Audi Q6 e-tron review: Familiarity breeds content
The Audi Q6 e-tron quattro is polished and poised, but it’s also priced perilously close to something more desirable
[SINGAPORE] By now, it’s clear that there are two ways to go electric, and the Audi Q6 e-tron quattro is a fine example of one of them.
The first is to make the leap into something bold and new, in which case you’ll find yourself behind the wheel of something from China with more screens than a cineplex and all kinds of features you didn’t know you wanted.
The second is to go with something tried and true, so you get all the benefits of electric drive with a flavour you know and like.
The Q6 e-tron quattro invites you to take that latter approach, being a mid-sized premium sport utility vehicle that still feels like a car instead of a gadget. Perhaps more importantly, it comes with a four-ring badge that tells the world your net worth has a lot more than four zeros in it.
The quattro isn’t the only flavour of Q6 on sale; Audi offers a single-motor, rear-wheel drive version from S$367,999 with Certificate of Entitlement. That one delivers 252 horsepower and up to 484 km of range, but then above that sits the twin-motor quattro, which commands S$443,999.
If you’re going to spend that much, you might as well drop another S$10,000 on the edition 1 version tested here, which bundles in augmented reality head-up display, a 10.9 screen for the front passenger, 21-inch Audi Sport wheels and sporty S line trim.
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I’d call the edition 1 pack tasteful and appropriate, especially since the Q6 has a built-in sense of sportiness. Built on the Volkswagen Group’s new Premium Platform Electric (PPE), which makes it closely related to the Porsche Macan Electric, the Audi shines when it comes to the fundamentals.
Fine balance
It rides with a composure that many electric vehicles (EVs) struggle to match, striking a fine balance between control and comfort. It doesn’t float or fidget over bumps, and it’s more willing to change direction than its 2.4-tonne kerb weight suggests. The steering is precise and cohesive.
All that sets the stage for enjoying the acceleration, which is the stuff of hearty V8 engines. The two motors produce a combined 387 horsepower and an eye-watering 855 newton-metres of torque, which fires the Q6 to 100 kmh in just 5.9 seconds.
The power is delivered with a steady, silent surge rather than a savage shove, and feels like you can enjoy it without putting your driving licence in mortal peril.
The Q6 e-tron charges up fast, too. Its 800 volt architecture allows charging at up to 270 kilowatts, which means you can refill the 94.9 kilowatt-hour battery from 10 to 80 per cent in 21 minutes. Most drivers won’t have to plug it in more than once a week, with a claimed 530 km range.
While driving the Q6 makes it amply clear that Audi spent money on the hardware, sitting in it reveals where some of that cash came from. The cabin is beautiful in that clean, layered Audi way, and the 14.5-inch touchscreen’s interface is easy to use, but poke around, and you’ll notice hard plastics on the rear doors, flimsy-feeling switchgear and a steering wheel that seems to have wandered in from a cheaper model. It certainly doesn’t feel like a car that costs more than four hundred big ones.
There’s a decent amount of rear legroom, but many EVs offer vast swathes of it, and the Q6’s generous 2,899mm wheelbase makes you wonder where all the cabin space went. That said, headroom isn’t scarce, and the boot is a roomy 526 litres (1,529 litres with seats folded), with an extra 64 litres up front in the frunk, so the Q6 does pass muster as a family car.
Yet, the real appeal lies in how it rides, steers and responds with enough polish to remind you that this is a car from the same people who make the thrilling RS6 Avant. I’d name the single-motor version as the better buy for most people; though I haven’t driven it, it’s likely to offer the same poise and sense of familiarity that people will want from an electric Audi.
Besides, at the quattro version’s prices, the Porsche Macan Electric (which starts at S$250,688 without COE) is bound to look awfully tempting. If you’re choosing a tried and true name to go electric with, you’ll want to go with something tried and true in its ability to spark envy.
Audi Q6 edition 1 e-tron quattro
Motor power/torque 387 hp/855 Nm Battery type/net capacity Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt/94.9 kWh Charging time/type Approx. 8.5 hours (11 kW AC), 21 minutes 10 to 80 per cent (270 kW DC) Range 530 km 0-100 kmh 5.9 seconds Top speed 210 kmh Efficiency 19.5 kWh/100 km Agent Audi Singapore Price S$453,999 with COE Available Now
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