Audi A6 Avant e-tron quattro: Cómo se comporta el familiar eléctrico de Audi en autopista

It’s quite simple: the Audi A6 Avant e-tron is the estate BMW and Mercedes wish they had. BMW offers the actually impressive i5 Touring, which is merely okay in terms of range and charging speed. Mercedes, meanwhile, made a strategic misstep by making the E-Class estate (T-Modell) a plug-in hybrid only. Audi combines the still-popular estate body style (no, not everyone wants an SUV) with the hefty charging performance of an 800-volt system. Will the Audi A6 Avant e-tron be a no-brainer in the showroom, especially for company car customers?

An important aspect when assessing the Audi’s prospects is its motorway performance, so we took the vehicle on the A1 from Bremen towards Hamburg for a real-world test, with cruise control set to 180 kph. As expected, the Audi proved to be very quiet, with minimal wind noise. The suspension is excellent.

The test vehicle, an A6 Avant e-tron quattro with 340 kW of system output (0-100 kph in 4.7 seconds, available from €81,450), was equipped with the Tech Pro package (€8,250), featuring adaptive air suspension, various other comforts, and staggered tyres with 245s at the front and 275s at the rear. The car sits confidently on the road and turns in precisely, making quick corners enjoyable even off the motorway.

If you’re travelling on a German motorway during the day rather than at 3 am, you’re rarely alone. Those 180 kph on cruise control mean constant braking and accelerating in heavy traffic. Our sample run yielded an average speed of 151 kph over 52.7 kilometres, with energy consumption of 28 kWh/100 km. Relative to the net usable battery capacity of 95 kWh (gross 100 kWh), that equates to a real-world range of just under 340 kilometres at this fast pace.

Almost 500 motorway km at standard cruising speed

Naturally, things look better at recommended cruising speeds: across multiple measurements, the Audi A6 Avant e-tron averaged 19.4 kWh/100 km, resulting in a range of 490 kilometres. Drivers can assess how often they cover such distances without a break.

For travelling, the Audi is ideally suited. The reason for these low consumption figures is its strong aerodynamics: the Avant’s drag coefficient of 0.24 is slightly above that of the Sportback (0.21), but the results speak for themselves.

Values in brackets: With Launch Control; prices: saloon/estate

This is also a testament to the estate format itself. At 1.53 metres high, it isn’t extremely low, yet it sits much flatter than a typical SUV. The technically similar Q6, for example, is 16 centimetres taller. With aerodynamics, frontal area is as decisive as the drag coefficient and this remains the SUV’s eternal weakness.

It is a reasonable assumption that a Golf Variant or Skoda Octavia estate would have strong market prospects if offered with longer ranges than an Opel Astra Sports Tourer (413 kilometres). The current success of the Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer shows that estate body styles remain fundamentally in demand in Europe.

Driver assistance systems work without annoying beeps

Back to the Audi A6 Avant e-tron. Two points regarding the driver assistance systems are worth noting; One, the adaptive cruise control can be set to a very short default gap to the vehicle in front, which will satisfy even demanding drivers. More relaxed drivers may prefer gap setting 2 or 3 instead of 1. And two, the absence of annoying beeps. And if there is one, press the steering wheel shortcut, and it’s off. Malfunctions, such as in traffic sign recognition, are rare. The journey in the Audi A6 Avant e-tron is simply pleasant, fast, and safe.

Shorter charging times than the competition

When charging, the Audi A6 e-tron does exactly what the spec sheet promises, thanks to preconditioning: charging from 10 to 80 per cent takes 21 minutes. In one specific instance, 69 kWh was charged in that period at an average of over 189 kW, with peak power recorded at 274 kW.

Imagen: Christoph M. Schwarzer

On the one hand, these are impressive figures. On the other, Audi had announced the A6 for 2024 back when the sleek concept car was presented in Marzo de 2022. It has taken a long time with the Premium Platform Electric (PPE). Undoubtedly, Audi could already have poached some BMW i5 and Mercedes E-Class customers.

These vehicles are primarily registered as company cars, with many users driving them privately as well. In Germany, this usage is taxed as a benefit in kind: for combustion cars, tax is due on one per cent of the gross list price per month. For plug-in hybrids, the taxable base is halved, and for electric cars up to €70,000 gross list price, it is reduced to a quarter.

‘0.25 per cent rule’ raised to €100,000

On 26 June, the German government even decided to raise this limit to €100,000 for purchases from 1 July onwards, as part of the so-called immediate investment programme. At the time of publication, however, the regulation was not yet in force as it still requires approval by the Bundesrat.

For an electric car like the Audi A6 e-tron, this is crucial. While Audi offers a base model from €64,450 with a 76 kWh battery, true joy begins with the test vehicle’s 95 kWh pack.

Extending the ‘0.25 per cent rule’ to electric vehicles up to €100,000 also strengthens the A6 e-tron compared with the Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer: the Audi, as so often in the past, impresses with greater refinement and overall performance. Soon, most versions will also be taxed equally, so fleet buyers will await the government’s final decision with interest.

2.1 tonnes towing capacity, strong efficiency

Interim conclusion: the Audi A6 Avant e-tron quattro is probably the motorway car customers in this segment have long wanted. Its towing capacity of 2.1 tonnes far exceeds that of the Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer (up to 1.4 tonnes in GTX spec).

It is worth noting a few further points. Motorway consumption – as above – is crucial, but so too are the figures for rural driving (15.4 kWh/100 km) and city driving (14.6 kWh/100 km). These are low values for an electric car of this size and proof of its efficiency.

Also neat is the lever to activate driving automation. Many systems today use steering wheel buttons. A separate stalk still has its charm. Mercedes used this approach for decades, and it worked excellently.

Functionally noteworthy is the second AC charging port on the right in addition to the CCS socket (AC and DC) on the left. For a 4.93-metre-long electric car, this is a practical everyday benefit.

For Audi, it remains a development task to define its brand identity with even sharper clarity. The exterior design succeeds unequivocally: this is how an Audi should look – elegant, premium, and technical. The interior also fits, even carrying that characteristic Audi scent, yet it feels as if the brand has not quite rediscovered its full self. Quality is excellent, but the clarity of design and material choices in the 2000s was its own era. Less piano black would also be welcome.

Conclusion: Audi’s journey of self-discovery

The Audi A6 Avant e-tron stands out clearly and positively from its premium rivals and the VW ID.7 Tourer. This is how a true motorway car should be made. The electric Audi A6 will likely be successful throughout Europe, as it is not only German customers who love estates – and the beautiful ones are still called Avant. That it is no bargain is a given. The average buyer will look forward to picking one up used for half the price in three years’ time.