Audi A6 Avant e-tron review

Despite the ever-growing number of electric cars on sale, electric estates are still a bit of a rarity. With that being the case, you might expect the Audi A6 Avant e-tron to have a really easy job of dominating the market.

The thing is though, most of the electric estates you can buy want a piece of the same executive car pie. And that means the A6 Avant e-tron is going to have to do something special to appeal over the BMW i5 Touring, the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo and the VW ID 7 Tourer.

Well, on paper, the numbers seem pretty promising, with the A6 Avant e-tron getting two different batteries with good electric ranges, three trims levels with lots of standard equipment and a competitive price tag.

So how does the Audi A6 Avant e-tron measure up in the real world? Read on as we put it to the test against the best electric car rivals...

Range is arguably one of the most important factors when choosing an electric car, and how far the A6 Avant e-tron will travel depends on which version you go for. You see – as with the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron – the entry-level Sport model comes with a 75.8kWh (usable capacity) battery while the two other versions increase the battery size to 94.9kWh.

If you stick with the rear-wheel drive Sport e-tron, the official range is up to 364 miles – further than the BMW i5 Touring eDrive40 but a fair bit less than the cheaper VW ID 7 Tourer Pro S Match. For maximum range, the mid-spec Sport e-tron Performance should manage up to 437 miles.

The Sport e-tron quattro gets the same big battery as the Sport e-tron Performance, but loses some range because it adds four-wheel drive. That said, its 418 miles figure is only slightly behind the ID 7 Tourer Pro S Match and still more than the i5 Touring.

On top of the extra range, the bigger battery models also increase the amount of power you have, with the Sport e-tron Performance getting 362bhp and the quattro 422bhp. As you might expect, that power makes them pretty quick off the line, sprinting from 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds and 4.7 seconds respectively – which is more than quick enough for most.

We suspect, however, that the entry-level 281bhp Sport e-tron will be more than sufficient for everyday driving. Sprinting from 0-62mph in seven seconds, it’s about a second slower than a BMW i5 Touring but still has immediate power to get you off the line quickly and more than enough pace to get up to motorway speeds or overtake slow moving traffic.  

With firm suspension to cope with the heavy battery, the A6 Avant e-tron doesn’t deal with large potholes that well, but manages to smooth out most other imperfections with relative ease and is settled at motorway speeds. It’s also very controlled, and doesn’t sway over undulating roads. 

What’s more, that control means it stays upright through corners, and combined with the well-weighted steering, gives you plenty of confidence to push on when driving in a more spirited manner. Indeed, the only thing that slightly lets the side down is the brake pedal, which could do with being slightly more feelsome, with better feedback as you press the pedal.

To help with braking, the A6 Avant e-tron has a few different levels of regenerative braking – Automatic (which senses the road ahead and cars around), one-pedal driving and three strengths that can be cycled through using the paddles behind the steering wheel.

Road noise and wind noise are well contained and the lack of an engine gives it the edge over estate car rivals with a petrol or diesel engine.

"The comfortable ride combined with the lack of wind and road noise make the A6 Avant e-tron a great companion over long distances." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

It’s easy to get comfortable in the Audi A6 Avant e-tron, thanks to the driving position lining you up properly with the steering wheel and pedals.

You’ll also find that there’s plenty of steering wheel and seat adjustment, including lumbar support in every version. The sports seats that come with the S Line trim are especially comfortable, while top-spec Edition 1 adds electronic adjustment.

Visibility isn’t a strong point for the Avant's hatchback equivalent – the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron – but it's much better in this estate car version. You see, while your forward visibility is just as good, the large rear windows make for a better view over your shoulder. You also get a slightly larger rear window, helping you to see what’s behind you better.

To make parking even easier, every A6 Avant e-tron comes with front and rear parking sensors and a 360-degree view camera. Bright automatic LED headlights with high-beam assist ensure you can see plenty at night, while Edition 1 trim includes matrix LED headlights.

Taking a seat inside, you instantly notice that the dashboard is dominated by a huge curved fascia, which houses the 11.9in digital driver’s display and 14.5in infotainment touchscreen. Both screens are high definition, making them really easy to read at a glance.

The touchscreen is pretty good too, responding to all your prods quickly as you tap around the screen. Our only demerit is that it’s entirely controlled by touch, and that’s more distracting to use on the move than the physical rotary controller in the BMW i5 Touring. 

You can’t argue with the showroom appeal of the interior, with the mix of materials and colours adding to the A6 Avant e-tron's premium feel. Interior quality is good for the most part, with most scratchy plastics hidden low and out of sight. However, compared with the i5 Touring, there are some areas that let it down, including the flimsy slider over the cupholders.

"Edition 1 cars come with an extra touchscreen in front of the passenger, giving them control over the infotainment system and allowing them to watch videos without distracting the driver." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

No one will find themselves struggling for space when sitting in the front of the Audi A6 Avant e-tron, with even six-footers getting more than enough head, leg and shoulder room. There’s a decent amount of storage space, including a couple of cupholders, generous door bins, a space in the central armrest and a space for a phone under the centre console.  

Space in the rear is more generous than in the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron, with the Avant’s longer 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 and won’t have their heads rubbing on the rooflining. Leg room is good but there isn’t much space under the front seats for your feet.

Versatile 40/20/40 splitting seats are standard with every A6 Avant e-tron, making it easy to load long items through from the boot without losing one of the outer rear seats. The BMW i5 Touring gets 40/20/40 seats too, but the VW ID 7 Tourer makes do with just 60/40 rear seats. 

At 502 litres, the A6 Avant e-tron’s boot is big enough to swallow a family’s holiday luggage but isn’t as impressive as rivals'. Indeed, the i5 Touring offers 570 litres of boot space while the ID 7 Tourer is even better, with 605 litres. Given that practicality is one of the most important parts of an estate car, that’s worth considering.

The A6 Avant e-tron also gets a 25-litre front boot, giving you somewhere to store the charging cables.  

"While rear space in the A6 Avant is better than in the Sportback version, it doesn’t match the rivals." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

An Audi A6 Avant e-tron will cost you a decent amount less than the BMW i5 Touring and plenty less than the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo. It will, however, set you back a hefty chunk more than every VW ID 7 Tourer except the GTX version. 

We suspect many more people will be buying on PCP finance, and we have good news for them. You see, the A6 Avant e-tron is predicted to depreciate more slowly than all its rivals, keeping monthly rates temptingly cheaper than more expensive rivals and ensuring you’ll get more of your investment back than with the ID 7 Tourer after three years.

Drivers of company cars will find the A6 Avant e-tron tempting, with its lower list price keeping BIK tax payments lower than for the i5 Touring and Taycan Sport Turismo, and not much higher than for the ID 7 Tourer.

Every A6 Avant e-tron comes with lots of standard equipment. Even the entry-level Sport trim gets 20in alloy wheels, heated front seats, three-zone automatic air conditioning, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a 10-speaker stereo system, adaptive cruise control and an EV heat pump. It's the version we'd for.

Upgrading to S Line won’t cost you too much more, but mainly adds styling upgrades along with the comfortable sports seats.

Top-spec Edition 1 adds all the bells and whistles, including 21in wheels, more styling tweaks, electronically adjustable front seats with a memory function, 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). Whichever you choose, it will be possible – with a quick enough charger – to top up from 10-80% in around 2o minutes.

The A6 Avant e-tron is too new to have been included in the 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey but Audi came 24th out of 31 car makers. Ranked. BMW, Volkswagen, Porsche and Mercedes all did better. Audi gives you a three-year/60,000-mile warranty as standard.

The Avant has not yet been tested for safety by Euro NCAP. Its standard equipment includes automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-departure warning, front cross-traffic assist, traffic-sign recognition and a driver attention monitoring system.

"As with many Audi e-tron models, it’s handy that the A6 Avant e-tron comes with charging ports on both sides." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

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