2025 Audi A6 e-tron Road Test and Review

2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

In 2019, the Audi A6 e-tron would have matched the specs of America’s top electric luxury sedan. It goes nearly 400 miles on a charge. It needs only around 4 seconds to reach 60 mph. A big touchscreen dominates the dashboard, and a liftback body style is stylishly sleek, versatile, and aerodynamic. In 2019, only the Tesla Model S could do all that.

Now, Tesla hasn’t stayed still. Six years later, the Model S is even faster and goes even farther on a charge. But it has also become more expensive – nearly $100,000 for the cheapest model, compared with around $80,000 for the 2019 Model S Long Range. 

The all-new 2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron may not be breaking new ground on the spec sheet. But even today, these specs stand out from most rivals. And it starts at just $65,900. So this mid-size Audi delivers the speed, efficiency, and quietness of an electric car at prices in line with a gas-powered luxury sedan. 

For this review, we just spent a week testing the excellent new A6 e-tron. Keep reading to learn more about its pros and cons to see if it’s the right luxury EV for you. 

Restrained Design

The electric A6 looks pretty similar to the gas-powered A6 sedan, itself newly redesigned for the 2026 model year. It’s a conservative, restrained design that looks like plenty of other Audis from the past 15 years. You won’t find sharp corners, crisp creases, or angry-looking bulging bumpers. It’s still a long, low luxury car, so the A6 e-tron doesn’t quite fly under the radar. But nor does it scream “look at me!” or “I’m different!” 

The only design cue we consider polarizing is a large amount of black trim on the front. It’s under the headlights and the textured plastic panel where a grille would be (EVs don’t need airflow to cool an engine). The black doesn’t stand out with our test vehicle’s dark paint, but the black pops on a white A6 e-tron. 

Now, we mentioned that the A6 e-tron looks like a gas A6. But unlike a BMW i5 versus a gas-powered BMW 5 Series, they don’t have the same bodies. That’s where the “Sportback” part of the e-tron’s name comes in. The gas A6 is sold only as a traditional four-door sedan, while every e-tron is a liftback. Its rear windshield glass rises with the trunk. This also pushes the cabin backward toward the rear end. However, the A6 e-tron keeps a more traditionally long, low front end – unlike the stubby nose of the Mercedes-Benz EQE. 

2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Up to 392 Miles on a Charge

In EPA testing, the A6 e-tron goes farther on a charge than its fellow German luxury sedans. That comes to as much as 392 miles with rear-wheel drive and 19-inch wheels. Bigger wheels and Quattro all-wheel drive – achieved by an extra electric motor powering the front wheels – both bring down that range. But even with both bigger 20-inch wheels and AWD, our test vehicle goes an estimated 333 miles per charge. And we were on track to match that during our week with the car. You can also get a higher-performance variant called the S6 e-tron, which goes 324 miles per charge (with AWD and 20-inch wheels standard). 

Part of this long range comes from the Audi’s big 94.4 kWh battery pack. But it’s also more efficient than its German rivals. In EPA testing, it gets the energy equivalent of 105 mpg to 126 mpg, depending on the powertrain and wheels (our test vehicle stands at 106 MPGe, and we averaged 116 MPGe during our test). However, the Model S and the Lucid Air are even more efficient and go even farther on a charge. 

The A6 e-tron recharges quickly. On a powerful DC fast charger, it can go from 10 percent to 80 percent charge in just 21 minutes. It won’t slow you down too much on a road trip. The A6 e-tron uses a CCS-style charging port, or you can charge at Tesla Supercharger stations via a NACS adapter. And when you use a slower 240-volt or 120-volt charger, you can plug in on either side of the car. One annoyance: the charging-port doors open and close via slow-moving motors. 

2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Effortless Speed

As with other EVs, the A6 e-tron is typically very inexpensive to run when you can charge up at home – but no cheaper than gas if you rely on public stations. On the other hand, it’s also more powerful than similarly priced gas-powered luxury sedans. 

The rear-wheel-drive A6 e-tron makes 375 horsepower and can zip to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds. That’s not as wild as many EVs, but it’s effortlessly quick and nearly silent. Plus, it costs just $2,000 (and a bit of range) to add AWD – meaning 456 hp and a 4.3-second sprint to 60 mph. And the S6 e-tron generates 543 hp and goes to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds. That’s not as insane as a top Model S or Lucid these days, but it’s enough to take your breath away. 

The A6 e-tron has a well-sorted suspension. It’s firm and composed, steady and comfortable, as you whisk down the highway. And it’s not uncomfortably stiff over bumps. The steering felt unnaturally quick to us, but the car can easily handle rapid changes of direction. This is a fast car that’s happy either on a twisty road or in a straight line. But it’s less of a raw performance car than Audi’s more expensive e-tron GT. 

2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Digital Stage

A decade ago, Audi debuted the Virtual Cockpit – the industry’s most advanced reconfigurable digital gauge cluster. As other automakers hurried to follow suit, Audi has spread its digital footprint across the entire dashboard. Now, this experience goes by the name Digital Stage. 

In the A6 e-tron, a big 14.5-inch touchscreen shares a curved panel with an 11.9-inch digital gauge cluster. Both are customizable and crisply rendered, and they’re bent to envelop the driver in screens. And when our passenger complained about being excluded, we activated our test car’s optional passenger-side display – a 10.9-inch touchscreen that provides navigation views, audio controls, and more. In the picture below, this looks like potential digital overload, but we didn’t find the passenger-side screen overly visible from the driver’s seat. And a “privacy mode” shields this screen from the driver while the passenger streams a video. Another nifty touch is a colored strip at the base of the windshield, which can indicate everything from charge level to the blink of a turn signal. 

A few controls could be easier to use, especially because Audi relies primarily on the touchscreen and a touch-sensitive door panel. On the other hand, we’re relieved to find access to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration – something missing from some EVs. 

The interior has rich leather trim, and everything fits together well. Compared with an EV startup, Audi obviously has a lot of experience screwing luxury cars together. On the other hand, the interior’s design doesn’t have a major “wow” factor. Everyone can do big screens. Some materials, like shiny black plastic, are also less than incredible. Audi has said it will take next-generation interiors in a new design direction, and we look forward to seeing that. In the meantime, the A6 e-tron’s cabin isn’t a liability, but it’s not a reason to choose this EV over a competitor. 

2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Comfortable Seating

Audi has sold the e-tron GT luxury performance sedan since 2022. But while the A6 e-tron is half the price of the e-tron GT, it has a roomier interior. 

The A6 e-tron’s front seats are spacious and comfortable, and they’re widely adjustable. You can choose between standard seats or more aggressively bolstered “sport seats.” Heated front seats are standard, while ventilated front seats and a heated steering wheel are available as extra-cost upgrades. You can also get massaging seats if you spring for the more powerful S6 e-tron. Whichever seats you get, you sit low to the ground. This is a sports sedan, after all. Audi will happily sell you an electric SUV like the Q6 e-tron if you’d like to sit higher. 

A sloping roof cuts into rear visibility and rear headroom. But we fit comfortably in the sedan’s backseat. Above your head, the ceiling has an electronically dimming panoramic sunroof – standard on all A6 e-trons.

2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Hidden Versatility

Another A6 e-tron advantage is its liftback body style. At a glance, this Audi can pass for a sedan – like the Mercedes-Benz EQE, BMW i5, and Lucid Air. But unlike these rivals, the Sportback has hatchback versatility. That means a bigger trunk and a wide-open cargo hold with the rear seat folded down, like a Tesla Model S. 

The Sportback doesn’t have a tall enough roof to fit some bulky cargo. Once again, that might be a job for the Q6 e-tron SUV. But it has a large cargo floor to spread out your stuff. And by the numbers, it fits 26 cubic feet for cargo behind its front seats and 40 cubic feet with the rear seat folded. There’s also a little 1-cubic-foot front trunk (“frunk”) under the hood – enough space to stash a purse out of sight, but only a tenth the volume of a Lucid’s frunk. 

2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Priced Below Its Rivals

With a starting price of $65,900, the A6 e-tron is priced below similarly sized rivals – sometimes by a huge margin, like its $30,000 advantage over the Tesla Model S. It costs $2,000 to add all-wheel drive and more power to any of the three trim levels (Premium, Premium Plus, and Prestige), and the more powerful S6 e-tron is about $10,000 more than that – though with a few other standard features, including a more advanced suspension and those massaging seats we mentioned earlier. 

Despite its relatively low starting price, plenty of nice amenities come standard, and Audi keeps its three trim levels clustered pretty close in price. Most luxury cars can easily balloon their base prices with costly options. Instead, even the top A6 e-tron Prestige Quattro AWD starts at $74,200. And there isn’t a long list of extra options. Our Prestige Quattro test car came to $77,240 with $595 worth of extra-cost paint, $1,150 for ventilated sport seats, and a mandatory $1,295 destination charge. That’s less than even the base sticker price of a Mercedes-Benz EQE. The S6 e-tron is more expensive, as we mentioned, but it also avoids swelling its prices with long lists of options. And it’s still aggressively priced for a high-powered luxury sedan: $78,700 to $84,600 depending on the trim level. 

Do note that most electric cars (Tesla being a notable exception) are widely available with discounts off the sticker price. If you love an EV that appears out of your budget, we recommend getting quotes from dealers.  

2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Meet the Competition

As we’ve mentioned throughout this review, the A6 e-tron’s key competitors are the BMW i5, Mercedes-Benz EQE, Lucid Air, and Tesla Model S. 

The i5 isn’t as fast as the Audi, doesn’t go as far on a charge, and doesn’t have as much space inside – especially for cargo. We slightly preferred the BMW’s seats, interior, and control layout. And some people will welcome its flashier wheels and front and rear ends. 

The EQE is even more expensive. It’s smooth, quiet, and opulently finished, and it’s a futuristic transportation pod next to the more conventional A6 and i5. But it doesn’t offer the range or performance to justify a much higher price. And like the i5, it’s missing the A6 e-tron’s liftback flexibility. Mercedes has suspended production of the EQE for the U.S. market, but you can still find cars in dealers’ inventories as we write in fall 2025 – perhaps at tempting discounts. 

The Lucid Air is a more formidable competitor. It makes the most headlines for its top six-figure trim levels, which have world-beating power and ranges. But the base Pure model is already appealing at $69,900 – with a 4.5-second 0-60 sprint and 420 miles of range per charge. Or the Touring can go from 0 to 60 in 3.4 seconds with 406 miles of range for $78,900. To us, the Lucid also has a lot more design presence than a similarly priced A6 e-tron – at least for folks who’d rather stand out than blend in. Lucid owners report that the company has ironed out many bugs since the Air debuted in 2022, but some people would still prefer the certainty of an established automaker to a relatively young startup. 

Next, as we’ve mentioned, the Tesla Model S has become much more expensive than the A6 e-tron. Tesla helps justify that price with a higher range and greater speed, but the Audi otherwise drives better. However, a used Model S could be a tempting alternative. 

Finally, an unlikely new luxury EV has hit the market – a four-door version of the brash, powerful, and spacious Dodge Charger Daytona. It lacks the digital sophistication of the other cars at this price point, and it doesn’t go far on a charge. But it packs tons of speed and the synthetic sound of a classic muscle car, along with remarkably adept handling. 

2024 BMW i5 eDrive40 ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Quiet Electric Competence

The 2025 Audi A6 e-tron doesn’t jump out and dazzle anyone who’s used to a modern electric luxury car. But it quietly goes about its business – while tempting EV converts with its speed, efficiency, and otherwise normal-ness. 

We don’t love everything about its interior. The exterior style is also too subtle for some tastes. And EV-focused carmakers offer even better specs. But overall, Audi beats fellow “legacy” carmakers on the spec sheet while keeping things more familiar than a Lucid or Tesla. 

2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt