There’s a lot to like about the luxury electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) landscape, even if most of them feel like stepping stones, at best halfway to where they’ll end up in a few years. Through that lens, there are some decent deals.

With the 2025 Audi Q6 E-Tron, the automaker presents its next-generation battery electric vehicle (BEV) with a platform change from the Q8 E-Tron and equipment from the Volkswagen Group’s parts store.

The Q6 E-Tron is seemingly a cheaper, otherwise branded Porsche Macan Electric. Sure, there are algorithm changes and slightly different interior trim and accessories that make the Audi more Audi and the Porsche more Porsche, but they’re essentially the same vehicle.

The biggest differences are in the interior (except for the modification of the front and rear). The dashboard design in Audi starts at the door and goes across the dashboard to the other side. Porsche is much more segmented, in keeping with the brand’s current design themes in the Cayenne and Taycan, among others.

Each has its own branded steering wheel and center console design. The passenger-side screen setup varies with the Q6 E-Tron wearing a more camouflaged look. The Porsche’s screens sit straighter on the dashboard than the Audi’s.

Which you like more is a matter of taste rather than function. I prefer the screen layout and style of the Audi dashboard, the Porsche window and mirror controls and the Audi center console design. I think Porsche does a better job with shifters and cup holders than Audi.

After driving the Porsche Macan Electric for a day in Affalterbach and Ludwigsburg, Germany a few months ago, I wanted to see if the Audi Q6 E-Tron was really different. I reviewed the Macan as “a really great Audi”.

I wondered if the Q6 E-Tron would really be a great Volkswagen, with each automaker gunning for their concern teammate for the model. I got solid conclusions when I drove the Q6 E-Tron for a day all over Napa Valley and Sonoma County, California.

Audi brought the Q6 E-Tron Quattro (all-wheel drive) and SQ6 for testing on winding roads, many of which offer stunning views of the Pacific Ocean on clearer days.

The Q6 E-Tron Quattro costs just $2,000 more than the base model, rear-wheel-drive Q6 E-Tron and comes with 134 more horsepower and is 1.4 seconds quicker off the line. The heavier, twin-engine Q6 E-Tron Quattro has 13 miles less range than its Quattro teammate (321 vs. 307), according to Environmental Protection Agency estimates.

The weather on the day of the ride was not ideal. It rained buckets, though not enough to flood low-lying areas of the area. Despite the rain and associated road noise (spray and the like), the cabin of the Q6 E-Tron was a peaceful space. The windshield wipers cleaned the water with confidence, something other luxury automakers could take note of.

With comfortable seats for driver and passenger, the Q6 is set up to be a good daily driver or a comfortable touring motor. These journeys are made easier by the SUV’s 800-volt architecture, which allows for fast charging. On a high-performance fast charger, the car can be charged from 10 to 80 percent in 21 minutes under ideal charging conditions. It can reach a full charge overnight on a Level 2 home charger, meaning the average commuter only needs to plug in a few times a week, if that.

The Q6 E-Tron delivers a fresh and balanced drive. The power is there when you need it, but the deceleration energy recovery isn’t as refined as it could be with a single pedal. Fortunately, Audi has allowed the driver to select the level of regenerative braking to make this feature more enjoyable to use.

The drive from Healdsburg to Petaluma, California offered plenty of time to try it out, even though the tractor in front of us was driving insanely slowly, like a caravan on its way to a weekend getaway to the UK.

While all-wheel drive helps the car stay put and the driver remains confident, it’s not as easy to drive on twisty roads as the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV, which has rear-wheel steering to help with its prowess. Both SUVs like to be pushed through acceleration and hard braking, but the Audi has a far more slender body.

That said, it feels like a more collected ride than the Porsche Macan Electric ever did during testing, likely helped by wheels that are two inches smaller in diameter (19 vs. 21).

Switching to the new SQ6 E-Tron after lunch was a jump in performance and prowess, but those added benefits didn’t mean the Q6’s faults were gone. However, they were not reinforced, which is very important to note.

Changing the drive modes in both vehicles improved the experience behind the wheel accordingly, but not enough to make the Audi feel like it was honed specifically for track driving. The SQ6’s stiffer suspension didn’t translate into a bumpier ride, but more road noise seeped into the cabin, probably more the fault of the wheel and tire combination than anything else.

However, the cabin remained the same level of calm, cool and collected in design, aesthetics and usability as in the Q6 E-Tron. The centrally located infotainment screen is iconically heavy, with a row on the left that isn’t completely hidden by the steering wheel, but feels particularly crowded. In trying to negate the buttons, Audi fell into the same mentality as General Motors here, but the aesthetics are far worse.

Audi has priced the Q6 E-Tron at $63,800. The Q6 E-Tron Quattro starts at $65,800. Its domestic rival, the Macan Electric, starts at $75,300, and that’s for less horsepower than the Q6 E-Tron Quattro and a longer 0-to-60-mile-per-hour (mph) time. Opting for the SQ6 E-Tron raises the starting price to $72,900, which also moves the dial up on horsepower (509) and down (275 mpg).

As much as I was ready to call the Q6 E-Tron a really great Volkswagen, I’ve changed my perspective. It’s better than that. In fact, I’d venture to say it’s better executed as a package than its Porsche rival, and negating the ego boost that comes with owning a Porsche, there’s no reason to spend money on the Macan Electric over the Q6 variant. It’s so good.

As for its rivals, there are things the Q6 does better than them (less complex and more comfortable seats, more intuitive touch interface) and worse (sound deadening, choice of cabin materials, modulation of regenerative braking). In the end, it’s all about balance, and the Q6 E-Tron is a well-balanced choice for the well-heeled EV buyer.