Audi A6 Sportback e-tron vs Mercedes-Benz EQS

The Mercedes-Benz EQS costs £21,865 more than the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron. For that premium it adds 27 miles more WLTP range, 108 litres more boot space and a 1.1s quicker 0-62mph time. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron comes out ahead overall.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 386 miles for the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron and 392 miles for the Mercedes-Benz EQS - effectively matched, and both well below their WLTP figures because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 21 minutes in the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron and 31 in the Mercedes-Benz EQS, so the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron loses less time at each stop.

The Audi A6 Sportback e-tron is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 44 mm narrower than the Mercedes-Benz EQS. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 518 mm of total clearance for the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron and about 474 mm of total clearance for the Mercedes-Benz EQS. The Mercedes-Benz EQS also turns in a 1.4 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron and 84% for the Mercedes-Benz EQS. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. The Mercedes-Benz EQS has the longer battery warranty at 10 years, versus 8 for the Audi A6 Sportback e-tron.