Audi Q6 Sportback e-tron review

If we say it’s the usual Audi fare in here, that’s not to diminish the impact of slipping into Darth Vader’s bijou living room. It’s all high-def screens and black gloss in here, and it can be a bit overwhelming at first. Doesn’t quite feel as roomy inside as it looks like it’s going to be, a sort of reverse TARDIS. 

What are all those screens about?

Audi calls the dashboard a ‘digital stage’, and it does look like something that would form the backdrop to a pop starlet skipping about onstage at the O2.

You’ve got an 11.9in digital dashboard display rammed with information, a 14.5in touchscreen infotainment that bestrides the front of the car like a particularly obnoxious behemoth, and then an optional 10.9in passenger display that you can download a variety of apps for (but also allows control over the satnav and, frightfully, the audio).

What it doesn’t do is allow the passenger to control their aircon temperature and seat heating, that remains resolutely at the bottom corner of the ginormo screen that curves towards the driver.

Is there any fun tech onboard? 

Depends on how excited you might be about your front passenger downloading a karaoke app to the optional third screen.

The augmented reality head-up display is actually quite fun – Audi has developed a colour set-up that works with where your eyes will be focused to make it look like the virtual images are floating up to 200 metres away. Think large pulsating arrows signalling your next turn, large pulsating red lines that warn you’re too close to the car in front, and speed limit reminders that sit on the road before bouncing up to sit on the side of the info display. A bit frenetic, perhaps.

Is it practical?

Given that its main selling point is that it's the coupe version of a more practical family electric SUV, you’d be forgiven for imagining that it’s a bit of a squeeze onboard. But Audi says that it has put a bit of effort into trying to ensure the Q6 Sportback e-tron remains roomy and useful.

That effort hasn’t extended to meaningful headroom in the back of the car, which is obviously compromised by the gracefully curving roof, but no one ever bought a coupe-SUV because they liked their rear passengers. Legroom is decent enough, and the middle seat is useful for occasional use despite the slight raise in the floor.

You’ve got a 511-litre boot out back that expands to 1,373 litres of space with all the rear seats tipped down, and a 64-litre frunk under the bonnet to stash your cables and things.

Audi says it’s only lost 15 litres of boot space from Q6 to Q6 Sportback, but that’s nonsense because it only measures to the window line. If you need to ram things in then obviously the SUV model is the better one to have.