Audi Q6 e-tron compared with the competition

Rivals include models from Tesla, Porsche, BMW, Hyundai and Xpeng

Audi Q6 e-tron (collage with competitors Tesla, Porsche, BMW, Hyundai and Xpeng)

By: Stefan Leichsenring

Published by: Brian Potter

Jun 18, 2024 at 5:42am ET

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Until now, Audi has only been able to offer customers electric SUVs in the compact class (Q4 e-tron) and luxury class (Q8 e-tron). With the Q6 e-tron, the brand is now also occupying the important mid-size class. The car is already available to order in three engine versions, with the market launch scheduled for this summer. We will be testing the car at the end of this week. In order to better categorise the car, we are comparing it with the competition in advance.

240 kW rear-wheel drive in comparison

Midsize SUVs are the most crowded electric segment. Nevertheless, it is not so easy to find suitable comparison candidates for the Audi Q6 e-tron because the direct equivalents from BMW and Mercedes are sometimes lacking.

Let's start with the interim base model, the 326 PS Q6 e-tron Performance (model not offered in UK) with rear-wheel drive. It competes against the BMW iX3 with 286 PS rear-wheel drive, which is already quite dated. Mercedes, on the other hand, currently has no competitor model at all following the cancellation of the EQC.

Let's include another 800-volt model in our comparison: the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is competitive with the 325 PS top version, even if it has all-wheel drive. The third rival is the popular Tesla Model Y - in the new long-range version with 347 PS rear-wheel drive. Here are the most important data, significantly better values are in bold:

Audi Q6 e-tron Performance BMW iX3 Hyundai Ioniq 5 4WD 77 kWh Tesla Model Y RWD Long Range Drive system RWD 326 PS RWD 286 PS AWD 325 PS RWD 347 PS 0-100 km/h 6.6 sec. 6.8 sec. 5.1 sec. 5.9 sec. Top speed 130 mph 112 mph 115 mph 135 mph WLTP consumption 16.5-19.1 kWh 18.0 kWh 18.8 kWh 15.5 kWh WLTP range 345-398 miles 286-293 miles 282-299 miles 351-373 miles DC charging time 22 min 31 min 18 min n.a. DC charging speed 3.0 kWh/min 1.7 kWh/min 3.0 kWh/min n/a Price €68,800 (NA UK) €67,300 (£65,160) €58,800 (£48,450) €48,990 (£44,990)

You can see that the BMW is not really competitive - it is hardly up to date, especially in terms of range and charging speed. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 beats the Audi Q6 e-tron in the sprint, is similarly quick when it comes to fast charging, but lags behind in terms of range. However, it is also exactly €10,000 (£8,500) cheaper than the Audi. The Tesla is another €10,000 cheaper. It outperforms the Q6 e-tron in terms of sprint and power consumption, and its range is comparable.

285 kW all-wheel drive in comparison

Let's take another look at the Audi Q6 e-tron quattro. With 387 PS and a price of around €75,000, it still belongs to the middle-class versions, while the SQ6 e-tron for €94,000 (£92,950) is probably more of a niche model. The BMW is no longer a rival due to its significantly lower performance, as is the Hyundai. With Tesla, the cheaper of the two all-wheel-drive models is the obvious choice. Let's add the Xpeng G6 in the top version and the sister model Porsche Macan in the 387 PS Macan 4 version as exotics.

Audi Q6 e-tron quattro Porsche Macan 4 Electric Xpeng G6 AWD Long Range Tesla Model Y AWD Long Range Powertrain AWD 387 PS AWD 387 PS AWD 476 PS AWD 215+299 PS 0-100 km/h 5.9 sec. 5.2 sec. 4.1 sec. 5.0 sec. Top speed 130 mph 137 mph 124 mph 135 mph WLTP consumption 17.0-19.6 kWh 17.9-21.1 kWh 17.9 kWh 16.9 kWh WLTP range 336-388 miles 321-381 miles 342 miles 331-351 miles DC charging time 21 min 21 min 20 min n.a. DC charging speed approx. 3.2 kWh/min 3.2 kWh/min 3.1 kWh/min n/a Price €74,700 (£68,145) €84,100 (£69,800) €51,600 (£44,000) €54,990 (£52,990)

The comparison between the Audi Q6 e-tron and the Porsche Macan 4 shows what was to be expected: Porsche emphasises sportiness and offers the faster sprint, while Audi focuses more on economy and thus achieves better values for fuel consumption and range. The fact that Audi uses an asynchronous motor at the front, which can be de-energised when not in use, should help in this respect. Porsche, on the other hand, relies on a permanent magnet motor that must always be energised to avoid braking.

As an 800-volt model, the mid-range SUV from the Chinese brand Xpeng is just as fast at the DC column as the Audi. Thanks to its significantly higher performance, the G6 leaves both German cars well behind in the sprint. Above all, however, the Chinese model costs over €20,000 less than the Audi. The only drawback is probably that Xpeng, as a start-up company, has not yet built up a reputation and trust in Europe.

The Tesla is also around €20,000 cheaper than the Audi, the US model is also faster when sprinting, while we cannot compare the charging characteristics due to a lack of official data.

More about the Audi Q6 e-tron:

Audi Q6 e-tron Sportback, the electric SUV coupé envisioned

All-new Audi Q6 e-tron hits UK market starting at £68,975

The bottom line

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Our small data comparison with the Audi Q6 e-tron, in which we have left out the equipment, shows that the basic version of the new mid-size SUV has nothing to hide from the competition. Only in terms of price is the Audi quite out of the ordinary.

This also applies to the Q6 e-tron quattro. Compared to the equally powerful Porsche Macan 4 Electric, the Audi is more economical, but not as sporty. The Xpeng and Tesla models are €20,000 cheaper - despite comparable and in some cases significantly better specs.