Here in Britain, we love a good ski holiday – with well over a million of us heading to the slopes every year. And our favourite location? By far, the French Alps.
Until recently, most of those heading for snow would simply fly. But over the last few years, there’s been a quiet revolution in how skiers and snowboarders make the journey: increasingly, they’re ditching the plane for the car.
When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Flights are more expensive than ever, luggage allowances keep shrinking, and from personal experience, the airport-to-resort transfer can be a pretty white-knuckle ride.
Drive yourself, and you can leave when you want, take as much as you want, travel at your own pace, and have enough space and in-journey entertainment to actually enjoy the trip.
So, if we agree that driving is the better option, the question is: which car should you take?
Watch the video below as Alex Brundle and Nina-Jade drive more than 600 miles from southern England to the French Alps to find out.
Audi A6 e-hybrid: the ultimate alpine machine
The Audi A6 e-hybrid sits near the top of Audi’s electrified lineup, offering executive-class refinement with a plug-in hybrid powertrain that balances efficiency, performance, and everyday usability. Add heaps of versatile space and cutting-edge in-car technology, and the A6 is the ultimate machine to get you to the slopes.
Under the bonnet, the A6 e-hybrid pairs a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with a 20.7kWh battery, producing a combined 299PS and 450Nm of torque. That’s enough for a brisk 0-62 mph in 6.0 seconds, aided by the electric motor’s torque, which fills the natural gaps in the petrol engine’s power delivery, smoothing acceleration and enhancing responsiveness. On a full charge, the saloon travels up to 61-64 miles (WLTP)[1] on electric power, while the Avant will cover up to 60-63 miles (WLTP)[2].
Practicality is equally strong. Boot space measures 354 litres in the saloon and 404 litres in the Avant, while rear legroom is nothing short of palatial and clever cubbies, door bins, and storage pockets keep tech and snacks within easy reach. It even comes with a through-loading hatch in the rear seats – perfect for longer items like, er, skis.
Up front, the soft-touch cockpit is dominated by the wall-to-wall “digital stage,” made up of three vast screens: the 11.9-inch Virtual Cockpit, a curved 14.5-inch central touchscreen, and an optional 10.9-inch passenger display that lets your co-pilot select music, enter destinations, or even play games. All of this is powered by Audi’s always-online MMI connected services system. As Autocar notes, “It has one of the best infotainment systems out there.”
On the move, the A6 e-hybrid is equally impressive. “Transitions [between the engine and electric motor] are for the most part seamless, to the extent that they sometimes go entirely unnoticed. It’s all very slick, and the same is true for driving in EV mode, in which the gearshift paddles are used to control several modes of brake regen, including an automatic mode that reacts to other traffic and the road ahead, as well as a welcome pure coasting mode,” says Autocar.
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