Cars And Track Staff
Audi just announced updates for the 2027 A6 e-tron and Q6 e-tron, and buried in the press release is what amounts to a corporate mea culpa: they’re bringing back actual, honest-to-God physical controls on the steering wheel. You know, the kind that you can operate without looking, without accidentally triggering the windshield wipers when you just wanted to change the volume, and without questioning every life choice that led you to spending six figures on a car that treats basic ergonomics like an optional extra. Real buttons! I wonder what that is going to do to the resale value of all of those cars out there living a haptic hapless existence.
The new steering wheel design is part of a broader interior refresh that also includes updated software that’s supposedly “designed for easier use.” Translation: “We realized people actually need to, like, use this stuff while driving.”
Audi is positioning this as innovation, but let’s call it what it is: admitting defeat. Somewhere in Ingolstadt, a designer who’s been screaming “JUST ADD BUTTONS” into the void for three years is finally getting their vindication.
The updated models are set to hit dealerships in Q2 2026, giving current Q6 and A6 e-tron owners plenty of time to stew over the fact that they’re beta testing the bad version.
Progress, everyone. It only took completely removing basic functionality to realize we actually liked it.
