Audi A6 vs Mercedes-Benz E-Class

The redesigned 2026 Audi A6 marks the ninth generation of midsize luxury sedans from Ingolstadt, Germany. While it shares a name and some tech features with the Audi A6 e-tron introduced for the 2025 model year, the gasoline A6 is an otherwise different vehicle based on the same Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) as the A5 sedan and Q5 crossover. A redesign was certainly needed as most other midsize luxury sedans—specifically the BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class—were renewed more recently, and we haven’t had a genuinely new A6 since the 2020 model year.

Verdict: On paper, the A6 looks like more of a premium product than before. But it doesn’t feel that way from behind the wheel, and the tech is a work in progress.

Available as a sedan or as a wagon, the 2026 E-Class lineup adds a new bit of kit in the form of a standard biometric fingerprint scanner to authenticate saved driver profiles. The bigger news is the debut of the AMG E 53 Hybrid wagon variant, which offers plug-in hybrid efficiency combined with AMG-engineered performance. It joins an E-Class family that also includes the E 350 Sedan, the E 450 Sedan, the E 450 All-Terrain Wagon, and the AMG E 53 Hybrid Sedan.

Verdict: Anyone suffering from SUV fatigue will find a lot to like about the 2026 Mercedes E-Class wagon, especially the AMG-tuned model. It offers electric-only propulsion for short trips, a gasoline engine for long-distance drives, impressive performance, and plenty of utility.