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With the arrival of the C9-generation Audi A6, the world’s pre-eminent trio of premium executive saloons is again complete, living on for at least a while longer.

The new A6 joins the recently launched ‘G60’ BMW 5 Series and the ‘W214’ Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and it isn’t here simply to make up the numbers. Last year’s outgoing version outsold its illustrious rivals in Europe, despite those rivals being shiny next-generation models.

The ICE A6 was supposed to become the A7, like the A4 became the A5; but that whole strategy is now off the table, so instead it continues to be the A6, while the electric one is the A6 E-tron.

The replacement for that car reprises the basic A6 recipe: a body nearly fives metres in length, a selection of diesel and petrol engines, saloon and estate versions, and plenty of the latest technology.

However, there have been some notable developments. One is that six-cylinder engines are out, unless you happen to live in Germany or another of the selected countries lucky enough to be offered Audi’s V6 mild-hybrid petrol unit. Another is that exterior design moves away from the increasingly angular look of previous A6s, with the reintroduction of curves apparently inspired by the C5-gen car of the early 2000s. The interior has also been overhauled, with more digital elements than ever – not least a dedicated display for the passenger, which is included as standard.

All this is aimed at keeping Audi’s second-best-selling model globally, behind only the Q5 SUV, on the boil. Here we’ll discover how successful those efforts have been, by way of the e-Hybrid PHEV saloon variant, with its near-300bhp output and claimed electric range of 60 miles.

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DESIGN & STYLING

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Audi A6 review 2025 02 side panning

The A6 continues to be built at Audi’s Neckarsulm plant in Germany, on the same lines as the new Audi A5 and the pure-electric Audi A6 E-tron. The latter, like its ICE sibling, is available as a saloon and in the ever-popular estate form.

Underpinning the car is the Premium Platform Combustion architecture. Audi describes this as a new bit of hardware, but the PPC is in fact another evolution of the Volkswagen Group’s MLB platform, albeit with the latest electronics package plumbed in, which among other features allows for over-the-air updates – crucial, given the car’s digital-heaviness.

The tail of the car is busy, though the lighting remains superbly crisp, as we have come to expect from Audi. Dark colours hide the complexity of the design best, but there’s no getting away from the awkward – and non-functional – slats beneath the lights.

Just like with its counterparts from BMW and Mercedes, the generational move forward has seen the A6 grow. It is now 4999mm long in its shortest form, with the Chinese-market A6 L occupying space on the road we have traditionally associated with the A8. In Europe-spec, the Audi roughly splits the difference between the E-Class and hulking 5 Series.

Underneath the new body, with its sloped windscreen and gently blistered wheel arches, resides a longitudinally oriented engine, driving the front wheels in lower-end versions or all four in higher ones. At launch, UK buyers can choose either a conventional 2.0-litre petrol or a 2.0-litre diesel with Audi’s new MHEV Plus system, which puts a 24bhp electric motor on the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and a 1.7kWh battery under the boot floor. There’s also a 3.0-litre V6 with the same hybrid system (the same powertrain as in the S5), but that won’t be offered in the UK – a victim of CO2 targets. This is disappointing, because refined, effortlessly strong six-cylinder engines have long been part of the A6’s appeal, but an S6, presumably featuring a more powerful V6, will be along shortly.

Our test car is the e-Hybrid, carrying what is potentially the most versatile and frugal of the A6’s powertrains. It pairs the 2.0-litre petrol engine with a permanent magnet synchronous motor sitting between the dual-mass flywheel on the back of the TFSI engine and S Tronic gearbox, above the take-off for the front driveshafts. It feeds up to 141bhp into the driveline, alongside up to 248bhp from the engine. Balancing the two sources so that they provide natural, linear propulsion means the total output is limited to 295bhp and 332lb ft.

The battery that feeds the electric motor – and that harvests energy during deceleration, or can be charged slowly by the engine while on the move – is a nickel-manganese-cobalt pack with a usable 20.7kWh. This is some 40% greater than that of the previous PHEV A6, and results in a claimed range of 60 miles for our Launch Edition car (it’s a little higher for Sport and S Line models). By comparison, BMW’s PHEV 5 Series has 18.7kWh of usable capacity and the Mercedes E-Class 19.5kWh. Class honours duly beckon when it comes to electric range.

We have yet to weigh this car’s most direct rivals, so for now the A6’s as-tested weight of 2197kg exists in isolation. Officially, the e-Hybrid A6 weighs 360kg more than the MHEV TDI A6, though some of that gain will be down to the Quattro system, which only the regular TDI is fitted with. That car’s weight of 1980kg suggests the PHEV accoutrements come at a penalty of about 150kg.

In the UK the A6 is available on three suspensions, beginning with the regular Sport spring and damper package, which is something of a misnomer because it is comfort-oriented and is the one we have habitually recommended. However, most cars will be bought in S Line specification, which uses shorter springs that lower the body by 20mm, along with the fitment of bigger alloy wheels. At the top of the tree is Audi’s adaptive air suspension, which is the only non-passive option and can adjust ride height on the fly – and change the setting by voice command. It costs £1755 and is available only on top-rung Edition 1 cars (our test car did not have it).

To get an Audi with fully mechanical, Torsen-style four-wheel drive, meanwhile, you now need an Audi Q7, an A8, or an S- or RS-branded model. Audi’s Ultra Quattro system is available on the A6 TDI and e-Hybrid, but not the regular TFSI. It continues to use a multi-plate clutch to distribute torque between the axles, but will now bias up to 70% to the rear when exiting corners. Before then, on the way into the corner, the car’s torque vectoring will have slowed the inside wheel more than the same system did on the old A6, to help it cleave into bends more accurately. The e-Hybrid A6 also gets four-wheel steering as standard.

INTERIOR

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Audi A6 review 2025 11 dash

The inside of the A6 looks and feels familiar from other recent Audis, with the interior dominated by a perched-up dual-screen set-up that can become a triple-screen arrangement with optional spend or high specification, as was the case with our test car. Some of the materials – and there is a considerable variety of them – are nicer than in the smaller A5, with more real metal and softer plastics down low; but the A6 has the same smudge-and-scratch-prone gloss black plastic centre console. It doesn’t feel class-appropriate.

Overall, the ambience verges on the generic. The two-tier display configuration and minimalistic lines of the old A6’s architecture weren’t to everybody’s liking but they contributed to a distinct personality that was undoubtedly ‘Audi’. The new A6 is more cluttered but less noteworthy, with the layout providing a smaller canvas on which high-quality materials can shine.

The solidity of the cabin is impressive, but Audi has taken its traditionally limited colour palette and made it narrower still. There’s a lot of soft Dinamica but also too much piano black.

That said, the way the door cards are sculpted into the dashboard is artful, and everything that should have physical switchgear (seat adjustment, mirrors, lighting, windows) has it. Everything works well enough. The instruments are also fairly clear, and the Google-based infotainment system is quick and logical. And while the heating and ventilation are adjusted through the screen, they are permanently shown and the buttons are big and easy to hit, so it’s not a problem.

We have no complaints about the smart, quilted S Line seats or the driving position, either, though rear knee room (700mm) is tighter than in the latest 5 Series (740mm) and E-Class (790mm). This reflects the fact that the Audi has the shortest wheelbase of the trio.

Boot space is another area where the A6 doesn’t quite deliver on the promise of its five-metre scope, especially in PHEV form. Figures of 492 litres for the front-driven TFSI car and 452 litres for TDI, with its rear differential, fall to 354 litres in the e-Hybrid. It’s less than you get in a Volkswagen Golf, though the equivalent E-Class, the 300e, only does marginally better, at 370 litres. The clear class leader is the BMW 530e. Thanks to the way it houses its battery pack in the floor of the car, it manages fully 520 litres.

Of course, you can always opt for the more handsome Avant, which also trails estate versions of the BMW and the Mercedes for boot volume but offers more than enough room for most tasks. It would be even better if the rear seats could be folded forwards via tabs accessible from the boot.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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Audi A6 review 2025 28 engine

Our timed figure of 6.0sec to 62mph from rest exactly matches Audi’s claim for the A6 e-Hybrid and makes the car adequately quick for anybody who buys one for typical daily use. 

In general, the powertrain wears its electrical assistance lightly. Accelerator response isn’t inauthentically enhanced and the car’s two power sources have been smartly tuned to work as one. With sustained acceleration, you never find that electrical assistance surges then ebbs away, before surging again, as we have experienced with some Mercedes PHEVs.

The familiar elements of this powertrain are unremarkable but effective enough. A six-cylinder unit would be preferable in most respects but Audi’s 2.0-litre petrol engine is well isolated and only gives off a faintly industrial burble when you really ask a lot of it. Meanwhile, the seven gearbox ratios are conservatively spaced but the car gets away with this due to the electrical assistance. It leaves a usefully long seventh that allows the car to cruise at 1600rpm.

Having driven other variants in the line-up, we can say that the torque-fill that smooths gearshifts is missed in the non-hybrid TSFI A6. Like the e-Hybrid, the MHEV 2.0-litre TDI is the better operator in this respect, and is probably the pick of the range with its easy torque and that sliver of electric power giving good responsiveness for a small turbo diesel.

As for all-electric running, the e-Hybrid defaults to EV mode when it can. Once up and running, assuming there’s enough charge in the battery, you can also trigger EV mode at the push of a button on the centre console. In general, the car will use up its electric reserves entirely before making the switch to combustive power, though flooring the accelerator or exceeding 85mph or so will bring the engine into play early. Transitions are for the most part seamless, to the extent that they sometimes go entirely unnoticed. It’s all very slick, and the same is true for driving in EV mode, in which the gearshift paddles are used to control several modes of brake regen, including an automatic mode that reacts to other traffic and the road ahead, as well as a welcome pure coasting mode.

However, one element that is notably absent is a battery-hold mode. In its place is a slider accessed via the central display that can be used to select the desired level of charge. If the battery has 5% charge and you set the slider to 70%, the car uses engine power to reach that level. However, there are quite a few commands required to action this, and we would prefer to be able to hit a button and instantly hold the current charge or begin charging.

RIDE & HANDLING

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Audi A6 review 2025 30 rear cornering

This is a story of two halves. We will start with ride quality, because that is usually the more important parameter for the A6 buyer.

It simply isn’t good enough – not on the steel-sprung S Line suspension with 21in wheels. Smooth A-roads and motorways are dealt with reasonably well, and there is enough travel to ensure that speed bumps aren’t outright arduous; but on suburban routes and most tired roads the A6 seems to think it’s a BMW 3 Series on M Sport springs. It is too reactive for a car of its ilk, and while it’s tempting to blame the large wheels, the BMW 550e xDrive we tested in 2024 was able to conjure ride quality that at times felt 7 Series-esque, and the Mercedes E450d wasn’t far off that benchmark. Both cars wore wheels similarly large to the Audi’s.

The rear-steering makes the A6 ridiculously easy to reverse parallel park, so it is worth having, but it’s not always seamlessly integrated on the move. You can sense its machinations in certain corners.

The Audi is at least impressively quiet at a cruise (there is 30% more sound-deadening than before, and work has been done to door seals and engine mounts), but how much more isolating in general would it be if fitted with air springs or the softer coil springs, with a slightly smaller tyre? ‘Very’, is our hunch.

This isn’t what we expect from an A6; but then neither is genuinely tight handling and a keenness to change direction. Audi has put a fair bit of effort into stiffening up the EPAS mounts and, combined with a pacy ratio and plenty of purchase from the front axle, the result is a car that will cover ground quickly and, yes, with a certain vivacity. This was borne out by its proclivity to oversteer on a trailing throttle on Horiba MIRA’s dry handling circuit.

For driving satisfaction we would still opt for the equivalent BMW - but the A6 has enough about it to see off the Mercedes. You don’t half pay a price for it, mind.

Our wider test experience of cars on Audi's air suspension, meanwhile, suggests that It doesn’t give you the magic carpet feel of some luxury cars, but it isolates you much better than the S Line suspension, and controls the body well.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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Audi A6 review 2025 01 front tracking

The A6 range starts at £52k for a Sport-spec TFSI, rising to £56k for the TDI and £62k for the e-Hybrid, while opting for the Avant adds £2k.

The pricing closely resembles that of the BMW 530e and considerably undercuts the Mercedes E300e. No e-Hybrid model quite manages 70 miles of EV range, which might have tipped the car below 50g/km CO2 and unlocked favourable BIK rates. Note also that the basic and S Line versions have the greatest claimed EV range of the line-up.

This new generation of PHEVs, whether you are looking at the saloons or hatchbacks, is starting to make the technology feel worthwhile. Around 50 miles of real-world EV range is enough to cover the average commute in this country. Annual fuel savings could be huge.

In the real world you can expect 2.5mpkWh in EV mode, translating to a range of 52 miles. This is enough to permit some extraordinarily high overall economy readings over the long term if you’re able to charge up regularly. However, if that is not a realistic proposition and company car tax isn’t a factor, the TDI will serve you far better, with its 50mpg-plus touring economy. The PHEV also has a small tank of just 46 litres, though in battery-depleted mode the car still returned 40mpg at a 70mph cruise, for a range of 400 or so miles.

As for options, we would strongly suggest going for air springs, if you can justify the cost; and the £2965 Sound & Vision pack.

VERDICT

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Audi A6 review 2025 34 front static

There is probably a decent car lurking somewhere within the new generation of Audi A6, but the plug-in hybrid version on the biggest wheels and sports springs isn’t it. Air suspension might have helped rescue our test car from a slightly ignominious three-star verdict. It may have allowed an intuitive petrol-electric powertrain, neat handling and a genuine 50 miles of electric running to be more easily appreciated.

As it is, such questionable ride quality is difficult if not impossible to look beyond in a premium-level executive saloon that is larger and theoretically more capable than ever before. The A6’s packaging also holds it back against rivals that offer better rear occupant and boot space, and that comfortably exceed it in the balance of ride and handling.

Richard Lane

Richard Lane, Autocar
Title: Deputy road test editor

Richard joined Autocar in 2017 and like all road testers is typically found either behind a keyboard or steering wheel (or, these days, a yoke).

As deputy road test editor he delivers in-depth road tests and performance benchmarking, plus feature-length comparison stories between rival cars. He can also be found presenting on Autocar's YouTube channel.

Mostly interested in how cars feel on the road – the sensations and emotions they can evoke – Richard drives around 150 newly launched makes and models every year. His job is then to put the reader firmly in the driver's seat.