Form fitting

What captures and pleases the eye with regards vehicle styling and design is an acutely personal thing. But there are certainly some vehicles that just seem to ‘work’ – and the latest addition to the Audi Q6 e-tron family, the newly-arrived Audi Q6 Sportback e-tron is just such a vehicle.

Of course that’s a personal opinion, but it’s one that is widely shared amongst customers and motoring critics alike. Indeed Audi’s Sportback styling has struck a chord with customers over many years now and across numerous, often very different model lines in the modern age. While fastback designs from the brand have been around for decades, the modern ‘Sportback’ design was seen for the first time on the A5 range, the sweeping fastback design taking Walter de Silva’s stunning A5 coupe design and turning it into an equally captivating four-door model.

Since then, Sportback models have been offered in the ‘Q’ range, first with Q3 and then Q5 – both variants creating tremendous interest with customers. 

Likewise the original Audi e-tron models also received the Sportback treatment and now the Q6 e-tron, the first all-electric models build on the brand’s PPE (Premium Platform Electric) have arrived, adding an extra design dynamic to the mid-sized, luxury model range.

The Sportback style lends itself to the Q6 e-tron’s proportions, giving it a very different look both to its SUV stablemate launched earlier in the year and other Audi Sportback models within the Q ranks. Perhaps it has something to do with the curve of the fastback offsetting the large, aggressive Singleframe grille, with its e-tron treatment. It could be the pronounced dynamic line down the vehicle’s flanks that draws the eye to the vehicle’s centre of gravity and the are where the battery resides. 

Or perhaps its the way it works with the treatment of the quattro blisters which share much of their styling with the e-tron GT models. 

Of course it could just be a matter of personal taste, and the fact that vehicles with fast backs just look sportier – but whatever it is, the Q6 Sportback e-tron is a good looking car.

It’s also a much slipperier shape with a cd of 0.26, which equates to a range of up to 585 km (WLTP) – the longest in the Q6 e-tron lineup in Australia. Charging is another important area for the Q6 Sportback e-tron, and Audi has packaged the Sportback with a high-capacity battery with 800-volt electrical architecture, which translates into genuinely fast DC charging. The Q6 Sportback e-tron is able to accept up to 270kW DC charging, which delivers a 10 – 80 percent fill in roughly 21 minutes under the right conditions. That means you can add up to 255km of range in just 10 minutes.

Of course range varies across the three distinct Q6 Sportback models available in Australia, but all offer plenty of distance for real world applications. 

Starting with the rear-wheel drive Q6 Sportback e-tron ($99,900*) with its 489km of range, to the quattro version ($127,500*) with 569km to the top-of-the-range S model ($156,400*) which, thanks to its lower stance, boasts the best range of 585km. 

Of course the entry model sports a smaller battery than its two quattro siblings, its 83kWh (gross) and 75.8kWh (net) lithium-ion battery a good deal smaller than the 100kWh (gross) and 94.9kWh (net) batteries of the two quattro models.

And while none of these models ‘hang about’ to use a very old fashioned term, it also leads to a fair discrepancy between the three in terms of performance if ‘off the line speed’ is an important consideration for you. 

The single-motor version with 185kW (215kW on boost) and 450Nm of torque, hits 100km/h in 7.6 seconds from start or seven seconds flat using launch control. The quattro variant with an electric motor on both front and rear axle, delivers 285kW of power and torque of 275Nm upon front and 580 on the rear to reduce that time to 5.9 seconds. 

The SQ6 ups the power output figures significantly to 360kW and 380kW with launch control while delivering the same torque numbers as the quattro version. This gives the SQ6 blinding acceleration of 4.4 seconds or 4.3 seconds to 100km/h, and even a top speed of 230km/h – which is 20km/h faster than the other two – but realistically this is a moot point on Australian roads.

But while the acceleration of the brand’s all-electric models never fails to create a smile, It’s the ride and handling that really impress. 

By now, the absence of engine noise has become more familiar, and with the high levels of sound deadening material to keep exterior noises to a minimum, the sumptuous cabin is a veritable haven. That means keeping a wary eye on the speed readout in the virtual cockpit  because the acceleration is such that you slip past even the more generous speed limits in a flash. Having said that, instantaneous acceleration is invaluable in city traffic situations when rare openings present themselves and also makes easy work of overtaking on highway sections. When the chance does present itself to really enjoy the drive, the point to point acceleration simply never gets old, and the road holding and ride is impressive.

Even in the rear-drive version, the Q6 Sportback e-tron sits down and hustles through bends and you would have to be really trying to unsettle it. 

The SQ6 Sportback e-tron where we spent the bulk of our time on the launch, is the sort of vehicle that makes you want to just keep driving. 

Everything situation is handled with aplomb and driving in all range of situations is effortless. It has earned its S designation and has a genuinely sporty feel when pushed a little, but realistically you run out of road in most situations before you even get close to its limits. Having said that, it gives nothing away in terms of its luxury feel delivering a silky smooth in all conditions.

Indeed all of the attributes that struck a chord when the Q6 e-tron models first arrived in March this year are once again on show, with the addition of that distinctive Sportback shape. 

The ‘softwrap’ dashboard and the integration of OLED digital displays which produce a layered, modern cockpit were all completely new at the time, but now feel more familiar but no less impressive. From the 14.5-inch MMI panoramic display in the driver’s line of sight to the 11.9-inch virtual cockpit, the new Audi interior design language is both aesthetically pleasing and intuitive to use. 

And with the Sportback body style, practicality isn’t sacrificed either. All but the tallest of occupants are easily accommodated in the rear seats, while storage is only marginally reduced by the ability to stack items to the roof.

Driver assistance and safety technology in the Q6 Sportback e-tron is also as reassuringly comprehensive as it is cutting-edge. The list of standard inclusions is both long and extensive, with everything from adaptive cruise with stop-and-go to active front assist, lane departure warnings with emergency assist and exit warning all part of the package. 

Indeed, the new Q6 Sportback e-tron and SQ6 Sportback e-tron are everything you would expect from Audi and a luxury offering in the mid-sized, all-electric SUV range. 

As always, it’s a matter of what appeals to you and what works for your lifestyle. The Sportback versions are more than a stylistic difference in this model offering – the sweeping Sportback profile serving a practical purposes in this case, adding over 20km of range in the case of the SQ6 model. But even if it served no practical purpose at all, thanks to its styling, the Q6 Sportback e-tron has a very different character to that of its SUV stablemate, and for those driven by design, its a form that just works.

SQ6 Sportback e-tron pictured.