For a certain type of driver, nothing quite stirs the passion as a wagon. Known affectionately as a station wagon in some quarters, or an estate in others, some companies choose another term to try to bring excitement to this sector - BMW calls it a Touring, while Audi uses the term Avant.

Not that such vehicles need additional excitement - they are, after all, the most practical vehicles on the road, offering lots of stowage space without becoming something between an SUV and a bus and offering great efficiency than many high-riding rivals.

So the Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept is welcomed, as the electric car sector has been dominated by crossovers or compact models - and what we really want is a car what will carry both the kids and the dog in comfort.

The Audi A6 Sportback e-tron was previously shown off (but we already have saloons will the BMW i4 and the Tesla Model S), so the Avant is more interesting, as there's a general lack of electric wagons out there.

It sits on Audi's PPE platform, which isn't about personal protection, it's about performance. There are some impressive figures attached to this concept, with the promise of 435 miles of range (700km) and supporting charging up to 270kW, which is amongst the fastest we've seen so far.

That would give you 186 miles (300km) of range in just 10 minutes of charging - if you can find a charger that will give you those rates. The battery is expected to be 100kWh.

The concept is equipped with two motors, delivering 350kW of power and 800Nm of torque.

Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept photo 8
Audi

The Avant concept is the same size as the current Audi A6 models, but there's the e-tron makeover going on here, with cameras replacing the wing mirrors and design elements seen elsewhere on the e-tron fleet.

The benefit of the long wheel base is interior space, with greater freedom to give passengers space because there's no need for a transmission tunnel on the interior.

Sophisticated lighting comes to the car, not only giving customisable rear OLED displays in the lightbar on the back, but also using LED projectors on the side, to give enhanced illumination options.

We haven't had a glance at the interior yet, but we wouldn't be surprised if this exterior design is pretty much what we see launched in the future - and the design is likely to stick to Audi's formula, so don't expect a huge visual change from the interior of the Audi e-tron GT.

We're expecting to see the first cars built on the PPE platform launched in 2023.