Audi e-tron: we test the electric SUV from Audi

The Audi e-tron offers an electric driving experience that makes us forget combustion engines altogether. It only lacks a bit more real-world range and a wider network of fast charging points

We had never written so much about a new model before testing it. Nor had we ever Audi seen such a large-scale deployment to launch a new model onto the market. But the Audi e-tron is the first electric car from the brand with the four rings, and it marks the start of a new era in which batteries and plugs take centre stage.

So much so that we could forget combustion-engined cars altogether? At the current pace, the answer is yes. But something is still missing: more real-world range, and a genuinely developed charging infrastructure, especially fast-charging stations, which is already under way.

Now, though, it’s time to test the new e-tron and answer some of the questions any car enthusiast might have, especially those interested in this car. We’ll start with an overview of its main technical features. But first, a video.

https://youtu.be/P_EGbH6sj24

An electric SUV that doesn’t look like one

Apart from a few distinctive features such as the identifying logos, the sculpted grille or the charging socket, from the outside the e-tron could easily pass for any SUV from Audi.

And the same goes for the interior, where the feeling is practically identical to what we experienced in the road test of the Audi Q8, for example: technological sophistication and premium quality. The battery sits beneath the floor of the spacious cabin. If you got into the e-tron without anyone telling you it was electric, you would hardly guess it, apart from the absence of noise when pulling away. Or, at most, from the dials on the digital instrument cluster, the Audi virtual cockpit.

At 4.90 metres long, 1.93 metres wide and 1.63 metres high, the e-tron sits, according to Audi, between a Q5 and a Q7. To me it still looks very close to the Q8.

It uses two electric motors, with up to 170 hp on the front axle and another delivering up to 190 hp to the rear wheels. Maximum power is 360 hp, with maximum torque of 560 Nm. But briefly, for about eight seconds (to protect the battery) and in the sport mode, the “boost” mode allows up to 408 hp, with 664 Nm of torque. To put that in context, those are petrol V8 figures.

Are the virtual mirrors worth it?

One of the technological innovations that draws most attention on the Audi e-tron is the virtual mirror system, called Audi Virtual Mirrors. The e-tron is the first series-production car to replace conventional door mirrors with video cameras. And get ready, because in the short or medium term we will see this solution appear on other vehicles.

We tried the virtual mirrors of the Audi e-tron during the initial drive of the car. The main argument for this system is that it allows the drag coefficient to be reduced from 0.28 to 0.27. And that is a lot. You can’t imagine how hard it would be to shave a single point off the Cd by changing the bodywork design without touching the mirrors.

Setting aside the possible impact that this reduction in Cd may have on acoustic comfort or fuel consumption, these mirrors have two drawbacks. On the one hand they are expensive, around 2,000 euros if ordered as a standalone option.

On the other, they require a period of adaptation to get used to looking at the screen, which sits on the door in a lower position than where you would look for a conventional mirror. Adapting is much harder for the left mirror than the right one, where you need to lower your gaze less because the screen is further away.

Once that adaptation period is over, they actually work very well, with fantastic image quality. They are touch-sensitive, so you can adjust the camera’s orientation by touching the screen directly. And they cope very well with low-light situations, reflections and so on. But personally, I find conventional mirrors more comfortable. Perhaps if the screens were positioned a little higher…

My advice is to save yourself what they cost as an individual option, but not to worry if you choose the sport or higher trim levels, where they come as standard. There are a lot of screens (five in total if you count the mirror screens along with the rest), but you will get used to them. Though I’ll warn you that in some situations you’ll find yourself missing your “old” mirror-glass ones.

Can I travel with the Audi e-tron?

Another question any potential buyer of an e-tron asks is whether this really is an electric car you can use with the family on long journeys.

The answer is… it depends. On the one hand, in terms of the cabin, comfort and space, a resounding yes. The Audi e-tron offers room for five passengers, with very good headroom and legroom in every seat. And with the advantage of a completely flat floor, with no transmission tunnel encroaching on the footwell of the rear passengers.

On the other hand, the position of the large battery, laid flat beneath the floor, allows for a boot with a 600-litre capacity, plus 60 extra litres under the front bonnet that accommodate the various charging cables, leaving the main boot completely free. This is therefore a car with passenger and luggage space that has nothing to envy and even surpasses the Audi Q8 in some respects.

As for range, which is the most important factor in an electric car for a long journey, here we need to qualify a lot, since it is directly tied to consumption. And the consumption of the Audi e-tron, as with electric cars in general (the bigger and heavier they are, the more so, and the e-tron is a very heavy car, over 2.5 tonnes), varies a great deal depending on driving style and how the car’s various systems are used.

The homologated figures under the WLTP cycle tell us of consumption between 22.5 and 26.2 kWh per 100 km, and a range of up to 417 km. Remember that the battery capacity is 95 kWh. And although WLTP consumption is now much more realistic than the earlier NEDC, under which the e-tron’s range exceeded 500 km, it still departs from real-world consumption. It therefore sits in our top 10 of electric cars with the greatest range.

In mixed use, on motorway and mountain road, with air conditioning on and no thought whatsoever for efficiency, during our test we measured consumption of around 30 kWh, which would leave a total range of about 300 km. It is possible to bring consumption down to around 25 kWh per 100 km if you switch to the “ECO” mode, use the accelerator only as much as necessary, take advantage of the efficiency mode across the seven available driving programmes (two of them for off-road use), and keep a steady speed, especially on the motorway.

The most sensible course, therefore, is to assume from the outset a real-world range closer to 300 km than 400 km, unless you want to be caught out. From here, the other factor that affects a journey in a car like the Audi e-tron, or using it day to day, is charging. And there is a lot to explain here too.

Is it true it charges in just half an hour?

Audi boasts one of the best charging systems for the Audi e-tron, and also offers a service such as the Audi e-tron Charging Service, which brings many advantages and convenience to users.

And it is true that the brand says the car is ready for a new leg of a long trip in just half an hour, as it is the first series-production electric car that accepts fast charging at 150 kW. But be careful: that assumes you have a fast-charging station with that power nearby, which is unlikely… for now.

As standard, the Audi e-tron comes with a charging system that accepts up to 11 kW. At this power, charging the battery to 80-85% of its capacity takes between 7 and 8 hours, and nearly 12 hours to reach 100%. The “problem” is that to charge at 11 kW, you need a three-phase 400-volt installation. And a private home is not easily going to have one.

In a home with a single-phase 220-volt installation, which is the norm, using the standard charger and a domestic socket you could charge the Audi e-tron in about 18-20 hours… provided you have a 7.2 kW supply contracted. With the power typically contracted at home, you would need to keep the e-tron plugged in for more than 30 hours for a full charge.

With the optional charger, which Audi will offer from later this year (it requires a second charger installed on board the car), the charging power doubles to 22 kW, allowing a recharge in about 5-6 hours.

As you can see, although things have improved a lot, it is still essential to choose the right charger when buying the car and to know the capacity of your electrical installation. And to forget, at least for now, about charging in half an hour.

To make things easier, Audi offers remote management of everything related to the charging process through the myAudi app. There is also the e-tron route planner, which takes into account the charging points available along a route. And the e-tron Charging Service gives access to charging points in Spain and across Europe operated by different electricity companies, using just one card linked to a single individual charging contract.

How does the Audi e-tron drive?

Pretty much like an automatic car; there are no differences in this respect. We have already said it is a heavy car, like all electric SUVs in its class. In fact, the e-tron is among the heaviest. But the weight, which affects consumption, is no drawback either for performance or for handling.

You don’t need to reach the “boost” mode of maximum power to feel the Audi e-tron pushing hard, with an instant response that makes driving very enjoyable. In fact, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in normal mode takes 6.6 seconds, a figure more typical of a sports car… which drops to 5.7 seconds when using all the available power. In both cases, top speed is electronically limited to 200 km/h.

To control the movements of a body that weighs quite a bit, Audi fits the e-tron with air suspension as standard, which feels firm in the most comfort-oriented driving programme. They have done this very well, because comfort is not compromised even with the larger tyre and wheel options, which can go up to 22 inches. The low centre of gravity helps with this.

You will never miss more power, regardless of the driving mode selected or the passengers on board. Simply press the right foot down on the pedal. The other thing is how quickly consumption rises in that case… and how the range estimate drops in step.

Otherwise, you can use the paddles on the steering wheel to force the car to recover more energy at a given moment. But it is best to leave it to the efficient regeneration system fitted as standard on the e-tron, and focus only on the accelerator and the brakes.

On the motorway and fast roads, travelling in the e-tron is a real pleasure, enjoying the sound system without any engine noise interfering (the air suspension lowers the body height automatically), and very well insulated from wind noise.

In corners you are surprised by how agile a car this heavy and this size can be, without needing the four-wheel steering that other Audi models have. Traction management is predictive: the e-tron shifts from driving with the rear wheels to using both motors and all four wheels, distributing torque according to the driving situation and the grip of each wheel at any moment… it is the new era of quattro traction, the electric quattro traction.

The brakes have one of the best feels we have tested on hybrid and electric cars, bearing in mind that up to a certain level of deceleration (about 0.3 g) they do not use the discs and pads; instead, speed is shed through the energy recovery system. The key is that Audi uses an innovative electro-hydraulic braking system, with no direct connection between the pedal and the hydraulic circuit, which also responds much faster than a conventional system.

How much does the Audi e-tron cost?

The recommended retail price of the only version available so far, the Audi e-tron 55 quattro, starts at 82,450 euros for the base version. From there, there are three trim lines, with the following prices:

• e-tron 55 quattro: €82,450
• e-tron 55 quattro advanced: €88,750
• e-tron 55 quattro sport: €95,460
• e-tron 55 quattro black line: €96,960

Moving from the base trim to advanced adds 6,300 euros, and from advanced to sport 6,710. Above the sport, the black line costs 1,500 euros more.

Even in the base trim, the Audi e-tron includes 19-inch wheels, adaptive air suspension, full LED headlights, electric tailgate, compact charger (up to 11 kW), Audi virtual cockpit instrumentation, the top MMI Navigation plus multimedia system, programmable parking climate control and the main driver assistance systems.

The advanced trim adds orange brake calipers, 20-inch wheels, Audi smartphone interface, the advanced “Plus” version of the Audi virtual cockpit instrumentation, an ambient lighting pack, brushed aluminium inserts, rear side airbags, a reversing camera and aluminium roof rails.

For the sport trim, there are specific 20-inch wheels, virtual mirrors, lane change warning, S line interior package, electric seats, leather-upholstered dashboard and sports seats in mixed leather/Alcantara upholstery. The black line trim moves to 21-inch Audi Sport wheels and adds the black styling pack, tinted rear windows, and a black grille and roof rails.

In addition, since launch Audi has been selling the limited special series Audi e-tron Edition One (2,600 units worldwide), priced at 115,030 euros. This version is the blue car shown in the photos you can see in the photo gallery.

It is characterised by the exclusive body colour, aluminium trim, 21-inch turbine-design wheels, sports seats upholstered in Valcona leather, panoramic roof, Bang & Olufsen audio system with 16 speakers, Matrix LED headlights, Tour assistant package and surround-view camera, among other features.

Which cars does the Audi e-tron compete with?

The main rivals to the Audi e-tron, if you are looking for a premium SUV of this size with electric propulsion, are the new Mercedes-Benz EQC, the Jaguar I-PACE and the Tesla Model X. Other alternatives to the Audi e-tron could be the plug-in hybrid SUVs, such as the Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine.

All of them sit around the 80,000-euro mark for their entry-level versions, with the Mercedes EQC the most affordable and the Tesla Model X the most expensive. Against them, the Audi matches the Jaguar for dynamism and performance, with the refinement of the Mercedes and a higher finish than the Tesla.

On price too, for what a Audi e-tron 55 quattro costs, and without leaving the range of the brand with the four rings, you get a sporty SUV with a combustion engine and mild-hybrid technology such as the Audi Q8. It carries an ECO label instead of ZERO, but you will not depend on a plug under any circumstances.

Remote equipment updates

Finally, I don’t want to finish this test without mentioning one of the features the e-tron will add later this year, which we will soon see on other Audi models too, even non-electric ones. It is the Audi function on demand service.

Through this feature, an Audi e-tron customer will be able to, for example, add equipment updates after purchase that were not included with the car. And it will be possible to do so from the myAudi portal or through the app.

Initially it will offer the option to upgrade, for example, from standard LED headlights to Matrix LED headlights with intelligent high beam. You could buy this equipment for a limited period of time, or install it permanently. In the future, when less powerful versions of the e-tron arrive, it will also be possible to access remote updates that increase engine power.

Audi e-tron image gallery