2025 Audi SQ6 e-tron First Drive Review: Brilliantly Balanced

Audi isn’t short on slick, powerful, SUVs but there’s room in the lineup between the Q4 and Q8 for the new all-electric Audi Q6 e-tron and its more powerful upgrade, the Audi SQ6 e-tron. The Q6 serves as a fresh page for Audi, and it comes with a huge infotainment upgrade and riding on Audi’s fancy new skateboard chassis, known as Premium Platform Electric (PPE), rather than an existing Volkswagen Group platform. There’s plenty of grunt on offer, starting with 322 horsepower in the rear-wheel-drive entry-level model, and technology that includes OLED screens, OLED taillights, an augmented reality head-up display, and the next level in Audi’s signature lighting.

Audi invited us to drive the Q6 and SQ6 e-tron back to back in Napa Valley, California, with the promise of a powerful, refined SUV that still manages to embrace the joy of driving. We spent the day on curvy roads linked with long straights to stretch the Q6 and SQ6’s legs on. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to drive the rear-wheel-drive models and Audi is keen to show off the optional adaptable air suspension. So, we started off in the morning with the 456-hp Q6 e-tron quattro before switching to the 509-hp SQ6 e-tron for the afternoon ride.

First Drive events provide our initial impressions of a vehicle in a restricted environment under certain time constraints. Keep an eye on DrivingOnRoad for our comprehensive Test Drive review which will follow soon.

The 2025 Q6 and SQ6 e-tron are all-new vehicles, and slot neatly into Audi’s lineup and new naming convention – even number models are all-electric, while odd number models are all gasoline powered.

Design & Style: An Upright SUV That Doesn’t Slouch

Audi is one of the automakers we appreciate from an aesthetic point of view as it always manages not to go overboard chasing the latest design trends. It’s a brand that understands classic proportions and short overhangs. The Q6 and SQ6 e-tron are underpinned by a long wheelbase with short overhangs that gives the imperious stance of a luxury SUV despite not being oversized. The bodywork looks like it has been shrink-wrapped over the frame, giving it a tight look, while a mixture of sharp creases and soft shapes keeps the SUV looking timeless – for the most part. We feel a little unsure about the front with the high-mounted thin headlights that give it a narrow-eyed, angry look.

It wouldn’t be a high-end Audi without an obsessive amount of attention paid to the lights. The standard lighting is pretty and crisp, but the Prestige trims offer digital LED daytime running lights with the pixel options for eight different signature patterns. On the rear for Prestige models, the taillights are made up of OLEDs with 60 individual controlled segments per panel, allowing for some intricate designs shown through eight selectable options.

Interior: Executive Comfort, Family Practicality

The first thing we noticed inside is that the interior isn’t another copy and paste from every other Audi on sale. It’s pleasingly shaped and contoured, but look past the plush leather, and there are some hard plastics on display you wouldn’t expect after dropping between $60,000 and $80,000 on a car. Mostly, though, Audi has managed to hide any cost-cutting to get the big EV to a manageable price and it’s a lovely place to spend time while on the road.

Up front, there’s plenty of space and no fear of elbows clashing with a passenger. The driving position is excellent, and visibility is par for the course. In the back seats, there’s legroom for tall adults and two won’t be bumping elbows. Cargo space in the SQ6 e-tron is 30.2 cubic feet, opening up to an apartment-moving 60.4 cubes with the seats folded.

Infotainment: A Lot Of Quality Screen Space

The second thing we noticed on climbing into the SQ6 e-tron for the first time was the amount of screen space, particularly with the optional extra 10.9-inch screen for the front passenger. The Digital Cockpit (Audi-speak for the gauge cluster) measures in at 11.9 inches while the main screen is 14.5 inches and presented behind a single long slab of curved glass. Whether that’s too much is a matter of taste, but the new OLED tech Audi is using makes for superb clarity as black is truly black.

The upgraded user interface makes this one of Audi’s best iterations of its already excellent MMI system. However, it will take some time to get used to the menu system, and it still needs some features added. For example, we had a TPMS warning come on, but there was no display available telling us the individual pressures on each run-flat tire – something that really should be standard on a luxury vehicle.

The augmented reality head-up display is a mostly positive mixed bag. Directions from the navigation float around in a pleasing way and in the right place at the top of the display. Showing road markings in a display on the windscreen you are looking through is comically redundant, however. Still, the way the speed-limit digits grow larger relative to how you accelerate is a lovely touch to catch your attention, particularly as the SQ6 e-tron is so fast and smooth that 80 mph feels like 50.

Audi and Bang & Olufsen go hand-in-hand. This system weighs in at 830 watts with 20 speakers, and it sounds glorious. Headrest speakers are an option and excellent if you use voice navigation. However, if you don’t spend some time tweaking the overall system, there’s a lot of redundancy, and we started our day with navigation on the main display, moving around on the head-up display, and talking to us from the headrest. Even after tweaking the information on show, the screens dominate the cabin.

Powertrain & Driving: An Air Suspension Of Confidence

We drove the Q6 e-tron quattro first, and the powertrain showed its strength immediately with its 456 hp and big bucket of consistent torque. As we are now accustomed to, electric power is smooth power, and mixed with the quiet cabin and compliant air suspension, the Q6 e-tron always feels like it’s going slower than the speedometer shows. We switched in and out of one pedal driving mode, but it’s only necessary if you want to hustle down a twisty road. Otherwise, the one-pedal driving experience is beautifully measured for everyday driving.

Audi’s engineers have clearly earned their pay with the SQ6 e-tron – the cabin is quiet without the need to use noise-canceling technology, and the air suspension gives a wonderful ride despite the front subframe being bolted directly to the frame with bushings. The lack of bushings in the subframe and a newly designed front axle gives the Q6 a precision to its steering and level of road holding that a heavy non-sport designated SUV normally doesn’t have outside of BMW.

The above description goes for SQ6 as well, but the elevation of more power and sport-tuned air suspension doesn’t make for as big of a change of posture as we expected. Neither does transitioning into Dynamic (Audi-speak for Sport) mode. The SQ6 e-tron does liven up, but it’s not like flipping a switch on other Audi models. It’s more like a tautening up of the chassis and drivetrain but not adding a dose of aggression.

Put the SQ6 e-tron around on a winding road, and it’s marginally more fun than the Q6. Plant your foot down hard on a straight, though, and it doesn’t particularly feel like an extra 53 hp is lurking in the powertrain. We didn’t do any instrumented timing, so it could simply be that the SQ6 e-tron is that smooth that it doesn’t feel much different under acceleration to the Q6. It certainly didn’t feel like our pants were set on fire.

Pricing & Verdict: Quintessentially Audi

The rear-wheel-drive Q6 starts at $63,800 with 322 hp on tap and up to 321 miles of electric range. The Q6 e-tron quattro is all-wheel-drive, starts at $65,800, and comes with 456 hp and up to 307 miles of electric range. The SQ6 arrives starting at $72,900 and its 509 hp sacrifices range, dropping it to 275 miles. On paper, none of the trims excel in range but, in reality, it’s plenty for the vast majority of drivers with a garage available and a charger installed.

The Q6 e-tron quattro will certainly suit the Audi faithful best, particularly as Audi’s quattro systems are a major selling point of the brand and a loss of 14 miles of range for the gain of 135 hp seems like a good trade-off. However, the SQ6 e-tron is going to be a harder sell. We would like to spend a full week with the SQ6, but our initial impression is that it’s not a big enough step up in performance to justify under 300 miles of range.

Until you get to the RS models, where Audi goes crazy on performance, the brand seems to revel in balancing itself between BMW’s lean towards performance and handling and Mercedes’ lean towards luxury and technology. To us, it’s a winning blend for anyone that enjoys driving, but also likes to truly relax while moving through traffic. If you tend to choose the long and windy way home, but BMW models seem a bit sharp, pointy, and obnoxiously styled, Audi has got you covered with the SQ6. If you enjoy driving, like comfort, convenience, and technology, but don’t want the cheesy club vibe and the obnoxious approach to screens modern Mercedes is taking, Audi has you covered with the Q6. Either way, the Q6 and SQ6 are a well-balanced electric SUV that won’t disappoint anyone attracted to the Audi brand.

US-Spec Audi Q6 e-tron Images