Audi A6 PHEV blends punch and efficiency

AUDI is about to add a new plug-in hybrid model to the sixth-generation A6 range it revealed a few weeks ago.

- Alastair Crooks

The e-hybrid quattro will be available in saloon and Avant estate bodystyles, and can provide an impressive 65 miles of electriconly running better than the 63 miles of the latest BMW 530e, but not quite matching the 70 miles the Mercedes E 300 e can muster.

The plug-in hybrid A6 shares its powertrain with the new A5 e-hybrid quattro, which means you get a turbocharged 2.0-litre fourcylinder petrol engine combined with an electric motor for a total of 295bhp. In markets outside the UK, there's a 362bhp variant, too.