We know that electric cars have not yet managed to achieve the desired commercial performance at the Volkswagen group. The German giant, on the other hand, takes advantage of its large portfolio of brands to pool the technological developments of its platforms dedicated to electricity.
Thus, the PPE platform of the all-new electric Porsche Macan was co-developed with Audi. This allows the Ingolstadt manufacturer to present only a few weeks later its Q6 e-tron, the counterpart of Audi’s electric Macan, like the e-tron GT for the Porsche Taycan.
The Q6 e-tron slots into the range between the Q4 e-tron and Q8 e-tron (formerly e-tron “for short”), with a length of 4.77 m, comparable to that of the Tesla Model Y, the BMW iX3, or the late Mercedes EQC.
Aesthetically, the connection between the Q6 e-tron and the Macan is not felt. The Porsche model is now a “coupe SUV”, which is not the case for the Q6 e-tron, for the moment at least, since a Sportback version is in the works.
We cannot say that Audi’s aesthetic codes have been subjugated, but they are evolving smoothly, particularly in profile with a fairly elaborate lower part.
But where Audi really innovates is in the lighting technology of its Q6 e-tron. Via the matrix headlights at the front and Oled panels in the rear light strip, the Q6 e-tron goes further in the possible animations, and allows symbols to be displayed to communicate with other road users, in the event of accident or breakdown for example.
Android comes aboard the Q6 e-tron
The interior is again very different from that of the Macan. It is also compared to other Audi models, with a new double Oled screen. The virtual cockpit panel measures 11.9″ diagonal and that of the MMI infotainment system 14.5″. As on board the Macan, the interface is based on Android Automotive OS and allows you to download certain applications compatible with Google’s car operating system, including YouTube.
Speaking of entertainment, the passenger can benefit from a 10.9″ screen, in order to watch a film for example, by activating Active Privacy Mode, which acts as a privacy filter.
The trunk reaches 526 l of loading volume, supplemented by 64 l available under the front hood, to store charging cables for example.
Like the Taycan and e-tron GT duo, the different versions of the electric Porsche Macan do not find an exact equivalent in the Audi Q6 e-tron range. And for good reason, the quattro versions of the Q6 e-tron are equipped with an asynchronous motor at the front, while all the Macan’s motors are synchronous.
The Audi Q6 e-tron range is launched with the 285 kW (387 hp) e-tron quattro and 380 kW (517 hp) SQ6 e-tron versions. They are all equipped with a useful 95 kWh battery (100 kWh total capacity), as for the Macan, with a range of up to 625 km for Audi (613 km for Porsche with the Macan 4). Thanks to the 800 V architecture of the PPE platform, charging goes up to 270 kW of direct current power, allowing you to go from 10 to 80% charge in just around 21 minutes.
A smaller capacity battery and more accessible versions will be launched later. For the moment, the range starts at €83,450 in France with the Q6 e-tron quattro and you need to count on €99,870 to afford the performance of the SQ6 e-tron. Deliveries should begin this summer.
For comparison, the electric Macan starts at €86,439 in the 300 kW (408 hp) Macan 4 version and goes up to €118,910 in the 470 kW (639 hp) Turbo version.