Overview

Arriving at the same time as the Sportback, the Audi A6 Avant E-Tron is the first all-electric estate car to wear the four rings on its nose. Not long-ago electric estates were very thin on the ground, but the A6 Avant can count the BMW i5 Touring and Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer as rivals. If you want a similarly sized Mercedes with a tailgate, you’ll need an EQE SUV. 

It wouldn’t be an Audi without the option of four-wheel drive, although single motor versions break from Audis of old in driving the rear wheels and not the fronts. There’s no such thing as a slow A6, with performance ranging from brisk to downright rapid if you’ve selected a Quattro or S6 model. 

I’ll be covering the A6 Avant estate in this review, with the Sportback hatch and high performance S6 reviewed elsewhere on this site. So far we’ve only driven a German-spec car abroad, but we’ll update with UK driving impressions as soon as we can get our grubby mitts on a right-hand drive car. If you want to know we review cars here at Parkers, have a look at our how we test cars page. 

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What’s it like inside?

Audi only had high-spec test cars on the international launch, with every bit of tech available thrown at the A6. That meant three screens on the dash, with an 11.9-inch driver’s display, 14.5-inch central touchscreen and a 10.9-inch display for your passenger.  

While a volume knob that also allows you to skip tracks and a few shortcut icons are welcome, almost everything else is controlled via the touchscreen, just like the Q6 E-Tron. While we applaud having the heating controls on the bottom of the screen, buttons are better and would remove some of the complexity. 

There’s an awful lot going on with the main touchscreen, although it is responsive and has sharp graphics. The driver’s display does feel like a step backward, though. It’s not as easy to control as Audi’s old Virtual Cockpit on account of yet more touch-sensitive ‘buttons’ on the steering wheel, and it’s just not as easy to read at a glance. Similarly, the touch panel for the mirrors, lights, locking and seat position is annoying when you’re stationary, and even harder to use on the move. 

Quality is a bit of a mixed bag. I like the fabric inserts and squishy plastics that’s found at armrest level and above, but there’s some surprisingly cheap plastic lower down. The door bins are made of hard, scratchy plastic that might be fine on something that competes with a BMW i4, but it’s downright cheap on something that costs over £60,000. 

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Avant versions of the A6 E-Tron have a significantly higher roof than the Sportback, making it a better bet if you’ve got tall friends and family. Headroom and legroom are fine if not generous for a six-footer, but the floor is high on account of the battery, pushing your knees up towards your chin. If I noticed this at less than five and a half feet tall, those with longer legs may not be happy on long distances. 

Room up front is perfectly fine, but this isn’t a car you buy for palatial interior space, despite being nearly five metres long. A Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer trounces it here. 

Audi A6 Avant E-Tron motors and batteries 

The basic A6 Avant E-Tron makes do with an 83kWh (75.8 usable) battery that powers a single 326hp electric motor on the back axle. It’ll officially do up to 364 miles according to WLTP testing, has a maximum charging speed of 225kW, 0-62mph takes 6.0 seconds and it’ll hit 130mph flat out, but sadly none were available for us to test. 

Next up is the A6 E-Tron Performance – an odd choice of name given its use in the RS lineup – which gets a power increase to 380hp and a larger 100kWh (94.9 useable) battery that boosts the driving range to a healthy 437-miles. It can take up to 270kW for a 21-minute 10 to 80% rapid charge time and gets from 0-62mph in a snappy 5.4 seconds. 

If you want four-wheel drive, you’ll need an A6 E-Tron Quattro. Obviously. An additional electric motor for the front axle helps take total power to 462hp and drops the 0-62mph time to just 4.5 seconds. Range does take a hit, dropping to 418 miles, though. In all of the above cases, you’ll need to activate launch control to get the advertised power, and the WLTP range figure is down on the more aerodynamically efficient A6 Sportback.   

What’s it like to drive?  

Unfortunately, the A6 Avant test cars available to me were not to UK specification, with the standard coil springs and conventional shock absorbers replaced with air springs and adaptive dampers. These are optional in most European countries, but not in the UK as the expected uptake would be so low. Despite our terrible roads, we’re more interested in big wheels and sporty styling than fancy suspension systems.   

When fitted with air suspension, the A6 Avant E-Tron does a good job of soaking up what few road imperfections I could find in Tenerife. Even a slight excursion onto some narrow and less well-surfaced roads didn’t upset the calm. It doesn’t float or wallow in Comfort mode but switching to Sport mode does bring tighter handling. Sadly, this is something you won’t be able to do on UK cars. 

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Our rear-wheel drive Performance test car had precise and well-weighted steering that made it easy to place, but keen drivers won’t find much feel or feedback. The brake pedal feels far more natural than rivals including the Mercedes EQE, and you can change how quickly the car slows down via steering wheel mounted paddles. 

Push harder and you’ll feel the weight of the A6 under heavy braking and fast direction changes, but that’s true of direct rivals as well. The A6 has plenty of grip, but it will let you slide the tail slightly under power in ESC Sport mode. It’s undoubtedly more fun than an EQE, although it’ll be a closer run thing with the BMW i5.  

What models and trims are available?

Ignoring the S6, there’s a choice of three trim levels. Entry-level Sport has all the kit you really need, with next-rung S Line only really providing visual changes for a not insubstantial price increase. If you want more kit, you’ll need to jump to Edition 1 or just raid the options list. 

The A6 Avant E-Tron’s biggest rivals are undoubtedly the BMW i5 Touring and Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer. Mercedes-Benz doesn’t offer an EQE estate, but you can get the EQE SUV if you value cargo capacity. It’ i’s a very welcome addition to the market, but is it good enough to go to the top of the class? Click through to our verdict page to find out.