ESTATE OF THE FUTURE(some text hidden)

By Jonathan Crouch

Ten Second Review word count: 59

Audi's A6 Avant e-tron is a large, luxurious estate that combines practicality with panache. In this new-era EV form, it's even higher-tech, better finished and cleverer than before and aims to offer buyers a little more charisma and driving reward than the previous combustion version could have. You can see why many buyers in this segment might like it.

Background word count: 148

Audi may sometimes struggle against its arch-rival BMW in terms of overall sales but in one segment at least, the Ingolstadt maker has traditionally beaten its closest rival: that of large, luxurious Executive-class estates. In its previous combustion form, their A6 Avant out-sold the rival BMW 5 Series Touring nearly two-to-one and was even further ahead of its other key segment competitor Mercedes' E-Class Estate. What then, might the marque achieve with a car that's smarter, safer and clever? This one, the A6 e-tron Avant, Audi's first all-electric luxury estate. Like the alternative A6 Sportback e-tron, it shares nearly all of its engineering with the brand's Q6 e-tron SUV; which means use of the 800V electrical architecture and Premium Platform Electric chassis the Q6 shares with the Porsche Macan Electric. It's claimed to be the most complete large load carrier Audi has ever made. Let's check it out.

Driving Experience word count: 332

As you'd expect from such an aerodynamic car, all versions of this EV only design look very competitive on range. Even the smallest entry-level 83kWh battery (75.8kWh usable) which is borrowed from the VW ID.7 and takes a car up to 364 miles (20 less than the Sportback versaion); that standard version uses a 286PS rear-mounted motor (boosted to 326PS with launch control activated) and makes 62mph in 6 seconds. Most A6 e-tron customers though, are expected to choose the 'performance' version's larger 100kWh battery (94.9kWh of it usable), which is the most frugal variant in the range, able to take the car up to 437 miles between charges. Here, the rear motor develops 367PS (380PS with launch control) and gets the car to 62mph in 5.4s. Top speed is 130mph. There's also a dual motor AWD quattro version of this 100kWh model, which adds an extra front-mounted motor that pushes power up to 428PS (462PS with launch control) and drops the 62mph sprint time to 4.5s, though the extra weight means that range falls to a best of 418 miles. Much the same 100kWh / AWD format is also used by the sportier S6 variant, though here the motor tune is turned up to 503PS, so range drops to 391 miles. Using launch control in an S6 boosts that output for 551PS and gives a 0-62mph time of just 3.9s. Top speed is 149mph. An even faster full-EV RS 6 model will appear later in the production run. You'll need to make full use of the paddleshift two-stage energy recuperation system to get near those range figures, which when set at its fiercest is capable of sending up to 220kW of energy to the batteries as the car slows. Many customers will want to specify the optional adaptive air suspension system, which can change according to road conditions and will set the car's ride height at four different levels, the most economical one lowering the A6 by 20mm to improve aerodynamics.