Audi Q6 e-tron quattro Edition 1 Review

Belay adjusting your screen or refreshing the page.

Yes, this is yet another Audi Q6 e-tron, but it's not quite the same machine as the one we just drove a few weeks ago. Let me explain.

The 21-inch rims and strong haunches of the Audi Q6 e-tron give it the visual muscularity fitting of its power output

All tech

Decked out in its 'quattro' variant, this car comes equipped with a host of additional features missing from the car we drove before. The most impressive of these, I think, is the augmented reality head-up display.

Call for some hard acceleration and the system enlarges its display of your current speed on the windscreen, almost egging you on to go faster still.

And it's not all just about enhancing driving thrills. Follow too close to the car ahead and the system projects a series of red arrows ahead, encouraging you to let it recover some of the car's kinetic force back into its battery.

'quattro' variants of the Audi Q6 e-tron pair their Matrix LED head lights with Digital OLED items at the rear

More impressive still is the fact that it will warn you if you're about to approach winding roads and roundabouts, suggesting that you shouldn't continue to accelerate since you'll soon need to slow down anyway.

These may be small nods to safety and efficiency, sure. But from behind the wheel, they do more than their fair share in making the Q6 e-tron's new E³ electronic architecture more palpable and certainly make the tech-forward positioning of this Audi more apparent.

This high-specification Audi Q6 e-tron also gets a 100kWh battery, which can be topped up at a maximum power of 270kW

All comfort

And it's not just new technology you get to play with in this high-specification car.

Take, for example, the fact that this Q6 e-tron also differs from the car we drove before via its utilisation of adaptive air suspension.

Settle into a gentle cruise and you'll find the ride in this car genuinely hard to fault - the system endows the Q6 e-tron with reasonable pliancy when it is tasked to crest over bumps on the road, yet offers it surprising competency when it comes to the task of arresting unwanted body movement so this all-electric SUV feels truly planted even when you're dialling up larger numbers on that head-up display.

This Audi Q6 e-tron also gets additional features including a head-up display and a Bang and Olufsen premium audio system in its cabin

And talking about cruising along, leave the car to decide on the level of regenerative braking to apply and it does a good job, gently slowing you down when it spots cars ahead. But it is quite prone to getting fooled by the 50km/h speed limit signs along our highway exits: An irritating affair as you'll frequently need to use the steering column-mounted pedals to manually lower the level of regenerative braking applied if you're staying on the highway.

The steering of the Q6 e-tron, however, does deserve some commendation here. It's a little quick off-centre, enough to make the car feel a little nervous, but weighs up nicely when you do apply more lock, and its accuracy makes placing the car on the road easy.

The 10.9-inch passenger display and Audi's ambient lighting package plus are sure to impress all seated within

All power

And will you call upon that steering if you plan to deploy all this car's 382bhp output.

Standing at a total of 2,325kg, this power means the Audi Q6 e-tron quattro will sprint to the 100km/h mark from a standstill in just 5.9 seconds - a time that's on par with the Golf GTI we drove a few weeks ago.

But those looking at this as a potential family commuter need not be intimidated. The 'throttle' here is calibrated so that it is always easy to make smooth and gentle getaways from the lights. There's also a reassuringly high level of grip to depend on, and there's sufficient leg and knee room at the second row even if your passengers are all grown up. We achieved an energy efficiency of close to 5.3km/kWh after three days with the car, which is actually better than its official energy consumption rate of 5.1km/kWh.

The high-specification Audi Q6 e-tron appeals with its tech-forward design, but comes with a tall asking price

All yours?

But here's one other thing to think about. At $422,999, this tarted up variant of the Audi Q6 e-tron in its 'Edition 1' trim doesn't strike as a particularly good deal.

For some comparison, the entry-point into the Q6 range, with a total of 248bhp to deploy and equipped with an 83kWh battery, comes in at a significantly more palpable $336,999. For that premium you do also get a slightly higher maximum charging speed (at 270kW as opposed to the maximum of 225kW for the rear-wheel drive variants), and a host of other nice additions including an upgraded ambient lighting system and a Bang and Olufsen sound system.

But it's not as if we found the rear-wheel drive variant of the Q6 lacking in power when we last drove it, and more importantly, that variant still impressed with its quality ride, even when absent of the adaptive air suspension deployed here.

If the tech-forward positioning of this 'quattro' variant is what you're after from your electric SUV, the wide sweep of other competencies of this Audi Q6 e-tron makes it no doubt a great machine to experience it all from. We just don't think that premium can be entirely justified.

Shopping for your next premium electric SUV? Don't miss out on these reviews:

The BMW iX3 is capable, functional, and quite the appealing option

The Mercedes EQE SUV delivers when it comes cabin insulation and a quality ride

Or perhaps it's the slightly smaller Audi Q4 e-tron you're looking for?