What do you call the second-generation Porsche Macan with Audi badging and styling? Q6 e-tron is the answer. Unleashed with much pomp in September 2023 at the IAA in Munich, the luxurious crossover prepares to hit showrooms in the United Kingdom, priced from a cool £59,975.
That's a little over $75,000 as of April 2024, which is a helluva lot of money. The bad news? £59,975 is the starting price of an entry-level variant due in late 2024 with rear-wheel drive rather than a dual-motor setup, with said variant packing an 83-kWh battery as opposed to 100 kilowatt hours for other models.
The rear-drive Q6 e-tron will be joined by a long-range version with the larger high-voltage battery. In the meantime, British customers are presented with a choice between twin-motor Q6 SUV e-tron and thin-motor-by-default SQ6 SUV e-tron. As for the reason why the official nomenclature includes the self-explanatory SUV bit, consider that Audi has yet to reveal the Sportback body style of the Q6.
Going a little deeper down the rabbit hole, it's worth mentioning that Q6 is a different vehicle from Q6 e-tron. Considered a full-size crossover, Q6 is a China-exclusive model based on the front-biased platform of the Volkswagen Teramont X, which is best described as the Chinese Atlas Cross Sport.
The Q6 e-tron is underpinned by a brand-new platform developed by the Audi and Porsche brands, with said architecture boasting 800-volt battery tech and super-fast charging. In the Audi's case, that would be 270 kW for up to 158 miles (255 kilometers) of WLTP range in 10 minutes.
Photo: Audi
Over in the United Kingdom, the Q6 SUV e-tron is coming in Sport, S line, Edition 1, performance Sport, performance S line, and performance Edition 1 flavors, the latter being priced at £71,475 or $89,385. The Q6 SUV e-tron performance Sport is £63,475 or £3,500 more than the non-performance Sport. By performance, Audi refers to a more powerful electric drive unit. Initially offered with all-wheel drive, Q6 SUV e-tron develops up to 388 metric horsepower or 383 mechanical ones.
Torque ratings? Make that 275 Nm (203 pound-feet) for the front motor and 580 Nm (428 pound-feet) for the rear unit. Coincidentally, the SQ6 SUV e-tron quattro mirrors the Q6 SUV e-tron quattro in this regard. The only notable differences are power (490 ps/483 hp or 517 ps/510 hp with launch control) and the WLTP driving range (358 miles or 576 kilometers compared to 381 or 613).
A mid-size utility vehicle with assertive styling, a nice interior, and bundles of tech, Q6 e-tron also happens to be generously equipped from the outset. In the United Kingdom, the Q6 SUV e-tron Sport with rear-wheel drive comes with a heat pump, comfort suspension, 19- by 8.0 and 9.0-inch alloys mounted with 235/60 and 255/55 by 19-inch rubber, LED exterior lights, electrically folding and automatically dimming side mirrors with logo projection, an electronically opening liftgate, three-zone automatic climate control, as well as sport seats and heating for both rows of seats.
Customers who order the Sport, S line, and Edition 1 versions of the Q6 SUV e-tron quattro until June 30 will be further presented with the Sound & Vision package at no extra charge. Following June 30, it will add £3,195 to the tally for Bang & Olufsen audio with headrest speakers, ambient lighting with dynamic interaction light, increased charging capacity for the USB ports, and an augmented reality HUD.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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