats we mentioned earlier.

Top-spec Edition 1 brings all the bells and whistles, including 21in wheels, more styling tweaks, a heated steering wheel and the passenger touchscreen.

The Avant's maximum charging rate varies depending on which battery you go for (225kW for the smaller battery and 270kW for the larger one), meaning that with a quick enough charger, all versions can be topped up from 10-80% in as little as 2o minutes. By comparison, the i5 Touring requires at least 30 minutes.

While the A6 Avant e-tron is too new to have been included in the 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey, Audi came 24th out of 31 brands. BMW and Volkswagen both did better, and Audi's three-year/60,000-mile warranty is nothing special.

On the other hand, the A6 Avant e-tron performed very well when it was crash tested for safety by Euro NCAP, not only achieving a five-star rating, but also receiving very high scores for adult (92%) and child (91%) occupant protection.

Its standard safety equipment includes automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-departure warning, front cross-traffic assist, traffic-sign recognition and a driver attention monitor.

“Like many Audi e-tron models, the A6 Avant has charging ports on both sides of the car, which I found very useful when I ran an E-tron Sportback.” – Steve Huntingford, Editor

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