The family car that secretly thinks it’s a spaceship. A correct comparison or schizophrenia?

Tailored suit, serious muscles

The S6 Avant e-tron looks like a rolling design outfit. Long, low and wide — unmistakably Audi — but sharpened with the future, a futuristic edge. This isn’t a shouty sports wagon, it’s an athlete in a perfectly tailored suit. The light signature is razor-sharp and borderline intimidating in the dark. Anyone lingering in the fast lane usually moves over pretty quickly when the Audi S6 appears in the distance.

Step inside: welcome to tomorrow

The interior feels clean, modern and meticulously thought out. Like a team of 150 designers had an hour-long meeting just to decide where to put a specific button. A curved panoramic display dominates the dashboard, materials are top-tier and the ambient lighting seems oddly capable of reading your mood. Sport seats strike the perfect balance between long-distance comfort and enthusiastic cornering support.

Rear seat space is generous enough for adults without apologies and the boot is everything you’d expect from an Avant: large, practical and ready for family life, weekend escapes or impulsive IKEA missions.

Silent departure — until you mean it

Some cars greet you with a handshake. The Audi S6 Avant e-tron gives you a confident nod, a knowing look, and says: “Hop in — I’ve got this.” You press the start button. Nothing happens. No sound, no vibration — just silence. The S6 Avant e-tron glides away politely, as if trying not to disturb the neighbours.

Then you press the accelerator with intent. That’s when things get interesting. With two electric motors, one on each axle, the Audi delivers around 551 hp and a mighty 855 Nm of torque. The result?

0–100 km/h in roughly 3.9 seconds.

That’s no longer “quick for a family wagon” — that’s full-on sports car territory, with child seats still fitted in the back. The acceleration is instant, seamless and mildly absurd. No gear changes, no drama — just relentless, linear force.

On the road: two personalities, one button

In Comfort mode, the S6 is a refined long-distance cruiser. Thanks to the optional (but highly recommended) air suspension, it smooths out poor road surfaces effortlessly and feels almost floaty without ever becoming vague. Long motorway stints are dispatched with ease.

Switch to Dynamic, and the sensible Avant swaps slippers for trainers. Steering sharpens, the suspension tightens and body control remains impressively flat for a car weighing over 2.4 tons. It’s no lightweight, but it disguises its mass remarkably well. With quattro all-wheel drive, traction is never a concern — it’s simple: it’s always present.

Electric driving (almost) without range anxiety

Beneath the floor sits a 94.9 kWh net battery (around 100 kWh gross), built around an 800-volt architecture. That’s good news not just for efficiency, but especially for charging speed. The WLTP range should be up to 610–635 km, but you’re driving in the real world so expect around 450–530 km, depending on speed and conditions.

DC fast charging will be up to 270 kW and 10–80% charging will take approximately 21 minutes. In practice, that means a coffee stop is all you need to add hundreds of kilometres. Home charging via an 11 kW wallbox naturally takes longer (roughly 10–15 hours), but that’s overnight business.

Performance without fake theatre

Audi wisely avoids artificial drama. No “over-the-top” synthetic engine sounds, no sci-fi gimmicks. The S6 Avant e-tron feels fast, planted and composed without pretending to be something it isn’t. It’s a true Audi S-model and earns its S badge through its driving dynamics, not through theatrics. But also through its price, starting at 98.810 euros (BE). A pack here, a rim there and you will soon end up with a 110.000 euro Audi.

Verdict: sensible, but with a mischievous grin

The Audi S6 Avant e-tron is an impressively complete package. It’s a family car, a business express and a long-distance cruiser — but also a machine that reminds you, at every traffic light, that it can hit 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds. It doesn’t shout about its performance, it simply delivers — whenever you ask.

Or, as the S6 Avant e-tron itself might put it: “I’m well behaved… until you’re not.”

2025 Audi S6 Avant e-tron, the future of S?