Relentless Competence Define the Audi A6 E-Tron and S6 E-Tron

As is seemingly the case with every traditional mainstream automaker these days, Audi has been struggling to find the right balance between the gas and electric vehicles in its lineup. Charging into this breach are the 2026 Audi A6 E-Tron and its S6 E-Tron performance variant, which are critical models to Audi’s present and future direction.

Although Audi has produced some of our all-time favorite vehicles over the years, surprisingly, it has yet to take home the Golden Calipers from any of our Of The Year competitions. So it's not much of a surprise that we found the twins from Ingolstadt to be compelling enough to advance to the finalist round, but would these new Audi EVs be the cars to finally break through?

Advancement in design is one of our six Of The Year criteria, and the A6 E-Tron and S6 E-Tron move the needle thanks to what Audi calls its Sportback body style, which blends the conventionality of a sedan’s silhouette with the convenience of a hatchback. The sleek and slippery design helps make them some of the most aerodynamic Audi models ever with a claimed drag coefficient of just 0.23. But from certain angles, some judges found the exterior to have the ovoid shape of a car that’s been rounded off too much in the name of reducing drag.

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Inside, the cabin employs Audi’s new wraparound Digital Stage setup. A shelf spanning the width of the cabin serves as the plinth upon which the standard 11.9-inch driver display and 14.5-inch infotainment touchscreen are mounted. Our judges weren’t totally sold on the necessity of the available 10.9-inch touchscreen on the passenger side, however.

Menus and apps on both screens were easy to navigate, with a pleasant clicking noise confirming selections, making for a satisfying user experience. That is until the screen showed signs of bugginess. “The infotainment system had a black watermark covering about 90 percent of the screen, and after 40 minutes of driving it hadn’t cleared,” Mexico editor Miguel Cortina said. “There are clearly still some bugs.”

Although we felt the infotainment system was an impressive piece of tech when working properly, we were left wondering whether Audi may have scrimped on other aspects of the interior. Everything in the cabin is assembled with immaculate build quality, yet the prevalence of piano black trim felt dated. Additionally, the second row is well-appointed with vents, A/C controls, and USB-C charging ports, but it isn’t as spacious as we’d like.

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Audi offers the 2026 A6 E-Tron with its signature Quattro all-wheel drive courtesy of a dual-motor setup. However, the car at this year’s competition was a single-motor, rear-drive variant rated at 375 hp and 428 lb-ft of torque. Judges were impressed by its smooth, stout acceleration (4.9 seconds to 60 mph in our testing). The S6 E-Tron, which comes standard with a dual-motor setup supplying 543 hp, launches to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds. That said, judges wondered whether the A6 E-Tron's ample grunt muddied the value proposition of upgrading to the quicker S6 variant.

It was a similar story from a dynamic perspective. Most were impressed by the A6 E-Tron’s handling competence and chassis balance, though multiple judges noted excessive tire noise. The S6 E-Tron, on the other hand, was dinged for its lackluster steering feedback. “It feels disconnected and like an old video game wheel,” features editor Scott Evans said. And while the suspension’s impact absorption was one of the S6 E-Tron’s strengths, it felt bouncier and stiffer than its A6 sibling, especially in its Dynamic drive mode.

Underpinned by Audi’s new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) 800-volt architecture, which allows for DC charging rates up to 270 kW, both cars also benefit from a standard 100-kWh battery (94.4 kWh usable) that enables the RWD A6 E-Tron to travel an EPA-rated 370 miles, with the S6 E-Tron rated at 302 miles. Interestingly, our range testing found the S6 E-Tron was actually the farther-driving car with 317 miles of range at a steady 70 mph from 100 to 5 percent charge, bettering the RWD A6 E-Tron's 313 miles.

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Judges also favored the A6 E-Tron's stronger value proposition. The RWD model starts at $67,195 and was $75,240 as tested. The S6 E-Tron stickered for $88,390 (each came with Prestige packages worth about $6K). With some $13,000 separating the two cars, judges felt the S6 E-Tron wasn’t emotionally compelling enough to justify spending the extra money to get its added power, beefier brakes, sport suspension, and lip spoiler.

After spending more time with the A6 E-Tron on public roads during our finalist loops, our judges determined that although the Audi A6/S6 EVs are quality vehicles, they came up a bit short in the style and emotional appeal departments to finally break through and reach the Of The Year summit. But the strides they’ve made as all-around, all-electric sedans should not be understated.

This review was conducted as part of our 2026 Car of the Year (COTY) testing, where each vehicle is evaluated on our six key criteria: efficiency, design, safety, engineering excellence, value, and performance of intended function. Eligible vehicles must be all-new or significantly revised.