I step on the brake with my left foot, press the accelerator pedal onto the mat with my right foot – then I slide off to the left. Engines come to life as they pump out forward thrust at warp speed. Traffic cones fly by in the side windows like mailboxes on a country road until I release the pedal and the regenerative braking of “B” mode lassoes this electric SUV down to slowly return to the right into the parking space.
Even with a quick look at Audi’s new electric SUV, the 2025 Q6 E-Tron, you can quickly see what the brand’s first fully designed and best-implemented electric vehicle promises.
Audi still sells some good to excellent gasoline-powered SUVs, but the electric vehicles like this Q6 E-Tron are the ones that will catapult it powerfully into the future.
The Q6 E-Tron is the first Audi vehicle based on a new architecture developed by the VW Group: PPE, which it initially shares with the Porsche Macan EV. It is said to be Audi’s most efficient electric vehicle to date, while being a third more efficient and a third more powerful than its SUV predecessor, the E-Tron (now the Q8 E-Tron).
With seating for five and a footprint like its intended target, the Tesla Model Y, the Q6 E-Tron also competes with Hyundai’s E-GMP trio of the Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Genesis GV60, and Ford’s Mustang Mach-E is also taken into account the same size and battery class. The Audi doesn’t make any quality mistakes like the Tesla (or the Ford: see interior), while it competes with the Hyundai trio in terms of technology and quality. It’s stylish, without a lot of bells and whistles – and it’s fast, without any weaknesses.
It will come to the US in late 2024 as a 2025 model. I’ve only driven it for very short distances, but I can see the promise in its new architecture, its battery choices, its dual-motor powertrain and its high-end suspension.
2025 Audi Q6 E-Tron
2025 Audi Q6 E-Tron
2025 Audi Q6 E-Tron
2025 Audi Q6 E-Tron
What is the powertrain of the 2025 Audi Q6 E-Tron?
The foundation of the Q6 E-Tron in this PSA version lies under its five seats. It is a 100 kWh battery (gross) that can use up to 94.4 kWh of this capacity. Its 12 modules of 180 prismatic CATL cells, assembled in Ingolstadt into packages that form the base of the Q6, weigh about 1,257 pounds. A 10-module, 83 kWh (gross) version is considered for vehicles manufactured for markets outside the United States
In the PPE sector, Audi is relying on larger and fewer battery modules in order to simplify production and reduce material consumption – and thus the environmental impact. PPE requires fewer battery connections while allowing for better cooling and heating of the battery with predictive management, helping to maintain optimal condition.
Right from the start, Audi decided to make optimal use of the backpack’s capacity. It hasn’t reserved some power for future wirelessly delivered charging and upgrades, as Mercedes and other brands have done. It has a much more powerful computing structure that leaves enough scope for OTA updates as well as future V2X applications.
Compared to the first generation E-Tron Green Car reports the best car to buy in 2020According to Audi, the energy density of the Q6 E-Tron’s battery has increased by 62 percent, while energy consumption has decreased by 30 percent and drive unit costs have decreased by 15 percent.
In Hungary, Audi uses twin motors for the Q6 E-Tron, which produce 140 kW at the front and 280 kW at the rear. The system’s total output is 422 horsepower in the core version of the Q6, which weighs about 5,150 pounds, but in a more powerful “boost” mode it can deliver up to 456 horsepower. Audi claims a 0-60 mph time of 5.0 seconds with Launch Control as I trudged under the appropriately steel-gray sky near Munich Airport.
The more powerful model, the SQ6 E-Tron, taps battery energy more voraciously to send 483 hp to all four wheels or up to 510 hp in boost mode. According to Audi, that’s enough for a 0-60 mph sprint in 4.2 seconds, while the SQ6 can also reach a top speed of 143 mph.
No specifications were given for the future most efficient version, a version with a rear engine, or for the top performance edition, an RS Q6.
Audi has confirmed that the Q6 E-Tron can tow up to 4,400 pounds, but no specific off-road model will be offered. That’s a good thing: With its conventional steel suspension or its upgraded air suspension and adaptive dampers (standard on the SQ6, optional on the Q6), this SUV and the Audi SUVs as a genre have shied away from any hardcore rock crawling or trail crawling. climbing connotations – particularly those that would affect performance on the road.
2025 Audi SQ6 E-Tron
2025 Audi SQ6 E-Tron
2025 Audi SQ6 E-Tron
2025 Audi SQ6 E-Tron
How does the Q6 E-Tron drive?
With just two laps around a parking lot gymkhana, we can’t say much, if anything, about how the Q6 E-Tron drives. Launch mode has the intended catapult effect, although ultimate acceleration is closer to a Mach-E than a Plaid. With three levels of paddle-controlled regenerative braking and a single-pedal “B” driving mode that the Q8 E-Tron lacks, the Q6 E-Tron promises to install its conventional brakes better and later than most systems. Audi believes this is a more efficient and smoother way to achieve the maximum deceleration of 0.3g in one-pedal mode. This is more than that Best Car to Buy 2022 Lucid Air generated, and in the Audi our very short drive ensured smooth transitions between engines and friction brakes, which we also noticed in ours Test report on the E-Tron test drive in the 8th quarter of 2024.
How fast does it charge and what is the battery range?
The EPA hasn’t tested the Q6 E-Tron yet, but Audi has committed to a range of more than 300 miles for the base Q6 “60” model with dual motors. With an AC charging port on the right side and a CCS port on the left, the Q6 is still early for Audi’s transition to the Tesla-style NACS charging interface, although it will make the switch soon.
The Q6 E-Tron can be fast charged with up to 270 kW DC and can charge its battery from 10 to 80% in just 21 minutes. Where possible on lower-power chargers, the Q6’s 800-volt system can split its pack into two virtual 400-volt packs; The car first brings both to the same charge level and then charges the banks in parallel with up to 135 kW. Plug & Charge connectivity will be present from the start.
For home charging – which is the case with the vast majority of luxury electric cars – the Q6 E-Tron can be charged in about 10 hours on a 40-amp, 240-volt AC charger.
2025 Audi Q6 E-Tron
2025 Q6 E-Tron: familiar design, better infotainment
The Q6 E-Tron fits closely into Audi’s existing electric SUV family. The front shield proudly displays the four-ring logo on a series of active panels that provide grille-free structure, even as the base model’s body color changes to gray and black on higher-spec editions. From the side, the Q6 resembles nothing less than a Bentley Bentayga, with pronounced eyebrows over 19- to 21-inch wheels and nearly flush spokes that show plenty of aerodynamic attention. Audi won’t be able to offer the trick dynamic LED lighting it will sell elsewhere: NHTSA code means the LED signature must remain permanently installed on American roads, while Chinese, Polish and Irish drivers have eight different ones Lighting arrangements can be used on a whim. U.S. drivers can opt for a less formal Sportback roofline, but not in the first model year.
The The Q6 E-Tron presents a new interior that envelops the driver in a cool technical embrace. It features an 11.9-inch digital “virtual cockpit,” as Audi calls it, that combines mapping, infotainment and vehicle displays in a complex display of power. The central 14.5-inch touchscreen separates navigation, vehicle and infotainment functions in a (slightly) more traditional way, dressed in pencil-thin fonts and clearly outlined icons. A 10.9-inch passenger screen features a digital privacy blind that prevents the driver from watching a movie on the go but allows the passenger to do so. Android Automotive OS forms the core of the operating system, but wireless Apple CarPlay is free, and a greatly expanded set of recognized voice commands rids the interior of the old haptic interfaces in favor of voice and touch.
Both nestle in an environment defined by the dogbone-shaped, softly padded dashboard and door panels with wood or metal trim. It’s a clubby place, not as unforgiving as the Model Y Suite.
However, with a length of 187.8 inches, a height of 64.9 inches, a width of 78.5 inches and a wheelbase of 114.1 inches, the Q6 E-Tron most closely resembles the Model Y. Our brief appearance showed how attractive Audi’s design selection and the usual high level of seating comfort are. And with up to 53.9 cubic feet of cargo space behind the front seats and a 2.2 cubic foot trunk, the Q6 E-Tron doesn’t fall short when it comes to space.
Safety technology is also integrated, from standard automatic emergency braking to adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitor and automatic high beam.
Pricing hasn’t been confirmed yet, but an entry sticker of around $70,000 seems like a safe bet with a $90,000 bill on the horizon for the SQ6 E-Tron. However, neither version is eligible for federal tax credits because the batteries come from CATL and are assembled in Germany.
We can’t wait to spend more time with what’s clearly Audi’s best first attempt at new EV architecture yet. Stay tuned: We’ll be driving the Q6 E-Tron later this year before it goes on sale, probably in early December 2024.
Audi covered the travel costs to and from Munich, which made this first-hand report possible.
