- Audi has revealed two new members of its electric-vehicle lineup: the 2025 A6 e-tron and S6 e-tron.
- The new models will join the gasoline-powered A6 and S6. The e-trons will be 2025 models, with the order books set to open in September 2024.
- We expect the A6 e-tron to start around $70,000 and the more performance-oriented S6 e-tron to top out in the $90,000 range.
High floor and low floor are the two descriptors Audi uses to relate the primary difference between the Q6 e-tron SUV and the A6 e-tron Sportback. Both are on the same electric platform; the choice is whether you want to sit high or sit low in your electric vehicle.
The new A6 e-tron isn’t Audi’s first battery-powered four-door, the first being the Porsche Taycan–based e-tron GT, but it’s the first one under six figures. Exact pricing is not yet available, but we expect the brand’s new electric sedan to start around $70,000 for the rear-drive version with 362 horsepower, rising to $80,000 for the 422-hp A6 e-tron and cresting over $90,000 for the 543-hp S6 e-tron when it goes on sale late next spring.
All versions get a shapely new body, and as the Sportback name implies, there’s a hatch around back. The large taillight is made up of OLED lights that can be configured via the settings menu in the car to change the look of the rear end. The rest of the world will get the even better-looking Avant (wagon in Audi-speak) version. Audi representatives wouldn’t comment on the possibility of an Allroad version of the wagon.
The interior design is shared with the Q6 e-tron and has a large, curved panel that has an infotainment display measuring 14.5 inches and the driver’s display that measures 11.9 inches. We do wish for more options for the gauge cluster. Current Audis do it better. To allay passenger boredom, there’s an optional 14.5-inch display mounted to the dashboard in front of the passenger’s seat for them to play games or watch videos. A panoramic glass roof can go from transparent to opaque with a push of a button and can mimic a shade or even display a checkerboard-like design. Cargo space under the hatch measures 26 cubic feet. A tiny front trunk is just short of one cubic foot, and usefulness.
A 94.4-kWh battery is buried in the floor of the A6 e-tron and is likely to provide a 350-mile range. Official EPA range numbers are not yet available and the over-450-mile European Union number is likely not repeatable in the real world. The 800-volt electrical architecture allows for up to 270-kW charging speeds on a DC fast-charger and can take the battery from 10 to 80 percent in a claimed 21 minutes. If the hookup is a 400-kW connection, the A6 will charge its two banks separately at up to 135 kW. The onboard charger allows for 11 kW on an AC connection.
Audi has more speed claims. The base single-motor A6 e-tron should hit 60 mph in 5.2 seconds, the two-motor A6 e-tron Quattro reduces that time to 4.3 seconds, and finally the S6 e-tron will hit 60 in 3.7 seconds. The slippery body goes as low as 0.21 in European versions with camera sideview mirrors; ours will undoubtedly be a little less slippery.
A handsome, if lozenge-shaped, new member of the Audi family, the new electric A6 joins the gas-fed A6 in the lineup next year. Eventually, the internal-combustion-powered A6 will exit production, leaving only the electric version. So how do you want it? High floor or low floor?
Tony Quiroga is a 20-year-veteran Car and Driver editor, writer, and car reviewer and the 19th editor-in-chief for the magazine since its founding in 1955. He has subscribed to Car and Driver since age six. “Growing up, I read every issue of Car and Driver cover to cover, sometimes three or more times. It’s the place I wanted to work since I could read,” Quiroga says. He moved from Automobile Magazine to an associate editor position at Car and Driver in 2004. Over the years, he has held nearly every editorial position in print and digital, edited several special issues, and also helped produce C/D’s early YouTube efforts. He is also the longest-tenured test driver for Lightning Lap, having lapped Virginia International Raceway’s Grand Course more than 2000 times over 12 years.
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
