Audi keeps on marching along the electrification avenue and rolls out the all-new Q6 and SQ6 e-tron crossovers as new member of the automaker's electric family. The range-topping zero-emisison SQ6 can brag about 510 horsepower when launch control is involved. The Q6 e-tron is the first Audi model to use the auto group's PPE 800-volt platform.
After all the spy shots, teasers, and renderings that previewed the model, the 2025 Audi Q6 e-tron is finally here. "Overtake your expectations," Audi warned us all a couple of weeks ago. Now, Audi's CEO, Gernot Dollner, tag it as a "technological leap." Let's dig in. The Q6 e-tron is one more step for Audi to offer electric vehicles in all core segments by 2027.
Like any other electric Audi, the new Q6 e-tron comes with an enclosed grille, which is flanked by slim headlights with the world's first active digital light signature, which enables the car to communicate with other road users. A communication light warns drivers and pedestrians of an accident or other road incidents.
The Q6 sports muscular proportions and flowing lines, following a refined design language. The sloping roof, the long wheelbase, and short overhangs highlight its sporty DNA. The model is 187.8 inches (4,771 millimeters) long, 78.5 inches (1,993 millimeters) wide, and 64.9 inches (1,648 millimeters) tall, sporting a wheelbase of 114.1 inches (2,899 millimeters). The figures make it longer and more spacious than the Q4 e-tron.
The trunk offers a storage capacity of 526 liters (18.5 cubic feet) or 1,529 liters (53.9 cubic feet) with the seats folded down. Under the front hood, the frunk adds 64 liters (2.2 cu ft) of storage space.
The car rides on standard 18-inch wheels, while the S version comes with the larger 19-inch units. The range-topping SQ6 gets the 20-inch wheels and black brake calipers. Future owners can customize their cars by checking several design options. For instance, the black pro styling package brings black details, badging, and window trim.
Photo: Audi
A slim, panoramic, free-standing, MMI display showed up on board with a curved design and OLED technology. It integrates the 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster and the 14.5-inch touchscreen, which is based on Android Automotive and controls most of the functions of the car.
A head-up display with augmented reality and a 10.9-inch front passenger screen, allowing the one sitting in front to watch movies without distracting the driver, are optional. Customers can also get the 22-speaker Bang & Olufsen premium audio system.
The carmaker's self-learning voice assistant, the Audi Assistant, can be used to control numerous vehicle functions or find out information as now, it understands more than 800 voice commands.
The Q6 e-tron is underpinned by the Premium Platform Electric (PPE), developed jointly with Porsche and shared with the Macan Electric so far. It is equipped with a lithium-ion battery pack, which integrates 12 modules and 180 prismatic cells and sports a capacity of 100 kWh (94.9 kWh net).
The battery pack stores enough energy to enable the car to drive as far as 388 miles (625 kilometers), according to the WLTP standard, before it needs to be plugged in again. The stricter EPA cycle will most likely cut a few miles from this range.
The car features a maximum charging capacity of 270 kW as standard, which adds 158 miles (255 kilometers) of range in only 10 minutes. Thanks to the capabilities of the 800-volt architecture, the battery can recharge from 10 to 80 percent in approximately 21 minutes.
Photo: Audi
Two electric motors set the Q6 e-tron in motion for customers in America, generating 422 horsepower or 456 horsepower with launch control. The same launch control makes it run from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 kph) in 5 seconds flat on its way to a top speed of 130 mph (210 kph).
But the SQ6 e-tron goes all the way to 510 horsepower with launch control or 483 horsepower without it, which translates to a quicker time from 0 to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds. The needle of the speedometer hits 143 mph (230 kph).
Audi will roll out several other variants, with two rear-wheel drive examples being part of the plan. One of them will be equipped with the smaller battery pack, with a capacity of 83 kWh, and will be ready to play the part of the entry-level Q6 e-tron.
But before that happens, the all-new Audi Q6 e-tron will go into production this summer at the carmaker's plant in Ingolstadt, Germany. The model will hit the market in the third quarter of 2024 as a 2025 model year. It starts at 74,7000 euros in Germany, which translates to $81,445 at the current exchange rates. The SQ6 e-tron is a 93,800-euro ($101,998) affair.
Customers in Germany will be able to place their orders starting this month. We have yet to find out the pricing on the American market.
Google News