I drove the Audi A6 and Lucid Air for a week — this is the luxury EV I'd actually buy

I fell in love with the Lucid Air Pure when I tested it out last year, but I was even more blown away after driving the Lucid Air Touring. I didn’t think I’d find any all-electric sedan that could match its style, performance, and features. That’s until I put the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron to the test.

This year alone, I’ve driven more than 40 different EVs and these two are certainly worthy best electric car contenders. That’s why I drove the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron Prestige and Lucid Air Touring for a week to really get a feel for what they offer, like how efficient they are and how well the premium features work.

The exact models of the Audi A6 Sportback and Lucid Air Touring I tested cost $75,240 and $101,850, respectively. They don’t come cheap, but they have starting prices of $72,200 and $78,900 for their base trims. Here's my verdict.

Audi A6 Sportback e-tron vs Lucid Air Touring: Specifications

Audi A6 Sportback e-tron vs Lucid Air Touring: Design

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Frankly, the Audi A6 Sportback has the more sophisticated look between the two — which is what I expect in a luxury sedan of this caliber. It definitely blends a few sporty elements into its design, like its road-hugging stance and aggressive looking grill.

The Lucid Air Touring is a marvelous looking thing on four wheels, blending a sportier aesthetic with its extra wide stance and low-to-the-ground clearance. Honestly, it looks more like a sports car than anything else, but the real show stealer is its glass canopy roof. Even though it tacks on more to its price, the feeling of being encased in glass all around you isn’t something you’ll find in many other EVs.

But despite this neat aesthetic, Audi does a much better job of designing the interior of its EV. The attention to detail starts from the premium materials it uses all around the cabin space, especially at night with the LED light strips all around illuminating the inside with the right amount of light. I love the Lucid Air Touring on the outside, but the Audi A6 Sportback has a way better inside.

Winner: Tie

Audi A6 Sportback e-tron vs Lucid Air Touring: Efficiency

While the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron has the larger 100 kWh battery under the hood, it managed an average efficiency of 3.7 mi/kWh in my week’s worth of testing. That’s an above average mark compared to other EVs, but it proves one thing: there’s more to it than just battery size.

In comparison, the Lucid Air Touring is packing a 92 kWh battery — which yielded an astounding 4 mi/kWh average. It’s one of the most efficient EVs I’ve tested all year, trailing only the Hyundai Kona Electric and Fiat 500e, which are both much smaller vehicles. What's even more telling is how much better the Lucid Air Touring performs on the highway, reaching a sustained efficiency of 4.29 mi/kWh with my long distance test, versus the 3.5 mi/kWh mark of the Audi.

This affirms how a more aerodynamic design can really help boost an EV’s efficiency.

Winner: Lucid Air Touring

Audi A6 Sportback e-tron vs Lucid Air Touring: Drive performance

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This one’s tough to judge because there’s a couple of things I like about the driving performance of both vehicles. Starting with the Lucid Air Touring, it’s easily the more sporty of the two with its tighter driving performance that lets it steer through tight turns with ease — and accelerating to cruising speed from a complete stop. There’s a big difference between its 620 hp performance versus the Audi’s 375 hp one.

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That's not to say that the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron can’t compete with the Lucid Air, but it succeeds more with its driving assistance features. For example, it has one of the best auto-braking systems in place that gently begins to slow down the vehicle on its own when it senses it’s getting close to a stopped vehicle or stop sign. Secondly, the Audio A6 offers a superior adaptive cruise control system that does better at responding to cars coming in and out of my lane.

Even though I much prefer manually driving the Lucid Air Touring for its sporty driving performance, I can’t overlook the better responsiveness of the Audi A6 Sportback’s assisted response systems.

Winner: Tie

Audi A6 Sportback e-tron vs Lucid Air Touring: Comfort

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Even though the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron looks and feels way more luxurious on the inside, the Lucid Air Pure is still way more comfortable to drive. The sheer amount of space and legroom found everywhere is unbelievable with the Lucid, particularly in the back where there’s a dramatic difference in legroom. Just take a peek at the photos above to see the difference when I put my seat into driving position.

What also helps out the Lucid Air Touring is that for longer drives, I feel way more relaxed in my seat because of how wide the seat feels — and that’s despite it being bucket styled seating. In contrast, the Audi A6 Sportback also features bucket styled front seats, but I feel a bit tighter sitting in them.

Winner: Lucid Air Touring

Audi A6 Sportback e-tron vs Lucid Air Touring: Value

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Based on the exact trims I’ve tested for a week, there’s no arguing that the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron has way more value than the Lucid Air Touring. Lucid has the better efficiency with its sedan, but when I look at the overall package, you’re getting way more for the money with the Audi.

Case in point, the A6 Sportback e-tron comes with a passenger-side display to keep anyone sitting there entertained for the duration of the ride. Secondly, I can't stop talking about the head-up display because it's one of the most sophisticated I’ve come across, complete with an augmented reality view. Finally, the A6 comes with two charging ports that make it way more convenient to access at charging stations.

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I will admit that the included frunk and roll out display with the Lucid Air Touring are cool features to have, but they're more novel than anything else. And while it does offer a spacious sized trunk that's pretty deep, the Lucid lacks the utility of the hatchback style trunk of the Audi.

Winner: Audi A6 Sportback e-tron

Audi A6 Sportback e-tron vs Lucid Air Touring: Verdict

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This one technically comes out to a tie, but it really depends on what you prefer. Obviously, the higher price of the Lucid Air Touring makes it a tougher sell, but it does offer better efficiency, a sportier design, and the tighter driving performance that makes it feel more like a sports car. If you don’t care for the glass canopy roof, you can save yourself some extra money.

I really didn’t have any expectations prior to driving the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron, but I came away surprised by what it brings to the table. Above all, it has to be the amount of premium features that accompany this vehicle that makes its $75,240 tested cost more valuable. In addition to the cool features I’ve mentioned, it has way more that makes it feel more truly as a luxury vehicle — like its electronically powered shaded glass roof and neat headlight animations.

These are all reasons why I’d recommend the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron, given the car maker’s reputation in the space. If you’re willing to try something new and different, I guarantee you’ll get a few looks driving the Lucid Air Touring around.

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