As sure as night follows day, the new Audi A6 Sportback e-tron is followed by a new ‘Avant’ estate model, offering a more practical luggage bay and the same technology. But with rivals such as the BMW i5 Touring vying for bragging rights in the electric estate market, can the big Audi challenge as well as its Sportback sibling does?
To find out, we hit the road at the A6’s international launch in Tenerife in this mid-range A6 Avant e-tron Performance for our first taste of the battery-powered wagon. We’ve already sampled the Sportback, and it has performed very respectably, so will the estate variant prove that bit more compelling, or will it sacrifice too much in search of space?
What does the new Audi A6 Avant e-tron look like?
From the front, the A6 Avant e-tron looks exactly like the Sportback version, with the same narrow, customisable daytime running lights, the same grille-shaped panel on the nose and the same front bumper. It’s also offered with the optional digital door mirror cameras, the same piece of trim to highlight the battery position and the same aerodynamic alloy wheel designs.
However, the rear end is predictably different, with the taller roofline and sharper rear window, but some of the details remain. In terms of aerodynamics, there’s a spoiler on the roof and diffuser in the bumper to clean up the airflow as much as possible. And the Avant uses the same wide rear light bar as the Sportback, complete with the illuminated Audi logo on the tailgate.
As with the Sportback, aerodynamics play a starring role in the design, but the Avant also shares the technology of the Sportback, with its customisable light signatures - drivers have eight to choose from at both the front and rear - and the tail lights that can ‘communicate’ with other road users, through warning triangles in the lights and other graphics that denote when the car is parking or someone is opening a door.
A look inside the Audi A6 Avant e-tron
From the driving seat, the A6 Avant e-tron looks and feels much the same as the standard A6 Sportback e-tron, except there’s a slightly better view out of the rear-view mirror, thanks to that steeper back window. Otherwise, it has the same layout of screens, the same optional digital door mirrors and the same optional passenger display.
It has the same level of quality, too, which is largely good news, because most of the A6 e-tron’s cabin is beautifully made. Upmarket materials are stitched together nicely, and though there are some less-than-perfect spots in there, it’s mostly very impressive. Yes, some fiddly steering wheel buttons spoil the party slightly, but that’s a relatively minor complaint in the great scheme of things.
More important to most A6 Avant e-tron customers will be the amount of space on board, and there the big Audi struggles slightly - at least on paper. Because of the way the Sportback and Avant variants are designed, they share a 502-litre boot capacity on paper, albeit with a small 27-litre under-bonnet storage space as well. And because they have the same distance between the axles, the A6 e-tron models both offer identical rear legroom.
However, while the Avant may look like a pointless price hike on paper, it does make more sense when you’re inside. Because the roofline is higher, the car offers more rear headroom than the Sportback, in which taller rear-seat passengers may find their heads against the roof lining. And because the boot shape is different, and the official volume is only measured to the window line, the Avant’s boot space is more useful than it looks on paper, with a bigger boot aperture and more flexibility for storing bulky items.
The Audi A6 Sportback e-tron’s on-board technology
The A6 Avant e-tron has the same on-board technology as the Sportback, which is to say that Audi has put a lot of emphasis on it. The most obvious manifestation of this is the massive, curved housing in the dashboard that plays host to the digital instrument display and the touchscreen infotainment system.
Both screens use Audi’s latest operating system and are integrated, which means they’re clear and sharp, and they have lots of toys, but it isn’t all good news. The new operating system isn’t as easy to navigate as the old one, and the almost complete removal of buttons on the dashboard means the touchscreen now takes responsibility for the heater controls, which is a bit distracting.
That said, the implementation of touchscreen climate control is better than in some modern cars, because the temperature controls are always there at the bottom of the screen, and you can always get at things like the demist icon.
But those screens are merely the start of the tech that’s available, with a passenger display also offered to customers. It feels a bit superfluous, but it’s more simplistic than the main display and thus easier to navigate. Some drivers may not like the idea of ceding control of the radio and other features to the passenger, though.
Those who choose the passenger display and the virtual door mirrors, with the cameras on stalks in place of conventional mirrors, will find the cabin thoroughly awash with screens, as the cameras’ images are displayed on small screens in the door cards, taking the total available to five. Not that we’d recommend it. The camera technology has come on in leaps and bounds compared with the first implementation on the Audi e-tron, but they’re still difficult to use compared with the conventional mirrors you get as standard.
Fortunately, there is much more of a technological win available in the Audi, and that’s the massive head-up display. Covering a huge area of the windscreen, it’s capable of superimposing graphics over the world outside, so it can show you which turn to take at a junction by putting arrows over the road in question. It can pick out lines on the road, too, if the lane departure warning system is activated, and it will even change the font size of the speed readout when you accelerate or brake hard. Quite why it has that latter feature is as yet unknown, but it’s quite a neat - if not very Audi-like - touch.
How far will the Audi A6 Avant e-tron go on one charge?
Like the Sportback, the Avant is offered with a choice of four different powertrains, and they’re all fully electric. The entry level car comes with an 83kWh battery and a 326hp electric motor that drives the rear wheels, offering a range of up to 595km on the official economy test.
However, the Performance version tested here adds to that with a 100kWh battery (although only 94.9kWh is usable) and a more powerful - 380hp - electric motor. But despite the extra power, the bigger battery means the range increases to around 700km. That sounds pretty impressive, but it’s about 50km less than the equivalent Sportback will manage, and though neither the estate nor fastback versions are likely to achieve the official figures in the real world, the fact remains that the Avant won’t go quite as far as the Sportback on a single charge.
And it definitely won’t go that far if you choose one of the two-motor, all-wheel-drive versions. The quattro sits above the Performance in the A6 e-tron range, offering 462hp from its pair of electric motors, but it has the same battery as the Performance model, and that means it doesn’t have quite as much range. In its defence, the difference isn’t as big as you might expect, given the power and weight differences, but a maximum range of around 680km is still well down on the corresponding Sportback.
Finally, the lineup is crowned by the S6 Avant e-tron, which is the most powerful variant so far. With 551hp from its brace of electric motors, it’s capable of 0-100km/h in less than four seconds, but the range is impacted as a result, falling below the 650km mark.
Nevertheless, all A6 e-trons have a useful real-world range, and most of them should manage more than 500km on a charge without too much trouble. They all charge quickly, too, with the base model managing 225kW at maximum DC charge speed, whereas the 100kWh batteries will charge at up to 270kW. That means, if you can find a charger powerful enough and the right conditions, you can charge from 10 to 80 per cent in around 20 minutes.
Driving the Audi A6 Avant e-tron
Although the Avant version of the A6 e-tron is a bit bigger and bulkier than the Sportback, it doesn’t really drive differently. Yes, the extra weight at the rear makes an exceedingly small difference if you push it really, really hard, but the Audi doesn’t really encourage you to do that, and very few owners will ever try.
Despite Audi’s insistence that it has worked hard to make the A6 e-tron ride and handle better than the old combustion-powered A6, the car still doesn’t feel as nimble or as poised as a BMW i5.
The steering, for example, is predictable and reasonably precise, but it’s also quite inert and lifeless, which never makes you feel as though you’re that involved in the drive. Similarly, the chassis makes the car feel safe and stable, without ever being that agile.
That said, the rear end will slide if you apply oversized dollops of power in the middle of a corner, and that can cause an alarming moment if you aren’t expecting it, but even that misbehaviour is relatively benign.
However, all these conclusions come with a bit of a caveat. You see, the A6 e-tron we tested came with air suspension that is not fitted to Irish-market cars, rendering all comments about the ride more or less pointless. For what it’s worth, there was little difference between the Sportback and the Avant on the smooth Spanish asphalt, and the ride was generally quite soft, but whether that will be the case for cars on steel springs remains to be seen.
We can, however, pass judgement on the A6 Avant e-tron’s refinement, which is largely very good. The motor is as hushed as you’d expect, and wind and road noise make negligible impact on those in the cabin. It’s a really relaxing thing in which to rattle off the kilometres.
How safe is the Audi A6 Avant e-tron?
Euro NCAP, the new car safety organisation, is still yet to assess the new A6 e-tron, but we’re expecting good things when it finally gets around to it. Not least because the Q6 e-tron SUV, with which the A6 e-tron shares its architecture, achieved a spectacularly good score, getting five stars out of five in the rigorous testing procedure.
And like the A6 Sportback e-tron, the Avant comes with lots of safety technology, including a reversing camera and parking sensors to help prevent low-speed bumps, and other driver assistance systems, including lane departure warning and autonomous emergency braking. As is a legal requirement these days, it also comes with a sometimes-inaccurate and often-irritating speed limit warning system, but you can turn that off relatively easily.
How many child seats can you fit in an Audi A6 Avant e-tron?
Many of the buyers choosing the estate version of the A6 e-tron will do so because they have families, and Audi is clearly well aware of that. So, as with most estates, the A6 Avant e-tron gets an ISOFIX child seat mounting points on each of the outermost rear seats, and Audi has also fitted another ISOFIX mounting point on the front passenger seat. It’s a small touch, but one that gives owners a bit more flexibility than some other cars do.
How much does the Audi A6 Avant e-tron cost in Ireland?
With Irish prices starting at €76,325, the Avant is roughly €2,000 more expensive than the Sportback, and on paper, you don’t get that much more. Certainly, the basic Advance trim comes with all the same features, including the 19-inch alloys, fabric upholstery and massive touchscreen, but it also gets a boot that measures exactly the same size on paper. It has a smaller range, too, and if you go for an S line model, a price tag of more than €81,500 makes the Avant seem expensive.
That said, you’ll pay almost €86,000 for even the cheapest BMW i5 Touring, so perhaps the price isn’t too ghastly. Especially when S line versions of the A6 come with the clever LED headlights, 20-inch alloys and a sporty body kit, plus part-leather upholstery.
The reasons you’d buy an Audi A6 Avant e-tron
While the A6 Avant e-tron feels remarkably similar to the Sportback on the road, it’s only really worth the €2,000 premium if you need the carrying capacity. If most of your mileage will be carried out with only the front seats occupied by adults and with little in the boot, the range and price sacrifices of the Avant make the extra practicality unnecessary. But if you’re set on an estate, the Avant has all the same qualities as the Sportback and will make a very capable electric wagon.
Ask us anything about the Audi A6 Avant e-tron
If you want to know more about the A6 e-tron, whether in Sportback or Avant forms - or indeed any other car on sale in Ireland - then why not head to our Ask Us Anything page? There, you can post your question, and our team of experts will come back to you with an answer. Best of all, it’s totally free of charge.
