The new 2023 Audi Q6 SUV is the biggest vehicle yet to wear the four-rings on its one, but unless you’re based in China you won’t be able to buy one. uilt in China for the Chinese market in association with SAIC, the Q6 has previously been snapped undergoing testing and there was some speculation that it would wear the Q9 badge. Instead, befitting its status, rather than its size, it gets the Q6 label. Audi won’t release official details until the Beijing Auto Show in April, but data logged with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) reveals that the three-row SUV measures 5,099 mm long, 2,104 mm across and 1,784 mm tall. The 2,980 mm wheelbase is identical to that of the Volkswagen Atlas, whose MQB platform it shares.

Those measurements also mean the Q6 is actually longer, wider and taller than Audi’s Q7, which measures 5063 mm, 1970 mm and 1741 mm, but rides on a slightly longer 2995 mm wheelbase. Reports from China suggest the new SUV will be available with either a middle-row bench seat layout, or in a more luxurious guise with three rows of two chairs.

 

While the Q6 might outpunch the Q7 when it comes to exterior dimensions, it’s the other way around when you look under the hood. Instead of powerful V6 and V8 engines, the MQB-based Q6 has to settle for turbocharged inline fours. Two 2.0-liter engines are available, one with 228 hp, and another with 261 hp.

Given the Q6’s 2,205 kg curb weight, neither version will be setting any drag strip or top speed records. Information from MIIT gives a top speed of 207 km/h. Car News China reports that the 295 hp 2.5-liter VR6 turbo from the mechanically similar Teramont, the Chinese version of the Atlas, isn’t slated to make an appearance and that a PHEV is also off the menu.

Also disappointingly small are the standard wheels, which measure just 17 inches across, though rims up to 21 inches will be available as options. We think it’s going to need the big hoops to help distract from the fact that the sheetmetal isn’t exactly Audi’s best work, looking slightly bloated and not remotely athletic. Inside, drivers will find a standard Audi setup of digital instrument cluster and dual console touchscreens.