Radical interior of new Audi Q6 E-Tron has a weird-shaped screen

In total there are three screens – a 11.9-inch ‘virtual cockpit’ driver’s display, a gargantuan 14.5-inch MMI infotainment display, and a 10.9-inch passenger display. The driver’s display can be augmented by an optional AR head-up display. 

First impressions are that, well, it’s not exactly elegant is it? Audi in our memory is famously good at functionality but also style and subtle integration. By contrast we give you the cabin of the Q6, dominated as it is by that enormous slab of pixels that Audi calls the ‘digital stage’.

Beyond the sheer size of it, there’s the design of the housing. The way it curves off at the ends is jarring, initially at least, compared to the straight-edged conclusion the passenger’s screen comes to. The end of the main screen almost looks like an ear. It just looks odd. Audi reckons the design is ‘unified’ with a ‘wrap around feel creating a homogenous and welcoming feeling of space’.

Of course, designing multi-screen cabins is a challenge in terms of originality. Go full panorama with square edges and you risk imitating BMW’s curved display. Likewise if you round off the edges you get the MBUX screens we’ve seen over the last few years in the A-Class and G-Class. So we sympathise with the challenge.

Functionality wise, it’s Audi. Which means it’ll just work. Audi has perhaps been the most consistent over the last 25 years and the rise of the in-car screen, with delivering MMI operating systems that are intuitive and easy on the eye. The latest should be no different. High-tech new features for the Q6 include Audi’s new self-learning voice assistant, which can be hailed with a ‘hey Audi’ – oh yes. The assistance even has an avatar in the Audi Assistant Dashboard and in the HUD. As time progresses, the system will come to better-understand your needs and habits behind the wheel and improve how it assists you.

New for the Q6 too is a display for the passenger, a feature first seen on the Porsche Taycan. Privacy mode means the passenger can for instance watch movies, without their screen being a distraction for the driver. The driver can also enlist the passenger as navigator, with the map and route able to be displayed on the far-side screen too.

As is de rigueur in this new generation of more sustainable all-electric cars – hello Kia EV9 – there’s an emphasis on the use of sustainable and recycled materials. Elastic Melange is made of 100 per cent recycled polyester and is used in the soft wrap of the dash. Likewise, the roof trim and sports seats can be trimmed as such. S models can have Dinamia microfibre trim for the seats. A number of the hard trims available for the instrument panel are also made of sustainable recycled materials.

The Audi Q6 is due to be revealed in full before too long and will be the first production model that we’ve seen use the new PPE all-electric architecture, due to underpin the next A6 family, as well as the next Macan crossover SUV. As ever with dedicated EV architectures, the benefit is extra space on the inside. This Q5-sized car should feel Q7-sized on the inside.

What are your thoughts on the inside of this new Audi? High-tech it might be but it certainly looks clunky to us.