Audi Q6 E-Tron vs Kia EV9

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.

The Kia EV9 has landed and it’s a big bruiser-looking thing; all squared edges with a healthy dose of swagger thrown in.

It’s an upper-large SUV that can comfortably host a family of seven and features trimmings to rival a Christmas tree but it’s also the most expensive Kia to ever launch in Australia.

Did I mention it’s also only one of two cars in its class? That’s right, the nearest competitor is the all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQS450 SUV.

Yep, the Kia EV9 is fully electric but built like a tank. Yet is it breaking new ground or is it just the Carnival dolled up and sitting on electric underpinnings?

I’ve been driving it for the a week with my family of three to find out.