Audi Q6 e-tron long-term test: report 2

The car Audi Q6 e-tron Sport Performance Run by Stuart Milne, digital editor

Why it’s here It’s the first model based on Audi’s newest platform, so we’re seeing what lies ahead for its next-gen EVs

Needs to provide a sumptuous and tech-laden appeal in line with its price, and slot straight in to family life

Miles covered 2201 Price £64,230 Target price £64,230 Price as tested £68,665 Official range 389 miles Test range 263 miles

20 February 2025 – Brake dancing

Some people don’t know when to stop, or so the saying goes. But when it comes to electric cars, some really don’t know how to stop.

It’s not that the brakes in EVs don’t work – they mostly work very well indeed – but some can lack a positive feel, making it hard to judge how much braking force you’re applying. That’s not a criticism that can be levelled at my Audi Q6 e-tron, though.

Indeed, when I need to lean on the Q6’s brake pedal, it provides plenty of granular information as to how hard the brakes are biting, and how much more they have to give. It’s in stark contrast to my previous car, a Volkswagen ID 7, which provided an inconsistent feel that seemed to mask what the brakes were up to.

It means that every time I hit the left-hand pedal, the Audi slows in a controlled and confidence-inspiring manner. Just what you need when you’re bringing a 2815kg family SUV to a halt.

However, the way the Q6's regenerative brakes work feels rather strange, and at odds with most other electric cars I’ve driven. Usually, you’ll select how aggressively you want the brake regeneration to slow the car and harvest energy back to the battery, and you’ll leave it there. Want the second most-aggressive option? No problem; select the mode, and it'll stay in it all day long.

The Audi Q6 goes about things differently. From the gear selector you can choose ‘D’ with very little regen, or ‘B’ with rather too much for anything other than snarling low-speed traffic. Flicking the steering wheel paddles to call one of the middling modes merely primes the system – so as soon as you decelerate once you have to pull the paddles to set it all up again.

It becomes tiresome in the kind of speed-up/slow-down traffic where brake regeneration should be a boon. And that means I’m not using it nearly as much as I could have, perhaps impacting economy.

Since my Q6 e-tron arrived, it’s been showing error messages almost daily. However, since a visit to the workshop, all is quiet on the infotainment screens. A software update has — mostly — solved the litany of park sensor and cruise control faults, and it’s also removed the disconcerting delay in initialising the car’s automatic emergency braking system. So far, then, so good.

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