5 things I loved about the new Audi S6 e-tron – plus one thing I hate

This is the new Audi S6 Avant e-tron – an all-electric estate car with over 500hp and 387 miles of range. It’s great to drive, spacious inside and loaded with tech, but it’s also pretty expensive.

There were a few features which stood out to me during my time with the S6, both good and bad. Here are five cool things about the Audi S6 Avant e-tron.

1. Adaptive cruise control as standard

It may seem mental to be shouting about standard-fit adaptive cruise control in a £100,000 electric car – Toyota gives that to you as standard in the Aygo X after all, but Audi doesn’t usually give anything away for free.

You have to pay £2,000 for adaptive cruise control on the £140,000 RS Q8, so it’s good to see Audi has finally realised that luxury features like this should probably come as standard on its luxury cars.

2. The head-up display is great

I love the augmented-reality head-up display in the S6. It can draw lines on the road ahead of you to warn you of hazards and show you which lane you need to be in, as well as showing you things like your speed and remaining range.

You have to option it as part of a £3,000 pack, but that also includes the excellent Bang and Olufsen sound system. It’s well worth having.

3. Wicked taillights

The A6 and S6 e-tron both get a light-up Audi badge on the tailgate, and you can also get OLED taillights which can be configured to show loads of different patterns. In the future, these will also be able to display messages to other drivers.

You probably won’t be able to write rude words for the BMW driver which just cut you up, but it’ll most likely be used to warn drivers behind you of hazards ahead.

4. Taking back control (sort of)

Electric cars are usually pretty boring to drive because there’s very little for you to do behind the wheel. There are no gears to change, nor is there an engine to rev to keep you entertained. Well the Audi S6 e-tron does have one thing to try and make you feel a bit more engaged.

You get paddles behind the steering wheel which you can use to adjust the regenerative braking, and on a twisty road you almost feel like you’re shifting gears. It’s a great feature which makes it a bit more interesting to drive.

5. Chat GPT voice commands

If you ask the voice assistant a question it doesn’t understand, it can refer to Chat GPT for an answer. This can include suggesting recipe ideas for when you get home, or finding out about a historical monument you’ve just driven past.

I asked why electric cars were more boring to drive than ones with an internal combustion engine, and it told me this was likely down to the lack of noise. It’s certainly part of it, but I think it’s more to do with a lack of character.

What I hated: the digital door mirrors

This Audi S6 e-tron is fitted with the £1,500 camera door mirrors, and there are a couple of reasons I don’t like them. For starters, they don’t fold in that much and they’ll be mightily expensive to replace if a careless passer by knocks them off.

The other thing is their operation. You don’t get the same depth perception from a screen as you do from a door mirror, making it harder to position yourself on the road. You’re much better off saving £1,500 and avoiding this gimmick.

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