This new Audi Q6 is a plush 7-seat SUV made for China

German marque Audi, through its China-borne SAIC Audi venture, officially introduced its latest offering this week in the form of the Audi Q6. Despite the identical name, the Q6 has nothing in common with the German four-ringed marque's planned Q6 e-tron EV.

Developed off the VW Group's MQB platform, the China-only Q6 has a bigger footprint than the Q7. In fact, a full-sized, three-row SUV  that sits up to seven persons made exclusively for the Chinese market.

The Q6 is somewhat bigger than the Q7, being 5,099 mm long, 2,014 mm broad, and 1,784 mm tall. Despite its large proportions, the Q6 does have a 2,980 mm wheelbase, which is somewhat shorter and identical to the VW Atlas - another MQB platform-borne model made by SAIC for the Chinese market. 

In typical Audi fashion, the Q6 brandishes a  prominent hexagonal grille design flanked by vertical air vents. At the rear, the taillights are housed in a rear-spanning design piece, which is flanked by thin lighting units that is different from the Audi Q6 E-Tron.

As mentioned, the Audi Q6 has three rows of seats on board, and Audi offers the choice between six or seven seats. SAIC calls it a "Roadjet" to emphasise its cruising aspect whereas the cabin ambience appears noticeably more luxurious compared to VW Atlas. 

Key feature present here are 12-way adjustable seats. These, wrapped in colour-matched leather and stitching, are also brimmed with heating, ventilating, and massaging capabilities. The six-seater variant, on the other hand, even sports optional aviation-grade executive seat. When the seats are folded, cargo capacity can be expanded to a whopping 2,398 litres, giving this otherwise plush SUV van-like capabilities here.

Other key features include a 12.3-inch Audi virtual cockpit dash display, a 10.1-inch touchscreen, head-up display, and an additional 8.6-inch touchscreen for that grants access to the climate control and ambient lighting settings.

There's also a premium 14-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, retractable cup and phone holders, as well as sunshades for the rear passengers, all of which being standard kit for the China-only Q6 model. 

Crucially, there's also L2+ ADAS which includes intelligent parking assistance, full-speed adaptive cruise control, and other driver-assist features.

On the powertrain front, Audi offers two engine options for Q6. There's a base 45 TFSI variant that harnesses a 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo mill rated at 262 HP and 400 NM. Slotting above that is a 50 TFSI variant that employs a 2.5-liter 6-cyl mill that outputs 295 HP and 500 NM, which is capable of sprinting from standstill to 100 KM/H in 7.3 seconds.

Audi also offers up to six-wheel options for the Q6 in China, covering the 19-inch, 20-inch, and 21-inch wheel sizes, too.

Colourways available include Crouching Tiger White, Awakening Lion Grey, Flying Dragon Blue, Fulu Brown, Xuanniu Black, Snow Python Silver, Pegasus Blue, and Audi's first matte brown lacquer dubbed 'Kirin'.

In China, Audi has begun accepting reservations for the Q6, with costs ranging from RMB500,000 (approx. RM163,000) for the base Audi Q6 45 TFSI, right up to RMB650,000 (approx. RM211,900) for the range-topping Q6 50 TFSI Edition One.