As I write this, the A6 E-Tron Avant has been back with Audi for a month, and despite the fact its space on the drive was temporarily filled with another Audi EV, this time an SQ6 E-Tron -  it seems odd that I won’t see this A6 Avant’s sharp estate silhouette ever again. 

Ironically, Audi were originally going to supply a Q6 E-Tron, but that car never made it to my drive, and instead, after trying an A6 E-Tron Avant on a weeks loan, I asked if I could choose one of those instead. 

With prices starting at over £65,000, I felt I had to be rational with my spec choice. S Line trim was the obvious choice, as it’s the most popular trim, and has more standard kit, although manually adjustable front seats were a surprise. 

As far as the powertrain was concerned, Quattro twin-motors were unnecessary, so there were two other options. ‘Performance’ has the longest range, and as the name suggests, the best performance this side of the Quattro. The E-Tron drivetrain we chose hardly disgraces itself, with its seven-second 0-62mph acceleration, and supposedly up to 361 miles of range. 

Even the options were kept under control, with just the Technology Pack, and the Malpelo Blue metallic paint (£775) chosen. The Technology pack wasn’t cheap at £3,195, but did include niceties such as the head-up display, and the excellent 3D Bang & Olufsen premium sound system. Yet, it was far too easy to end up with an A6 E-Tron Avant costing over £75,000!

Delivered at the start of July last year, the A6 E-Tron was an EV for long trips, and with less than 100 miles showing, it was pushed into Devon holiday use. We used all of the 502-litre boot space, and the 311-mile range showing was more than enough to get us to our destination, with impressive 4.0 miles/kWh efficiency. This trip was dispensed in four hours, and the Audi dazzled with its comfort and refinement - the adaptive cruise control working particularly well.

End of October 2025, the start of a year of big birthdays, and the Audi took me, plus a friend to Snowdonia. There were no charging issues, best 4.4 miles/kWh efficiency, and it excelled again with its comfort and refinement. That wasn’t the end of the Audi’s long drives, as a New Year break with the family took the A6 again to Devon.  

I’d like to say that all the 6,300 miles were trouble-free, but they weren’t. There were all too regular warnings of some item of tech not working, or needing resetting. I ignored many of them, because usually they were telling fibs, and the car was fine by the second start - but this wasn’t always the case. The first, and only, breakdown took place on my drive, where after disconnecting the charging cable, the A6 still thought it was still attached - thus there was no drive!

Then, on the way to Devon for our New Year break, the A6 decided it didn’t like charging on public fast chargers. On both occasions, Audi Assist, which is run by the AA, was quick to respond, and got this car going eventually. Although, the last time, at New Year, it took a second visit by the local Audi Technician to reset the car, and resolve the problem.

So the A6 E-Tron Avant remains a high-quality, refined, and comfortable long-distance EV. We just wish there weren’t so many electrical faults, and that it was more involving to drive. 

Audi A6 E-Tron Avant S Line