Audi Q6 e-tron long-term test: report 6

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 9492 Price £64,740 Target price £58,980 Price as tested £68,970 Official range 389 miles Test range 332 miles

13 May 2025 – Independence day

The beauty of the car is the independence it provides. The knowledge that it can take you and your passengers, if you wish, wherever you want to go – and that’s the case regardless of whether your car feeds on petrol, diesel or electricity.

If it’s the latter, you need to consider range in these remotest parts. I’ve not come close to my Audi Q6 e-tron's 389-mile official figure, but I’m regularly seeing more than 332 miles from its 94.9kWh (usable capacity) battery. I’ve not come close to maxing out the 250kW charging rate, either – something that’s strangely comforting.

The Q6’s ride is equally comforting, at least when the Q6 is cruising at fast A-road or motorway speeds where it soaks up surface imperfections well, even if the ride is quite jittery around town. I won’t pretend it feels as rarefied as a Range Rover, but it’s hard not to be impressed. And I’ve not heard any complaints from my car’s harshest critics – my kids – even on a recent ride out to the coast.

Part of the reason, I think, is the small 19in alloys. They might look like tiny rollerskate wheels against the Q6’s vast bodywork, but I think it’s a compromise worth making.

It means that I arrive at my destination relaxed and refreshed. Mostly.

I say mostly because the driver assistance systems are an endless frustration. I’ve written before about the slew of warning messages ping several times a week, but it’s the adaptive cruise control which draws the most ire. It serves up arbitrary speed limit changes and applies the brakes without warning so I have to jam the accelerator pedal to override it. 

Still, I’m getting to know where these unexpected speed changes are coming from, so I’m able to get ready – or kill the cruise control before it jumps into life. Like a lot of systems, it can be turned off, but I’d rather have an erratic safety net than not at all.

In better news, last month’s central locking fault was traced to a flat battery in the (six month old) key, and I’m told it’s a classic easy-when-you-know-how kinda job. Similarly, the battery fault that meant the car wouldn’t start has been confirmed as a transient problem – if it happens again, I’m to turn the car off, wait several minutes and start again.

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