Audi Q6 e-tron - Electric motors, performance & drive

The Audi Q6 e-tron is stable and the brakes are superb, but its ride and handling don’t quite deliver. It’s safe and predictable rather than being fun.

No variant of the Q6 e-tron feels sluggish in a straight line, but if you’re after some dynamic flair, you’ll be met with a muted response. It feels like an Audi – in that it’s overwhelmingly safe and secure, but lacking in sparkle. You can feel the car’s mass in the corners, and while turn-in is accurate and grip is good, there’s little engagement to be found from this big SUV.

The Q6 e-tron is the first Audi EV to feature true one-pedal driving, and it works well. There are various strengths for the regenerative braking (controlled via steering wheel paddles), with the most aggressive setting able to bring the car to a complete stop. It’ll provide up to 220kW of recuperation, and Audi claims it can cover “90 per cent of braking scenarios”. Of course, you can switch it off and coast if you’d prefer.

What is the Audi Q6 e-tron like to drive?

In town

With one exception, the braking system on the Audi Q6 e-tron is fantastic. That flaw comes at low speeds and is the hill-hold system, which engages when you use gentle pressure on the pedal and comes on a little too readily when reversing, meaning precise parking manoeuvres – especially uphill, can be a tad jerky.

That aside, the key to the Q6’s brakes is its ability to recover a huge amount of energy – up to 220kW – through regenerative braking. This means that the physical discs and pads are used only rarely under heavy braking applications. The pedal’s weight is excellent, feeling strong and reassuring even under heavy use. 

Brake regen can be adjusted through four modes (three via steering wheel paddles and a fourth via a ‘B’ mode on the drive selector) plus an adaptive setting, which we soon turned off because, like all too many systems of its type, we found it hard to predict. In the strongest regen mode, one-pedal driving is possible, and with it engaged, the Q6 pulls to a very smooth stop. 

On A- and B-roads

At higher speeds, the Q6 e-tron impresses in some ways, but in others we hoped for more. The air suspension, controlled by a new multi-link design at the front, works well on larger-frequency bumps, soothing passengers as it glides along the road. However, on uneven cambers or the subsided verges of a British back road, the Q6 becomes flustered. 

Find a poor surface, and it can feel like each wheel is squabbling with its opposite number about where the body should be, rather than working independently to iron out the bumps. This causes a side-to-side wobble over uneven roads. With the damping tightened up in Sport mode, it becomes more controlled, but makes the ride feel unsettled, so there’s a compromise either way. 

Even in this driver-focused mode, the Q6 feels heavy through corners. This is probably a good thing, because it will remind drivers that there’s a lot of weight at play here. On the other hand, many rivals do a better job of both controlling and disguising their mass.

On the motorway

The ride is at its best on a motorway, where sudden bumps are all but non-existent. Stability is solid, and the motor feels like it has plenty to give, making performance seem effortless even at 70mph. Road noise is greater than we’d have hoped for, though – a BMW iX is quieter at speed.

0-62mph acceleration and top speed

If you need to get a move on, every variant of the Q6 e-tron offers a decent amount of shove, regardless of its 2.3-tonne kerb weight. 

Audi has dumped the confusing numbering structure it previously used to differentiate powertrains in its model ranges, with the Q6 e-tron the first all-new model to take a different approach. To the buyer, though, the new system still takes a little explanation. 

The range starts with the Q6 e-tron, which gets a single 288bhp rear-mounted motor (like all of the Q6’s motors, developed in-house and with a greater power density than other Audi EVs). It’s good for a launch control-assisted 7.0-second 0-62mph time and is also offered on Sport and S line trims. 

Above that sits the Performance, which ups the ante to 322bhp and chops the 0-62mph time to 6.7 seconds. Next is the quattro, with a dual-motor set-up for a total output of 383bhp, dropping the 0-62mph time to 5.9 seconds. 

The SQ6 is the top of the range, and gets a strong 0-62mph time of 4.3 seconds thanks to its 510bhp output with launch control. The powertrain responds well, but in Normal mode it can feel lethargic when moving off, so those used to the pep of other EV rivals might prefer the more lively response of the Sport mode.

There’s an energy-sapping top speed of 130mph for the Q6 e-tron models, while the SQ6 e-tron raises this to 143mph.