Audi's been in the electric-vehicle game for longer than most people might think. The E-Tron SUV—later renamed the Q8 E-Tron—hit production in 2018, years before we'd see anything of the sort from Mercedes-Benz or Cadillac. In that way, it's one of the OGs of the modern electric era.
But the Q8 E-Tron hit its limits in recent years. Sales declined as other EVs came to market, and Audi could only do so much with an electric SUV with gas-car origins.
Now, the German brand is taking its battery-powered lineup to the next level with a much-needed addition: the Q6 E-Tron. It's a midsize crossover—the exact type of vehicle Americans crave—that packs a bunch of new technology under the hood.
Photo by: Audi
I got to drive the Q6 E-Tron late last year and came away impressed. What Audi's got here is its most solid competitor yet to cars like the Cadillac Lyriq and, the elephant in every EV conversation, the Tesla Model Y.
[Full Disclosure: Audi put me up in a hotel in Healdsburg, CA, and fed me so I could test the Q6 E-Tron.]
You can hear my thoughts on the Q6 E-Tron and learn all about its new platform and software in the video above. And, if you want to read a deeper dive, check out my colleague Kevin Williams' first drive review from last year.
In general, I really liked the Q6 E-Tron. It's got sharp styling that's decidedly not jelly-bean shaped. (Looking at you, Mercedes.) All EVs are relatively quiet on the road, but the Q6 E-Tron delivers a truly serene driving experience thanks to especially insulated motors and some other engineering work.
Plus, this is Audi's longest-range EV ever, with a respectable 321 miles in its rear-wheel-drive trim. I didn't get to test out the Q6 E-Tron's real-world charging performance—sadly, that's not a part of most media drives—but it's supposed to be pretty darn quick. That's all thanks to the new 800-volt platform that the Q6 E-Tron shares with the Porsche Macan Electric, its cousin under the Volkswagen Group umbrella.
Photo by: Audi
There's also a new, more powerful electrical architecture and a revamped user interface, which I thought was one of the better efforts from a legacy automaker.
The only major caveat here is this: You can't learn all that much about an EV until you actually live with it for more than an afternoon. Once we get a Q6 E-Tron to test out, we'll be sure to update you all on its charging speeds, efficiency and more. Any burning questions? Let us know in the comments below.
Got a tip about the EV world? Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com
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