They say you should never judge a book by its cover, but let’s be honest, we all do it. Don’t we? An exciting cover, a bottle of wine with aesthetically appealing label, a Brazilian footballer; we just lazily assume they’ll be good. Sometimes, they turn out that way, so we do it again. It works in reverse, too, making assumptions that something might be underwhelming from afar. I’ll confess that this is what I did with the Audi A6 e-tron. Would it just be a VW ID.7 with fancier badging? Would the interior design in comparison to the previous generation of A6 be a backwards step? It’s fashionable, after all, in the automotive world to lament that everything was better before. There would only be one way to answer these questions. A week and 328 miles would reveal all.
Firstly, this car is a lot better looking in the flesh than in the pictures. This is true of the interior and exterior. From the pictures, the plasma blue paintwork looks a bit dull. Up close and personal it adds depth to the lines and curvature of the car. The car, too, is more than just a VW ID.7, even if there are, obviously, shared underpinnings across the VW group. It’s the little touches that I grew to really like, such as the way the rear taillight illuminates when you unlock the car and the fact you can choose how the LED Matrix headlights at the front send light dancing across whatever lies before them.
Swing open the door and you’re met with a vast cabin which is also more pleasing to the eye than I was expecting. There are metres of screens, but everything is intuitively laid out and easy to use. My mind was already for turning.
What’s the Audi A6 e-tron like to live with?
I really liked the dual screen setup you got with previous A6s and upwards in the Audi range. The top screen was for infotainment, the bottom for HVAC. I thought it looked good and was easy to use. From the photos, the new single screen sweep looked a bit, well, tacky and plasticky. Thankfully it doesn’t feel that way from the driver’s seat.
There’s the increasingly ubiquitous passenger touchscreen (I really don’t understand this trend, but everyone’s at it) which almost tucks in behind the lip of the main screen. Whilst all the functionality is embedded in the main screen, there are physical buttons beneath for drive modes and accessing the warning beeps and bongs. These can be switched off in two clicks of easily identifiable buttons, which is great.
Everything is in easy reach and the Audi A6 e-tron is a supremely easy car to use. The technology integration is impressive, with a superb in-car satnav, or Android Auto/Apple CarPlay just as easily available.
A nod here to the optional Bang & Olufsen sound system, because it’s brilliant. Alerts are relayed to the driver via speakers in the headrest, which are also used to enhance the sound of your music. Set the mood with the customisable LED ambient lighting and the Audi A6 e-tron transforms into something of a sanctuary.
Even in car parks, where 5m length and 2m width really start to be noticed, the sensors and overhead camera make life surprisingly stress free. Throw in copious passenger space and a massive boot, and life all round with the Audi A6 e-tron is stress free. Even range anxiety is assuaged to a large extent by the 94.9kWh battery. I averaged 2.7 miles p/kWh across 328 miles, meaning a real-world range of 256.23 miles.
What’s the Audi A6 e-tron like to drive?
Sticking with range, I undertook a trip to Birmingham. 114 miles there, 114 back. On the way we averaged 2.3 miles p/kWh, which tipped the charge to 48% having left with 100%. I didn’t go above 70mph (honestly!) but Birmingham is the highest city in the UK, so you’re competing with gravity as well. On the way back we averaged 2.9 miles p/kWh, with a 10min charging stop and heavier traffic. So, you can undertake long journeys with minimal charging time factored in.
The other advantage of this is that you can keep the Audi A6 e-tron out in its natural environment for longer. It’s a supreme long-distance cruiser. The ride quality is luxurious and the steering has that oily feel you expect of such a car. Throw in some impressive driver assistance tools and it really takes the sting out of long journeys. It’s quiet and refined, leaving you to enjoy the brilliant stereo.
It’s got 362bhp and 565Nm of torque and will do 0-62mph in 5.4secs. It also has drive modes like Dynamic and apparently has launch control. Really, though, they needn’t have bothered with any of this. Even when you stamp on it, the Audi A6 e-tron is never anything but serene. There’s no theatre or tyre squeal, it just politely drops you off at speeds you don’t realise you’re doing. The head up display comes in very handy because of this. Audi could’ve made it even more stress free by removing the burden of choice. You’ll never switch out of comfort.
Too often there’s a bewildering array of settings as you poke and prod in search of the Goldilocks setting. This isn’t a car trying to be something it’s not. It’s a delight to cruise around in, a perfect companion for commutes and long drives.
Conclusion
I guess I’ve become used to EVs flexing their muscle with dizzying torque and acceleration, even when it’s completely at odds with the character of the car. Everyone copied the Tesla EV blueprint for too long. I feel like Audi has judged the A6 e-tron about perfectly. It’s quick enough, even at motorway speeds, to surge forwards without making anyone feel nauseous. If you want more, there’s an Audi S6 e-tron, but I think there’s more than enough here.
The focus is on refinement – and it works. Not every car needs to stand out with an outlandish party trick, some just need to blend in and just be really good. If you were using the Audi A6 e-tron daily, you’d be perfectly happy with it, which feels like this car’s raison d’etre.
For Audi, too, the A6 e-tron represents a solid step in the right direction. It was always going to take manufacturers a bit of time to hone their craft with EVs and the new A6 e-tron represents just that. Battery technology is steadily improving whilst car makers improve how they integrate the technology into their offerings.
Here, it feels like everything works harmoniously together. Range is appropriate and predictable, public charging is getting simpler and EVs are slotting into the range of manufacturers far more easily.
I may have pre-judged the Audi A6 e-tron, but it’s always a pleasant surprise when something turns your head in a positive direction. From the aesthetics, cabin and driving demeanour, there’s an awful lot to like. It ticked every box, from school runs and commutes to journeys to the Midlands and back, without pomp or ceremony. It’s an impressive car for the everyday.