Compare the2025 Kia Niro EVVS 2025 Audi Q6 e-tron

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Kia Niro EV have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Audi Q6 e-tron doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Kia Niro EV has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Q6 e-tron doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Niro EV Wave has standard Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Q6 e-tron doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Niro EV’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Q6 e-tron doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.

Both the Niro EV and the Q6 e-tron have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available front parking sensors.

The Niro EV comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Q6 e-tron’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Niro EV 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than Audi covers the Q6 e-tron. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Q6 e-tron ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 3 times as many Kia dealers as there are Audi dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Niro EV’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Audi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 79 more problems per 100 vehicles, Audi is ranked 31st, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Audi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in long-term dependability. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Audi is rated below average.

On the EPA test cycle the Niro EV gets better mileage than the Q6 e-tron:

The Niro EV’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Q6 e-tron Ultra’s standard 65 series front and 60 series rear tires.

For better maneuverability, the Niro EV’s turning circle is 4.9 feet tighter than the Q6 e-tron’s (34.8 feet vs. 39.7 feet).

The Kia Niro EV may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1250 to 1600 pounds less than the Audi Q6 e-tron.

The Niro EV is 1 foot, 1.8 inches shorter than the Q6 e-tron, making the Niro EV easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Niro EV uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Q6 e-tron doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Niro EV has 2 inches more front headroom and 1.7 inches more front legroom than the Q6 e-tron.

The Niro EV has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Q6 e-tron with its rear seat folded (63.7 vs. 60.2 cubic feet).

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Niro EV has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Q6 e-tron only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Niro EV Wave has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Q6 e-tron doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Niro EV Wave’s Smart Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Park Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Q6 e-tron’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Kia Niro EV, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Kia Niro outsold the Audi Q6 by almost 18 to one during 2024.