The Future Is Here

The tech-savvy new Audi Q6 e-tron is like having your own on-the-road assistant, discovers Rebecca Barry Hill.

There’s nothing like driving a sexy European sports car and being able to focus completely on the task at hand: driving while feeling cool. The new Audi Q6 e-tron, the German car-maker’s first fully electric mid-size SUV, is the closest you’ll get to owning your very own K.I.T.T. from 1980s TV show Knight Rider, only with way more comfortable seats.

My personal favourite of its many futuristic functions has to be ‘Hey Audi’, the hands-free way to treat your car like your own private PA. As the sun streamed in on a drive up north, all I had to do was blithely utter the words, “Hey Audi, I’m too hot,” and the car’s soothing persona replied, “It will be more pleasant shortly,” before automatically nudging the temperature down. “Hey Audi, open the sun blind,” I said, and voila – the shade automatically retreated to reveal the sky, the car politely ignoring the irony that just a minute earlier I’d complained of the heat.

The Q6 was even a little apologetic when it didn’t quite catch my home address the first time I inputted it in my broad New Zealand accent into the navigation system. Yes, it really feels like driving with a friend you can boss around.

You can spend as much time as you like customising the features to suit you, too. In a world-first that calls to mind Back to the Future, the digital OLED rear lights have a multitude of light signatures to choose from. These are glittering displays that animate the rear when you turn the car on. This may look as though it’s designed to add a little dazzle to your commute, but its function is primarily to communicate with rear traffic and enhance safety. The displays change to meet the circumstances, with symbols to indicate proximity or alert fellow road users when in automated parking or hazard mode.

But perhaps the Q6’s most impressive digital feat is the augmented reality that comes alive in the driver’s field of vision whenever you hit the road. This is especially helpful when navigating to random op shops on unknown, tucked away lanes. Like a very practical video game, icons pop up in your field of vision identifying the route, along with upcoming places of interest – a ferry terminal, for instance, or a roundabout. If you happen to pull in a tad too close to the car in front of you on the motorway, red warning lines flash discreetly enough to indicate your distance without being distracting. There are no excuses to find yourself getting lost either – lights will literally point you in the right direction, avoiding any confusion at ambiguous intersections or motorway off-ramps.

This futuristic technology comes care of the curved digital MMI panoramic display, a 11.9-inch Virtual Cockpit with digital dials. Just as the iPad is renowned for being user-friendly with its large touchscreen and intuitive placement of apps, so too is the Q6 display, which curves toward the driver, making it easy to check your route on Google Maps, get a bird’s-eye-view of the car as you reverse into a tricky park or check where to find the closest charging station.

The great news is you won’t need to very often. Chief among the Q6’s advantages is its impressive electric range with up to 638km*, the equivalent of driving from Auckland to Wellington without stopping. Even a stop to charge up on the way wouldn’t set you back for long, as the Q6 e-tron is able to repower in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee, charging from 10 per cent to 80 per cent in as little as 21 minutes with high power charging.

As for your front-seat passenger, they even get their very own private screen to stream their favourite shows on YouTube or choose from a selection of games, the action cleverly obscured from the driver so there’s no risk of distraction. Games are also available to the driver, with its version of Carpool Karaoke providing the most fun but racing in a space ship is strictly relegated to when you’re stationary.

But it’s getting from A to B that really demonstrates the Q6’s next-generation technology, not just for its fun bells and whistles, but to enhance efficiency and performance. Driving the Q6 is a luxurious experience and one you’d expect from an Audi, the feel of the car enhanced by its versatile driving modes that you can switch between depending on your circumstances, such as for off-roading versus comfort, efficiency or balance – you’ll literally feel the car adjust between each setting.

Add to this heated and ventilated seats, heated steering wheel and stylish sport wheels and you have all the mod cons you’d expect from an Audi.

The Audi Q6 e-tron comes in two variants, the Advanced $134,990 and the S line quattro, $155,990 (pricing does not include on-road costs), the latter a faster, sportier model with a larger engine output and all-wheel drive.

The Audi Q6 e-tron comes with:

Available now at local Audi dealership, book a test drive at Audi.co.nz

*The official EV range figures determined by the WLTP test should be used as a guide only, or for vehicle to vehicle comparison. Actual results may vary due to factors such as driving or environmental conditions.