Audi Q6 E-Tron vs Denza B8

What's the difference?

From a few paces back, the Q6 e-tron is easy to mistake for just another Audi.

After all, Audi, perhaps above all its contemporaries, has established such a consistent look and feel for its entire range.

But this is no regular Audi. The brand tells us the Q6 e-tron is the most significant new vehicle it has launched in a decade.

Underneath its familiar visage, Audi is so excited about the Q6 e-tron because it brings with it a ground-up new-vehicle platform, which brings with it some forward leaps when it comes to technology.

But does being new actually make the Q6 e-tron a good car? We went to its Australian media launch to find out.

Large SUVs like the Toyota LandCruiser, Nissan Patrol and Land Rover Defender have dominated in Australia for decades now, however there’s now something new to shake up the segment.

BYD’s luxury spin-off brand, Denza, has launched in Australia with two plug-in hybrid (PHEV) off-road SUVs. The B8, which is the larger of the two, is on test here.

With three rows of seating, a bucketload of standard equipment and a jaw-dropping starting price, the B8 is being pitched as a PHEV alternative to the currently diesel-only LandCruiser 300 Series among other more premium alternatives like the Land Rover Discovery and Mercedes-Benz GLS.

We’ve already driven the B8 over in China and this is the first time we’re getting to test it out on Australian roads, so let’s see how it stacks up.