Audi E-Tron is actually Audi’s first fully electric car, which just had to be good, since Audi made a late entry into an EV market. And it is, kind of. With all the hype and demand for SUVs, it was kind of obvious for Audi’s first EV to be an SUV, rather than some limousine or hatchback. Especially as it was destined to carry its famous quattro badge as well.
This was a challenge for Audi, because E-Tron is not only their first electric car, but also their first car with an electric four wheel drive system, which for a brand, known to offer the best all wheather performance in the world, shouldn’t be taken lightly. And it wasn’t. E-tron is equipped with the state of the art four wheel drive system, which offers a wide variety of driving modes, also altering the hight and firmness of a super comfortable air suspension in the process. Leave it in ‘auto’ and you will be fine 90% of the time, chose ‘Allroad’ or even ‘offroad’ mode for improved ground clearance and even more softness when offroading (yes it can do that too), or choose ‘efficient’ driving mode for longer motorway journeys.
Why haven’t I mentioned a dynamic mode? Because for a car weighing more than 2,5 tones, do you really want to drive sporty? No! And it feels like Audi engineers thought the same. The car is a cruising machine, with being supremely comfortable and extremely well insulated, with enough performance to not feel sluggish. I probably haven’t driven a quieter car than this, while also being so comfortable that you just don’t have even the slightest desire to drive fast, even though it can do 0 to 100 km/h in only 5,7 seconds.
Especially as it also eats into the allready not so impressive electric range. In theory the two electric motors offering just over 400 horsepower, and a huge 95 kWh battery cell should offer more than 400 kilometers of range, but in reality you would be happy doing 300 kilometers, especially if you do a lot of motorway driving. You might do more on country roads but since this is so good motorway cruiser it is kind of a shame, that doing a legal speed limit on a motorway you wouldn’t even reach 300 kilometers. The main problem is its mass and big aerodynamic drag from its dimensions. Doing 130 km/h it had a consumption of about 30 kWh/100km, with it rising to an almost 40 kWh/100km while doing 145 km/h.
Otherwise Audi E-Tron is a spacious, well built German SUV, with high tech interior, more gadgets than your last PlayStation and a driving experience to rival some of the premium executive limousines such as BMW 7 series or Audi’s own A8. It also has a big, practical boot at the back, and a usefull small compartment in the front, just big enough for your charging cables. Its only real drawback is its range, but if you don’t do more than 150 kilometers that often, you should enjoy this.
