Our Cars: A6 out, S5 in

If you want to know how you feel about a car, just watch it drive away for the last time. I did exactly that a week ago as the A6 Avant e-tron quattro I’ve been living with since September disappeared around the corner on its way home. And I didn’t feel terribly sad to see it go.

In large part that’s because of the other, rather more exciting Audi that had just turned up to take its place. I wasn’t merely handing back a car, but upgrading it. Nevertheless, I think my apathy tells me something about the car itself, or at least my opinion of it.

The A6 arrived at the end of summer. I’d only previously lived with one EV – an Audi S e-tron GT – but I knew life with an electric car was going to suit me fine. There was a time, a decade or so ago, when I spent more time on the UK’s major trunk roads than the average travelling salesperson, and when an EV and the hassle and cost of fast public charging would have driven me up the wall. But not anymore: I’m rarely faced with journeys beyond the reach of the A6 on a single charge and when I am, stopping and plugging in for 20 minutes or so has never felt like a chore.