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With its newest electric SUV, the Q6 E-Tron, Audi has fleshed out its EV family of crossovers. While it still offers gas-powered utility vehicles in the form of the Q3, Q5, Q7, and Q8, it’s the battery-powered SUVs like the 2025 Q6 E-Tron that will convince many drivers to make their own power move.
The Audi Q6 E-Tron is a midsize, five-seat crossover SUV that rivals vehicles like the Tesla Model Y, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Hyundai Ioniq 5.
We’ve only driven it for very short distances, but there’s big promise in its dual-motor drivetrain and high-end suspension. We’ll assign a TCC Rating once we’ve driven it on U.S. roads. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
Everything. It’s the first Audi offering from a new architecture dubbed PPE, and thus shares its underpinnings with the new Porsche Macan EV. Audi says it’s the most efficient EV it’s built to date.
It’s not the most evocative SUV in the lineup. Instead the Q6 E-Tron bears many of the same hallmarks as other Audi EV SUVs, from a shield-shaped nose with active grille shutters woven into its texture, topped by Audi rings and dipped in body-color paint, gray, or black, depending on the model. Ducts funnel air around the wheels, while split headlights add a new tech flourish that’s not available in the U.S. due to NHTSA regulations: LED headlight signatures that can be changed with the car in motion. Our versions will still have a set of eight user-selectable light patterns, which must be engaged when the car is stopped.
From the side, the Q6’s other inspiration comes from another VW Group SUV—the Bentley Bentayga. Strong brows cap its wheels, while panels of gloss black gird the deep sculpting down its flanks. Big aero-shaped wheels range from 19 to 21 inches. At the rear the Q6 E-Tron has another set of adaptive lights that U.S. vehicles won’t get: LED taillights that can vary their display patterns. The roof pillar sits relatively upright, but a sleeker Sportback body style will emerge in a future model year.
Inside, the Q6 E-Tron banks digital displays around the driver, while setting aside a separate touchscreen for the passenger to use. A dogbone-shaped inset of softly padded synthetic leather unifies the cockpit, while an array of metallic or wood trims brace the dash around its 14.5-inch central touchscreen and its pencil-thin fonts and icons. A drive selector saddles the center console, and cupholders sit under a sliding tambour. It’s a classic Audi design in its balance, its coolness, and its regimented layout.
Q6 E-Tron powertrain and acceleration
U.S. models will come with a 100-kwh battery pack that can use up to 94.4 kwh of that capacity. Dual motors—a 140-kw unit in front, a 250-kw unit in back—can generate up to 422 hp on the base Q6 version. Prices in Europe will be more than $80,000 for this edition, but no U.S. prices will be announced until late this year.
In a higher-output boost mode, the Q6 E-Tron can crank out up to 456 hp. That translates to 0-60 mph in 5.0 seconds by using launch control: one foot on the brake, then one flooring the accelerator, then releasing the brake.
On the SQ6—priced at more than $100,000 in Europe—the dual-motor drivetrain grabs more power from the battery more quickly, resulting in outputs of 483 hp and 510 hp in boost mode. A 0-60 mph time of 4.2 seconds is within reach for the SQ6, with a top speed of 143 mph.
A single-rear-motor model will arrive after the first model year, as will a higher-performance RS edition. No power quotes have been confirmed for those yet.
The Q6 E-Tron gets paddles to control the amount of braking regeneration as well as a “B” mode for one-pedal driving. Three levels of regen can contribute up to 0.3g of deceleration, and blend into the conventional brakes later than most systems for more efficiency, Audi says.
Overall weight ranges from about 5,125 to 5,170 pounds. The Q6 E-Tron will be rated to tow up to 4,400 pounds.
A steel suspension underpins the base car. An air suspension and adaptive dampers come standard on SQ6, and can be fitted to the Q6.
Q6 E-Tron charging and range
No EPA ratings have been confirmed, but Audi estimates the all-wheel-drive Q6 60 E-Tron will have more than 300 miles of range in its basic specification.
At launch, the Q6 will come with a CCS charging interface, though during its life cycle it will switch to a NACS-style adapter. The Q6 E-Tron will be able to accept up to 270 kw of DC fast-charging, which will bring the battery from 10% to 80% charge in about 21 minutes. Audi has its 800-volt system built to split into twin 400-volt circuits when only that latter service is available. The virtually divided battery can then be recharged in parallel at up to 135 kw. At home, on a 40-amp 240-volt AC circuit, the Q6 E-Tron’s 9.6-kw onboard charger fills the battery to full in about 10 hours.
Q6 E-Tron interior, cargo space, and safety
The newest E-Tron sits 187.8 inches long, 78.5 inches wide, 64.9 inches tall, and on a 114.1-inch wheelbase. That makes it marginally longer overall and in wheelbase to a BMW X3—or, nearly the same size as the Tesla Model Y.
With plenty of room in front for even tall passengers, the Q6 E-Tron wears a combination of synthetic and leather interior trim. It offers a choice of three seat types between its various models, all of which have power adjustments on both front seats, with heating and available cooling. The SQ6 has only the most firmly padded sport seats. In back, the three-person bench has great sculpting and comfort, but the rear seatbacks don’t recline. They do fold forward to expand the stock 18.5 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats to 53.9 cubic feet behind the front seats, which goes in tandem with a 2.2-cubic-foot front trunk.
No crash-test scores are yet available, but every Q6 E-Tron has automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitors, adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams, and decent rearward vision despite thick roof pillars.
How does the Q6 E-Tron run infotainment?
The Q6 has a 14.5-inch touchscreen to accompany its 11.9-inch digital gauge cluster. A passenger touchscreen of 10.9 inches can also run some entertainment and navigation functions. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included, with Apple Music possible in the pipeline. The Q6 has a greatly expanded set of voice commands which it recognizes: “Change the interior lighting color,” for example, is among the more than 800 commands as Audi shifts away even further from haptic interfaces and toward voice and touch controls.
How much does the 2025 Audi Q6 E-Tron cost?
The Audi Q6 E-Tron lineup is expected to cost at least $70,000. That includes leather and synthetic leather upholstery, the digital gauge cluster, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a panoramic sunroof, and 19-inch wheels. The SQ6 E-Tron, likely with a sticker price approaching $90,000, offers up to 21-inch wheels, nappa leather trim, and Bang & Olufsen sound.
Neither model will be eligible for federal tax credits that apply to North American-made electric vehicles.
Where is the 2025 Audi Q6 E-Tron made?
In Ingolstadt, Germany. The first cars should arrive in the U.S. by the end of 2024 as 2025 models.
