I drove the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron for a week — and it’s my new favorite luxury EV sedan

So far this year, I’ve only tested a total of three all-electric sedans. While SUVs and crossovers continue to be the most popular types of vehicles, there’s still a market for car shoppers looking for sedans — which is why I’m excited about the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron.

The company has a lot to prove to me because I wasn’t overly convinced by the Audi Q6 e-tron when I drove it a couple months back. That all-electric mid-size SUV just felt underwhelming for a luxury vehicle, so the 2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron has a lot to prove. This all-electric sedan features everything I’d want in a luxury sedan, including a head-up display, stunning glass roof, and adaptive cruise control.

What’s even better is the range, which at 370 miles from a full charge makes it a long distance champ. After driving it for a week, it’s become my new favorite all-electric sedan starting at $72,200 — beating out the Lucid Air Touring and becoming a strong best electric car contender. Here’s why.

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2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron: Specifications

2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron: Testing summary

I drove a total of 218.1 miles in my week’s worth of testing the 2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron, the Prestige trim specifically, reaching an average efficiency of 3.7 mi/kWh. That’s not too shabby for a sedan, but the Lucid Air Touring still does better at 4 mi/kWh. Running the calculations based on the efficiency I got and its 100 kWh battery, this would mean it would reach Audi’s claim of 370 miles with a full charge.

Range is one of the driving factors for anyone looking to buy an EV, but I think the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron eliminates those worries. Sure, it trails the Lucid Air Touring in that area, but it certainly beats other luxury sedans I’ve tested like the Mercedes-Benz EQS 450 Sedan.

If you need to charge it at home, you might want to invest in a faster Level 2 charger because testing it with a standard 120V outlet with Level 1 charging yields a slower speed with my testing. The 2.82 mi/hr rate at Level 1 isn’t terrible, but I’ve seen faster Level 1 charging speeds — like the 4.27 mi/hr of the Lucid Air Touring. For example, I charged it for 10.9 hours and it gave back 31 miles of range.

2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron: What I Like

It has the most sophisticated HUD

Head-up displays are one of those extra premium features that make any car feel more luxurious, but I have to admit that the 2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron has the most sophisticated one I’ve come across.

Not only does it show me all the usual driving details, like my speed and driving directions, but it also has some augmented reality elements I’ve found in many other luxury EVs. There’s the directional arrows that increasingly get larger as I approach my turn, but it also helps to keep me in my line with red lines outlining my lane whenever I start to veer off. Small details like this not only makes my driving safer, but I’m not distracted as much either.

Gentle auto braking system

Part of its safety features package include a helpful auto-braking system that recognizes stop signs (not stop signals) and stopped cars, which would then engage the brakes automatically. It’s similar to the auto-braking system I experienced with the Lexus UX 300h.

Similar to that system, the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron does it gently to remind me to take over the brakes and make a complete stop. Not only can I feel the car slowing down, but it’s also indicated by the icon in the head-up display that recognizes stop signs.

Electronically controlled roof with animations

With the Prestige trim of the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron, it comes with a stunning looking panoramic glass roof. It’s fixed and doesn’t open, but what’s amazing about it is that instead of having a mechanical cover like in other vehicles, it’s electronically operated that goes from transparent to opaque — much like the roof in the Rivian R1S and BMW iX xDrive45.

However, it distinguishes itself for the 9-segment switchable transparency technology it employs to isolate the shade to specific areas of the roof. The animations are undeniably slick and exactly the kind of thing that makes it truly a luxury EV.

Slick modern design

Who says sedans should look boring? Audi does nicely with the design of the A6 Sportback e-tron because it doesn’t try to look futuristic like many other EVs — or conventional either. I really like its road-hugging stance with a long wheelbase and short overhangs, which is further accented by its front grill. On the back, small details like the Audi emblem is lit up in red really adds to its modern design.

Tons of room in the trunk

Even though it’s technically a sedan, I also consider it as a hatchback due to how the trunk opens up with the rear window. This adds utility to the A6 Sportback e-tron that you wouldn't normally get with a conventional sedan — and paired with its spacious sized trunk area — allows me to cram larger packages. I’m able to easily store my JackRabbit OG2 ebike without having to fold it over, which says a lot because oftentimes trunks don’t have enough space.

Stunning headlight animations

Another key characteristic of the 2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron that I love is its LED matrix headlights. They’re bright and make nighttime driving a breeze, but it’s really neat how there’s an animation that plays whenever I unlock the vehicle that again signifies it as a luxury vehicle. Best of all, there are different animations to choose from to better suit my mood.

Just the right amount of ambient lights

Similarly, I like how Audi showers the interior space at night with just the right amount of ambient lights. There are LED strips found just about everywhere, but not to the point where the lighting inside at night is overpowering like on the Mercedes-Benz EQS 450 Sedan and Genesis GV60. There’s a pleasant glow from all the LED strip lights around the inside, which can also be customized for different color schemes.

2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron: What I Don't Like

Poor placement for the volume control

There are two ways to adjust the volume in the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron. The first are found directly on the steering wheel, which is easy to access as the driver, but the second way is through the dedicated knob control right next to the front cupholders. The latter’s a poor place to put them because when you have larger sized insulated bottles, like those 32 oz Stanley ones that are so popular, there’s no easy way to access the volume — both for the driver and passenger.

Inconvenient spot for cruise control buttons

Audi certainly makes good use of the steering wheel to add in different controls for navigation and media control, but it’s really annoying that it doesn’t include controls for its adaptive cruise control. Instead, those controls are found separately on a different lever that’s below the left turn signal. The issue I have with this implementation is that I’m forced to take my hands off the steering wheel to enable and adjust the adaptive cruise control.

2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron: Bottom Line

Honestly, the two complaints I have about the 2025 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron aren’t dealbreakers. As a whole, however, it’s the epitome of what all luxury sedans should be because of how it balances features, performance, and cost.

The latter’s something I want to point out because at $75,240 tested, is way cheaper than the Lucid Air Touring and Mercedes-Benz EQS 450 Sedan I’ve tested — which have tested prices of $101,850 and $139,910 respectively. Paired with its better than average efficiency, the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron leaves an impression as my favorite all-electric sedan this year.

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