Audi has a new midsize EV, and we’ve driven it: The 2025 A6 Sportback

Summary

Long straight roads glide underneath. Credit: Audi The car’s cabin layout and ergonomics are starting to feel familiar at this point—it shares much not only with the electric Q6 e-tron but also Audi’s new midsize combustion cars, the A5 and Q5. (We’ll leave for now the fact that a combustion A6, unrelated to today’s vehicle in virtually all but name, is also in development, bringing an end to the “odd numbers for ICE, even numbers for EV” convention that briefly took hold at the automaker. Now nameplate chaos reigns.) Hey Audi... The voice control proved a frustrating alternative to using the touchscreen, with a lot of “I’m sorry I can’t do that” and “can you ask me that again” for commands that I’m pretty sure ought to have worked. But both the A6 and S6 felt mature in terms of software, something that wasn’t true for the same infotainment platform a year ago. I remain frustrated with how limited the UI options remain for the main instrument display, however. I keep writing this, but Audi pioneered the use of high-resolution digital displays instead of analog dials and gave owners quite a lot of choice, including the option of a moving map for navigation. Now, there’s a way to make the display very minimal, which would be useful at night, but otherwise, you’re extremely limited in what you can display in front of you. The optional full-color heads-up display has the same augmented-reality direction tech that we’ve seen in other luxury cars, and it remains helpful when driving on unfamiliar roads, although that requires using the native navigation app; Apple CarPlay users should still see turn-by-turn directions on the HUD, though. The layout is starting to become familiar. Audi The layout is starting to become familiar. Audi The rear seat isn't quite as spacious as we expected. Audi The rear seat isn't quite as spacious as we expected. Audi Forget my usual rant about passenger screens. I'm too in love with the Alcantara on the dash. Audi Forget my usual rant about ...