The Audi S6 has always been a car with a very clear vision of what it’s trying to be. Razor-sharp handling, physics-defying track performance or face-bending acceleration have never been its thing. Instead, it’s aimed to be a well-rounded package: subtle, spacious, comfy, well-made, and with an actually useful real-world pace. If any performance car’s going to nail the transition from combustion to electricity, then it’s the S6.
It’s now undergone that transition, as the A6 as a whole has diverged into two distinct models – one powered by liquified dinosaurs, and another by this new-fangled invisible force called ‘electricity’. Right now, though, the only one you can get with an S badge is the electric one.
Audi S6 Avant E-Tron – side, static
Based on the same PPE platform as the new Porsche Macan EV, the S6 E-Tron brings a dual-motor setup which, most of the time, makes 496bhp and a peak of 631lb ft of torque. Call on the launch control system and your power temporarily jumps to 543bhp, at which point the car will achieve its peak acceleration figure of 3.9 seconds (usually, it takes a still healthy 4.1). Top speed is 149mph.
It deploys that power exactly as you’d expect, accelerating with the confident surge you expect from a powerful EV without ever being truly neck-snapping in the vein of the really big-power stuff.
Audi S6 Avant E-Tron – rear, static
In fact, the whole driving experience is largely what we’ve come to expect from a heavy, sporty-ish premium dual-motor EV, which handily shares a lot of the same traits we expect from an S6 too. Audi has calibrated the torque distribution to be more rear-biased, and that does a solid job of eliminating understeer, but don’t mistake the S6 for some kind of drift monster.
No, it’s an S6 through and through; that is, fast, grippy and utterly benign. It turns in nicely, sticks to its line and has plenty of grip, but there’s a numbness to the whole experience that stops it from ever being truly engaging. You’ll get where you need to be quickly, but your pulse will be pretty much exactly the same as it was when you set off.
Audi S6 Avant E-Tron – front, driving
Our test car came with Audi’s adaptive air suspension. It’s an excellent system, and one that feels necessary to stop the S6’s 2335kg unladen weight from making itself too well-known. It keeps it helpfully flat during quick cornering, and mops up imperfections when you’re in a waftier mood.
Speaking of wafting, it’s something the S6 is very good at. It’s quiet and calming in that distinctive EV way, and offers up plenty of space and some brilliantly supportive bucket seats up front. A switchable panoramic roof is standard on Edition 1s, and adds to the airy, calming vibe of the interior.
Audi S6 Avant E-Tron – interior
The cabin itself is better than we’ve seen from some other recent Audis in terms of material quality (measurably better, for instance, than the latest combustion-powered A6), though there are still some cheap plastics about. Operating everything is still a bit too reliant on the massive curving display that integrates both the busy digital instrument cluster and the infotainment. As per other recent Audis, points are lost for the nasty semi-haptic steering wheel controls but gained back for the ADAS shortcut button.
Our test car also had the £1495 option of aero-friendly cameras instead of door mirrors. You’ll have your own view on these as a general concept, but in the cars I’ve driven with them, I’ve never had too much trouble adapting – S6 included. And those cameras, of course, help give the S6 Avant its peak slipperiness of 0.24, a figure Audi’s very proud of (with a Cd of 0.21 the saloon is currently the most aerodynamic car in the entire VW Group stable).
Audi S6 Avant E-Tron – detail
That gives you a quoted range of 384 miles, although as ever, the reality is likely to be a chunk less. A week mostly consisting of running around town and using fast A-roads returned around 3.2m/kWh, which, with the S6’s 94.9kWh net capacity, works out at a little over 300 miles – still plenty in the real world. Of course, that also extended to some Serious Car Journalism™ to assess the ‘S’ part of the S6’s name – it shouldn’t be too difficult to improve on that figure.
Overall, the S6 Avant is one of the most complete EVs Audi has built to date – quick, roomy, pleasant to drive, well-made and offering up more than enough range for most people. All that, of course, doesn’t come cheap. Our test car was a Launch Edition with a £95,815 list price, but as the name suggests, that was just an introductory thing.
Audi S6 Avant E-Tron – interior
Currently, the only trim you can get the S6 E-Tron Avant in is the confusingly similarly-named Edition 1. That gives you lots of desirable stuff as standard, including the air suspension, pano roof and high-end Bang & Olufsen sound system, which does a little to soften the blow of a £99,340 price tag before you throw any options at it.
Then again, its closest rival – really, its only one in estate form at the moment – the BMW i5 M60 Touring, kicks off at £100,095. Even in the brave new world of EVs, the classic BMW versus Audi dichotomy continues – the i5’s going to be a more entertaining thing to drive, but the S6 counters with a smidge more usability, in this case, a considerably better range. The Audi does have a smaller boot, mind – 502 litres seats-up versus the BMW’s 570, and 1422 versus 1700 with them down.
Audi S6 Avant E-Tron – rear, driving
Of course, whether anyone’s actually going to spend this sort of money rather than going for the cheaper, rangier, and in the real world, perfectly quick single-motor version is another question. In all honesty, we wouldn’t bother. If, however, you’ve long enjoyed the charms of the various combustion iterations of the S6, then making the leap to the E-Tron won’t be an enormous culture shock. Now if only Audi could find a way to make it sound like the old V10-powered one from the noughties.
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