Audi S6 Avant e-tron vs Tesla Model S (2019-2020)

The Audi S6 Avant e-tron costs £12,575 more than the Tesla Model S. For that premium it adds 60 kW more power. The Tesla Model S is not just cheaper - it also offers 243 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Audi S6 Avant e-tron comes out ahead overall.

The Tesla Model S is £12,575 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £176 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Tesla Model S comes out roughly £12,495 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 328 miles for the Audi S6 Avant e-tron and 280 miles for the Tesla Model S - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Audi S6 Avant e-tron goes roughly 48 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 21 minutes in the Audi S6 Avant e-tron and 30 in the Tesla Model S, so the Audi S6 Avant e-tron loses less time at each stop. That makes the Audi S6 Avant e-tron the stronger long-distance car.

The Audi S6 Avant e-tron is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 41 mm narrower than the Tesla Model S. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 477 mm of total clearance for the Audi S6 Avant e-tron and about 436 mm of total clearance for the Tesla Model S. The Tesla Model S also turns in a 0.5 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 S6 Avant e-tron and 84% for the Tesla Model S. 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.