Audi A6 e-tron Sportback

It's interesting what the EV revolution can get brands to do.

For decades, Audi's chosen not to follow its BMW and Mercedes rivals in the full-executive segment by delivering a car with rear-wheel drive; previous A6 models have always been front and four-wheel-driven.

But this one is fundamentally designed to drive from the rear; and prioritises drive from the rear even when, in top models, an extra motor's added on the front axle to create a quattro 4WD system.

It's quite a turnaround in engineering policy. Across the Sportback and Avant body styles, four different powertrains are being offered, with two single motor options and a couple of quattro dual motor set-ups.

At the foot of the line-up, the standard rear-driven A6 e-tron offers a rear axle-mounted 326PS electric motor with 423Nm of torque.

Energy comes from an 83kWh battery pack, 75.8kWh of it usable, providing for a WLTP-rated range of up to 384 miles in the Sportback - or 363 miles in the Avant.

If you're attracted by an A6 e-tron though, you're probably going to want to upgrade yourself to the slightly more potent mid-level 'performance' model we tried, which gains a larger 100kWh battery (94.9kWh of it usable).

Even though that energises a powerful rear motor (output's up to 380PS, with 565Nm of torque), that bigger battery enhances driving range an awful lot, this A6 e-tron performance model able to travel up to an impressive (and class-leading) 464 miles between charges in Sportback form (or 438 miles as an Avant).

Earlier, we mentioned the dual motor quattro drivetrains which, as you'd expect, also use the larger 100kWh battery.

In this case, it energises not only a permanent magnet motor at the back but also an added asynchronous motor at the front.

And in the case of the A6 e-tron quattro, that means 462PS and 580Nm of total output, enabling the car to surge from 0-62mph in a mere 4.7s (or 4.5s with launch control).

Yet that model can still cover up to a very useful 438 miles between charges.

If that's not fast enough, the top S6 e-tron offers all the acceleration you could reasonably want, tweaking that quattro system's output further to boost output up to 503PS - or as much as 551PS if you engage Launch mode, which provides for a 0-62mph time of 4.1s (or 3.9s with launch control) en route to 149mph.

Best possible driving range for the S6 is still a very respectable 407 miles for the Sportback - or 391 miles for the Avant. The quoted range results do of course assume selection of the most frugal of the available 'drive select' drive modes - 'efficiency' (the others are 'comfort', 'dynamic' and individual).

And those mileage stats also assume driver familiarity with the advanced two-stage energy recuperation system, operated via paddles mounted on the steering wheel. Apart from range, the other development focus points here have been ride and refinement.

And drive dynamics? Well any heavy large EV is compromised to some extent with these, but this one's been carefully tuned to dial out body roll and maximise grip from its Michelin Pilot Sport EV tyres.

As usual in a big Audi - well, almost any Audi actually - the steering could do with a bit more feel, but it's precise and accurate.

The A6 e-tron clearly ushers in a new era of Audi design.

Ingolstadt claims it 'establishes a new milestone in aerodynamics' for the brand, harking back to last-century models from the marque like the Auto Union Type C, the NSU Ro80, the Audi A2 and, most notably, one of this e-tron model's predecessors, the MK3 Audi 100, which was the sleekest car of its time.

The A6 e-tron isn't quite that, but its 0.21Cd figure puts it close to the industry-leading Mercedes EQS and Tesla Model S. Visually, the cues are shared more with this car's Q6 sibling than with any previous A6 and the saloon body shape that characterised that model line since the Seventies is absent, replaced by a Sportback five-door hatch with a rear roof line that drops away sooner than that of the alternative Avant estate.

Slim daytime running lights flank an inverted body-coloured grille and sit above LED headlights hidden within an intricate grille that emphasises the wide stance. Big wheels (20 to 21-inches) are pushed right to each corner, plus there are flush door handles and optional digital door mirrors.

Large e-tron-branded lower door panels complete the effect.

The rear has a full-width three-dimensional light bar with an illuminated four-ring Audi logo.

Which is where you'll best appreciate the OLED lighting on top models which can shimmer like a rare jewel by the system gently igniting and extinguishing the unit's OLED crystals. Inside up-front, there's the expected screen fest, a curved fascia panel joining the two main monitors; an 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster and a 14.5-inch central touchscreen, to the left of which a further optional 10.9-inch display can be added for the benefit of the front passenger.

There'll be a further little screen at each corner of the dash if the digital door mirrors have been specified.

As with the A5, there's what Audi calls a 'softwrap' fabric panel flowing uninterrupted across the entire width of the dash that's supposed to give 'an enveloping feeling of space'.

As you'd expect, the overall effect is very high end indeed. Helped by the lengthy wheelbase of the PPE platform, the rear is very spacious and the back seats are staggered like theatre chairs so those at the rear sit a little higher than those at the front.

Headroom is better in the Avant version thanks to that variant's extra 40mm of rear roof height.

Boot space is unexceptional - and it's disappointing that the Avant offers the same relatively modest 502-litre capacity as the Sportback (up to parcel shelf level).

That bespoke platform also frees up further 27-litre under-bonnet 'frunk' space for the charging leads.

Prices start from around £62,000 for the smaller battery 83kWh version.

For the 100kWh 'performance' rear-driven A6 e-tron model most will want, you'll need to budget from around £70,000 - with a premium of around £1,800 if you want the Avant body style.

There will be the usual 'Sport', 'S line' and 'Edition 1' trim levels.

Expect to need from around £98,500 for the top S6. All variants are generously equipped - and cutting cutting-edge media tech via the fitted Android Automotive OS-based infotainment system.

The can be embellished with a range of apps from the built-in online store.

These include Music, Video, Gaming, Navigation, Parking and Charging, Productivity, Weather, and News Services. You will want to keep some budget back for some essential extras.

Maybe the augmented reality head-up display that projects navigation instructions, road sign information and speed onto the windscreen ahead of the driver.

Or the electrochromic sunroof that can be switched from transparent to opaque at the flick of a switch.

Maybe also the 20-speaker 830-watt Bang & Olufsen premium 3D sound system with its headrest speakers and highly efficient amplifier.

Also tempting is the OLED light tech, which provides a range of customisable lighting signatures, including a setting that'll warn drivers behind to back off if they're following you too closely. As you'd expect, there's plenty of driver assistance technology too.

All models get a reversing camera, a traffic sign-based intelligent speed limiter, adaptive cruise control and a driver attention monitor.

And there's the usual semi-autonomous driving system that combines all of these functions to take control of the car on the highway under driver supervision.

Audi reckons its electric motors are among the most efficient in the industry.

In this car, the brand uses asynchronous motors in the front axle and permanent synchronous motors on the rear, these units featuring dry sump oil cooling for better efficiency and management of heat.

The company reckons these motors offer 62% more power density and 33% greater performance than the earlier generation units fitted to the Q8 e-tron.

This A6 e-tron's standard inclusion of a heat pump will preserve driving range in very cold conditions.

Audi says in this case it adds around 19 miles of extra range in really cold temperatures. On to charging, for which, helpfully, the car provides ports on both sides, though only one port can accept the fastest DC charging rate.

The main news here (as we told you elsewhere in this review) is the switch to an 800V architecture with the sophisticated PPE platform.

This means that your A6 e-tron can be charged at up to 270kW if you can find the right ultra rapid charger.

At a fast enough charger, a 10-80% charge can be completed in just 21 minutes; apparently, 197 miles of range can be added in as little as 10 minutes.

The sophisticated electric infrastructure also means this A6 can benefit from so-called 'bank charging': that means that at feebler public chargers (of up to 135kW) that can't handle the PPE platform's 800V power, this Audi will split the battery in two and run each half at 400V, optimising battery replenishment speed and efficiency, so charging will still be super-quick. As for AC charging at home, well for a full charge using a 7.4kW wallbox, the base 83kWh model's battery needs 12 hours - or 8 hours 15 minutes from an 11kW 3-phase supply.

Using a 7.4kW wallbox, this performance model's 100kWh battery needs around 15 hours for a full charge - or 10 hours 15 minutes from an 11kW 3-phase supply.

Lots of development went into this A6 e-tron - and you can imagine why.

When this car was being engineered, Audi was telling the world at large that it wouldn't be launching any more combustion-powered cars at all after 2026, putting enormous pressure for success upon its fledgling e-tron model line.

Thankfully, common sense at Ingolstadt has since prevailed and fresh combustion Audi alternatives in this car's segment will remain for quite a time yet.

So would an open-minded executive customer choose this A6 e-tron in preference to them? Quite possibly.

The cost increment to go from a petrol or diesel A6 into one of these isn't too great.

And in this bigger-battery form, driving range is almost at the point where a combustion customer wouldn't have to make too many usability compromises for ownership.

In its class, this e-tron model compares very well to its EV segment rivals, who struggle to match this Audi's beautifully-built cabin and lack this car's ultra-fast 800V charging system.

Overall then, a pretty impressive CV? You might well think so.