When traditional luxury giants with deep experience truly unveil platforms and technologies tailor-made for the pure electric era, what kind of answer can they deliver?
With this question in mind, I got into Audi's first model built on the new PPE luxury pure electric platform - the Audi Q6L e-tron. In one day, this car gave Audi's answer in a slow but solid way.
When I first saw the Q6L e-tron, I realized that it didn't use an overly bold shape to deliberately flaunt its "electric" identity. Audi's iconic design language has been continued and evolved in it. The wheelbase is 2995mm after being lengthened by 105mm, and the low and smooth roof line (the sloping back design of the Sportback version is particularly elegant) creates a slender and powerful posture. The "close to the golden ratio" mentioned by the designer is not an empty statement. The visual golden waistline does give the car body a calm and harmonious beauty. The sphere front face designed exclusively for the Chinese market, the closed grille and the bright black elements extending on both sides make the front of the car look wider and flatter, closer to the ground, and it is a kind of restrained and ready to go.
Lighting is Audi's never-fading business card. The active digital light signature of the Q6L e-tron gives the front and rear lights eight optional "expressions" each, allowing the vehicle to show its personality at night. The new generation of digital OLED taillights, with six light panels and 360 independent light units, can not only display cool animation effects, but also realize scene-based functions such as parking, navigation and even emergency parking reminders. The Phantom Halo logo on the rear of the car, as a China-exclusive design, still has brand recognition in the dark.
Open the door, and the cockpit of Q6L e-tron is the latest interpretation of Audi's digitalization and luxury. The driver-centric wraparound design concept is very clear. The 88-inch giant screen AR-HUD changes the experience of traditional HUD - navigation arrows, lane guidance and other information are directly "painted" on the real road ahead, combining virtual and real, greatly reducing the frequency of looking down at the instrument or central control screen, effectively reducing the risk of "blind driving".
In front of the driver is an 11.9-inch OLED virtual cockpit with a delicate display and intuitive information layout. The center console is occupied by a 14.5-inch OLED MMI center control screen and a 10.9-inch co-pilot entertainment screen. The four screens are interconnected, and navigation information can flow between the main driver screen, the center control screen and the AR-HUD.
The intelligent voice assistant jointly developed with AISpeech responds quickly and recognizes accurately. It supports continuous conversations, eye control of the car, and will even support dialects in the future.
Q6L e-tron has put a lot of effort into the touch and atmosphere. The large-area micro-suede ceiling provides the visual and tactile feeling of suede, and soft material wrapping can be seen everywhere. The natural untreated leather steering wheel retains the natural texture and feels warm and delicate. The 25 ambient lights throughout the car, combined with the unique dot matrix perforation technology of the door panels and the embracing interactive light strips, create a rich and personalized immersive atmosphere.
Starting the car and driving out slowly, the most impressive first impression of the Q6L e-tron is: "It really doesn't drive like a new electric car." This is not a derogatory term, but a high recognition of its driving smoothness and control.
The power output is extremely linear and dense. Thanks to the strict control of motor torque fluctuations, precise algorithm adjustment and real-time optimization of battery discharge curve by engineers, deep pressing of the accelerator does not bring a sudden dizzy push back, but a continuous and controllable thrust release like a large-displacement naturally aspirated engine. Audi obviously understands the importance of "no motion sickness" to the comfort of electric vehicles. This sense of smoothness runs through the entire acceleration process.
Chassis tuning is a reflection of Audi's profound skills. The front and rear five-link independent suspension is the top configuration of this level. It brings significant advantages. It provides strong lateral support in corners, and the body roll is effectively suppressed, giving the driver sufficient confidence; facing road bumps, the suspension handles cleanly and resiliently - you can feel the road conditions, but the impact is softened, trivial vibrations are effectively isolated, and there is no harsh bouncing feeling.
The progressive steering system is another highlight. At low speeds, the steering is light and sensitive, and it only takes 1.2 turns to turn the steering wheel, making it easy to move the car into the garage. At high speeds, the steering feel becomes steady and precise, with clear direction, moderate road feedback, and excellent body stability, without causing an unsettling floating feeling or left and right head swing. The combination of narrow front and wide rear tires further enhances the handling characteristics, with the front wheels reducing steering resistance and improving response, and the rear wheels increasing grip to ensure stability when cornering.
The braking experience is also excellent. The Brembo four-piston fixed caliper provides strong braking force and clear pedal feedback points. More importantly, its coordination with the kinetic energy recovery system is perfect. The silky braking process is almost imperceptible when the mechanical brake intervenes, and the deceleration of energy recovery is controlled within the human comfort range, avoiding the discomfort of sudden changes in the center of gravity caused by non-active braking.
The Q6L e-tron is equipped with the deeply customized Huawei Qiankun Intelligent Driving System. The hardware configuration is fully loaded. Two laser radars with heating and cleaning, 13 cameras, five millimeter-wave radars, and 12 ultrasonic radars exceed the same level, building an all-round perception network.
In actual experience, the strategy of this system reveals Audi's typical prudent style. In congested urban roads, the following distance is moderate, acceleration and deceleration are smooth, lane changes are decisive but not reckless, and the recognition and response to "ghost heads" and obstacles are timely, effectively alleviating driving fatigue.
The steering wheel sensor and camera eye monitoring are highly sensitive, the function activation has an anti-mistouch design, and the decision logic is closer to the driving habits of Audi users. On highways, the cruise assist function is mature and easy to use, and can automatically adjust the speed and change lanes smoothly. It is worth noting that it strictly abides by traffic rules.
In terms of intelligence, Huawei provides solutions, but Audi has done in-depth customization and control in terms of safety bottom line, control smoothness, and adaptation to localized driving habits. Its philosophy is very clear, not pursuing the most radical "unmanned" experience, but providing a trustworthy driving assistance, giving priority to ensuring safety and comfort.
The excellent driving quality is largely due to Audi's ultimate pursuit of comfort. In addition to smooth power and decent suspension, there are many details. For example, the seats are optimized for the Chinese market, with the front sponge thickness increased by 18mm, the rear seat cushion lengthened by 16mm and the angle increased by 2 degrees.
B&O audio uses 20 speakers combined with Audi VNC real-time noise reduction technology and exclusive spatial algorithm to create a three-dimensional sound field with strong penetration, clear layers and precise positioning.
The strict control of the "Golden Nose" team makes it almost impossible to smell the pungent smell of leather or interior volatiles in the new car. The anti-glare film on the co-pilot screen also reduces possible visual interference. The full range is equipped with a panoramic sunroof with a physical sunshade to isolate ultraviolet rays and heat.
The Audi Q6L e-tron does not bombard the senses with exaggerated parameters or dazzling gimmicks, but interprets Audi's understanding of luxury pure electric in a calm, delicate and highly perfect way. The PPE platform and 800V high-voltage architecture are a strong foundation; Huawei Qiankun Intelligent Driving, which is deeply customized rather than simply stacked, reflects the pragmatism of safety first; the long wheelbase, exclusive cockpit ecology and comfort optimization exclusive to China are a sincere response to local needs.
Audi Q6L e-tron may not be the most "disruptive" one, but it is undoubtedly a mature, balanced and trustworthy "better solution" in the current luxury smart electric vehicle market. It proves that traditional luxury brands can not only "stand up" in the wave of electrification, but also create high-quality products that impress people with their deep understanding of the essence of luxury and solid engineering capabilities.
