especially since a 360-degree parking camera is included in every edition. In terms of measurements, it is shorter than a Q7 but longer than an Audi Q5 (4,663mm) (5,052mm). The ride height of the e-tron can be adjusted up to 76mm, making it simple to get in and out of while also giving it some light off-road capability.
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The Q4 e-tron and the Q5 are both the same size.
With the introduction of the Q4 e-tron and Q4 e-tron Sportback SUVs in 2022, Audi will double the size of its EV-focused e-tron lineup, which reflects the company’s ambitious goals in the luxury electric vehicle market. The Q4 siblings have a footprint that is similar to the small Q5 crossover and are smaller than the mid-size e-tron SUV. While a single 201-hp electric motor and a 77.0-kWh battery pack serve as the powertrain’s foundation, an optional 295-hp dual-motor system with all-wheel drive offers greater performance. According to claims, the battery pack can provide a driving range of up to 241 miles per charge. When the Q4 e-tron versions go on sale, they will compete with other small electric SUVs like the Tesla Model Y and the Volvo XC40 Recharge. By the end of 2021, the Q4 e-tron should be available at Audi dealerships.
A Real SUV
We often refrain from commenting on car styling because our personal tastes are no more important than yours. However, I’ve come to understand that you can’t judge a design until you see it in the real world rather than on an auto show floor. In addition to being a real SUV and looking good, the e-tron already blends in better than two of its main rivals, the Jaguar I-Pace and Model X, when it arrived at the San Francisco airport (compare the Model X and I-Pace specs side by side).
According to a long-held belief, drivers of environmentally friendly automobiles must stand out since they are attempting to make a statement. I never accepted this justification. The Nissan Leaf has always been a little bit of a freak, and its market success has been small. In contrast, the renowned Toyota Prius has always been a bit odd-looking, but for a decade it was uniquely efficient and economical, and there was no control group to compare it with. Audi is catering to individuals who don’t want to stand out or perhaps those who don’t want to make the compromises required of the strikingly styled I-Pace with the e-tron.
Driving the e-tron
Even though its claimed zero-to-60-mph time of 5.5 seconds by Audi is slower than other rivals, the e-tron possesses the responsiveness we’ve come to expect from an electric car. Tesla rates the Model X at 4.6 seconds for a Standard model and as little as 2.7 seconds for the Performance version with Ludicrous mode. Jaguar claims 4.5 seconds for the I-Pace, Mercedes-Benz claims 4.9 seconds for the EQC (which we haven’t driven), and Jaguar claims 4.5 seconds for the I-Pace.
The e-tron features a Boost Mode, but unlike Ludicrous mode, it doesn’t shorten the acceleration time; instead, it unleashes the entire 402 horsepower and 490 pounds-feet of torque that allows for the claimed 5.5 seconds. For the most part, the e-tron restricts output at 355 horsepower and 414 pounds-feet in the interest of efficiency. Only when the shifter is in Sport or the Drive Select mode is set to Dynamic and the accelerator is floored while pressing the same lever that causes a transmission downshift in Audis with gas engines will Boost Mode be activated.
Whether using Boost Mode or not, the e-tron accelerates most effectively off the line. As all four wheels sink in, you can be thrown back into your seat. Highway passing power, like that of most electric vehicles, isn’t particularly outstanding, but even as I ascended steeper inclines into the Eldorado National Forest, I never felt short on power. The e-tron is the first electric Quattro from the inventor of all-wheel drive, and it features a drive motor on each axle. For a rear-drive experience, the rear motor has a higher power rating of 224 horsepower and 262 pounds-feet of torque. 184 horsepower and 228 pounds-feet are the front’s ratings. The torque distribution is 80/20 by default, but it can change depending on the situation and can be 100% rear when traveling on the interstate. The traditional method of shifting torque left and right with brake-based traction control is also possible. Unfortunately, the snowfall we had as we got closer to Lake Tahoe was just enough to be annoying and not enough to test the AWD’s capabilities in compacted snow.
The Quattro tuning and the placement of the battery pack between the axles help the e-tron seem well-balanced. Only a vehicle with a battery pack weighing about 1,540 pounds in its floor can seem like it has a low center of gravity. Although the SUV’s size and weight are too great for it to feel athletic, the body of the e-tron does not lean excessively into corners. Although it handles well, it lacks a nimble feeling. (As of publication, the curb weight was not published, although I believe the e-tron to be near to three tons.) Although it was wonderful on the beautiful highways of California and Nevada, I might object back in the Midwest because the ride quality is rougher than I had anticipated. Although air springs are standard, the e-tron lacks adjustable shock absorbers, so choosing the Comfort mode has the same impact as pressing the Close Door button on an elevator. Although summer tires are optional with 19-inch wheels, Audi warns that these wheels “may ride less comfortably, make more noise, and wear more quickly than other choices.” Take note that the Prestige trim level of my car came with 21-inch wheels rather than the Premium Plus trim level’s standard 20-inch wheels.
However, this is characteristic of vehicles with regenerative braking, which uses the drive motors as generators to recharge the battery rather than pressing brake pads against discs. The e-brake tron’s pedal feels numb and isn’t as easy to control as a decent traditional braking system.
the latter of which, according to an additional real-time readout Audi offered on an iPad, represented less than 1% of our braking. I prefer to drive with a more severe deceleration when I lift off the accelerator, which the e-tron permits if you draw and release the left steering-wheel paddleonce for 0.03 G of braking and again for 0.1 G. This is partly because I don’t like the wacky EV brake pedal feel. The touchscreen’s Efficiency assist menu requires you to select Manual under Recuperation if you want it to stay at the current setting.
Roomy, Utilitarian, Familiar
The Audi Q7, which seats seven, is 6.6 inches longer than the e-tron, which is only 3.3 inches shorter than the new Audi Q8 SUV. The e-tron is far roomier than the Jaguar, which we have criticized for being overly claustrophobic and difficult to see out of, thanks to its size advantage and typical SUV design. It is almost 9 inches longer than the I-Pace. The e-tron has space to spread out, so the backseat competition is, well, no contest. Legroom is 39.1 inches vs 35.0 inches in the I-Pace. The floor’s central hump is much smaller than it is in most Audis.
The cargo tale is comparable. In comparison to the Jaguar, the e-tron offers 28.5 cubic feet of space behind its backseat. When the seats are folded down and the front storage spaces are added up, the Audi has 57 cubic feet, compared to the Jag’s 52. The Model X has 87.8 cubic feet in comparison. Under the e-hood, tron’s there is a storage space big enough for the charging equipment but not much else.
The dual-touchscreen Multi Media Interface’s layout and controls take some getting used to, but overall it’s an improvement over the previous knob-based system. It surpasses the I-version Pace’s of the same, especially its touch-sensitive steering-wheel controls, in our opinion. The shifterfor want of a better termwhich consists of a stationary leather-covered palm rest with a brushed-metal slider on the left that you push forward and back with your thumb and forefingeris the key feature that sets the e-interior tron’s apart from other recent Audis.
Sincerity be damned, there were occasions when I wondered whether Audi had gone too far with its no-nonsense attitude. The navigation map may display the now-familiar ring to indicate your current range in any direction, and the e-tron comes with 10 years’ worth of Audi Connect connectivity to enable remote charging, cabin preconditioning, and other features through a smartphone app. But can that match Tesla’s mixed martial arts skills?
Range and Reality
I will argue in favor of the e-limited tron’s range, but I find it more difficult to accept one of the justifications. I berated the I-Pace for its comparative inefficiency of 76 combined mpg. (MPG-E accomplishes the job when comparing battery-electric vehicles; it is less effective when comparing them to gas-powered vehicles.) Model X 75D, which is somewhat bigger, has a 93 mpg-e rating. Because of its higher efficiency, the Tesla’s 75-kilowatt-hour battery may theoretically provide 4 more miles of range than the I-90-kwh Pace’s battery, and it can add more miles of range over the same period when charging at the same rate.
The Audi e-tron is rated at 74/73/74 mpg city/highway/combined, which is 1 mpg-e greater on the highway but 2 mpg combined and 6 mpg less in the city than the I-Pace. This discrepancy is reasonable given that the C-HR is a bigger, higher car than the I-Pace. However, it doesn’t lessen the sharp contrast between these two and the Tesla. Even the least efficient Model X, the P100D, has an estimated range of 289 miles with a battery pack that is only 5 kwh more than the e-95 tron’s kwh.
Although the e-drag tron’s coefficient is 0.30, the I-is Pace’s 0.29, and the admittedly oddly shaped Model X’s is 0.24 (lower numbers are more slippery), aerodynamics appear to have a role. However, this alone cannot account for Tesla’s supremacy.
An A+ Charging Strategy
The charging approach used by Audi is the finest thing I can say about the e-tron. It gives the buyer an advantage and aids in making up for the car’s shortcomingssomething the I-Pace falls short of doing.
First off, the e-built-in tron’s electronics have a 9.6 kilowatt home charging capability, which means a depleted battery can be refilled using 240-volt charging in around nine hours, giving it an average range of 22 miles for every hour of charging. Even though the I-Pace has a smaller battery, its maximum power output is 7 kW, therefore it takes around 12 hours (major gaffe). With 9.6 kW, there is also more than enough power to immediately pre-heat or cool the interior while the vehicle is still plugged in without draining the battery and reducing the driving range.
Second, Audi offers a versatile home charging system with the vehicle. This little unit has a maximum 9.6 kW 240-volt charging capability, but can also charge at 120 or 240 volts. It makes sense to include the hardware in a vehicle of this price that relies on high current. The installation portion of the bill, which Audi does not cover and which, depending on the location, may cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, was addressed via a partnership between Audi and Amazon Home Services. The device needs a circuit with a 50-amp breaker, 240 volts, and 40 amps.
Third
And because the focus on public charges is wrong, I’m placing this in the distant third place.
All e-trons have some of the quickest DC rapid charging speeds currently available. The e-tron can absorb up to 150 kW at charging stations able of this level since DC charging avoids the vehicle’s AC home charging constraints and goes directly to the battery (not all are). In the same circumstance, the I-Pace is capped at 50 kW. The capacity of Tesla’s exclusive Superchargers ranges from 72 to 250 kW, and the Model X itself is now restricted to 150 kW.
What does this mean in the present and the future? After stopping at a Sacramento Electrify America station, the battery was charged from 59 to 99 percent, extending the range by 77 miles. The car could accept 150 kW at its maximum, and the instrument screen once showed that it could add range at a pace of 373 miles per hour, or more than 6 miles per minute. The average rate, however, came out to be around half that, or 3 miles per minute, because charging slows as the battery gets close to capacity. All batteries charge more quickly when they are empty and less quickly when they fill up. However, the e-tron can accept fast charging rates at high battery charge levels because of its strong cooling system. Our e-tron exceeded 144 kW up to around 80% of its capacity, fell below 100 kW at about 84 %, and continued to exceed the 50 kW limit of the I-Pace all the way up to 96 % of its capacity.
Within the first four years of ownership, E-tron customers receive credits for 1,000 kwh of charging at Electrify America fast-charging stations, which may or may not be beneficial to you depending on where you reside. Always keep in mind that charging at home is the goal. I advise avoiding purchasing an EV with the expectation that you’ll use public charging, which has endless availability and price variations.
The Audi e-tron, is it an SUV?
When looking into the luxury electric SUV sector, the 2022 e-tron is unquestionably something you should take into account. The Tesla Model X and Tesla Model Y are competitors that can both travel further on a single charge if you’re looking for a car with a longer driving range, though.
Has the Audi e-tron got seven seats?
It has a busy-looking front face for styling, which is typical of modern Audis. Massive in size and covered, the single-frame grille has a reduced aerodynamic drag coefficient. The overall design is enhanced by the angular headlights, and the front bumper lacks fog lamps in favor of air vents that are actually useful. The Q5 e-tail tron’s also appears to be well-designed. Here, a slightly larger e-tron is discernible thanks to the narrow LED tail lamps and the light bar that spans the width.
The Q4 e-tron served as a major design inspiration for the interior. The instrument console has a 10.25-inch display, while the 11.6-inch infotainment screen takes center stage. The Q5 e-tron is said to be roomy inside thanks to a big footprint and a long wheelbase. Three-row seats with 6- and 7-seat configurations are provided. The first one includes captain’s chairs in the back row.
The Q5 e-powertrain tron’s continues to be its most important feature. It is an entirely electric offering, after all. Three variations will be available: 35, 40, and 50. The 180 HP motor in the 35 configuration will have a RWD layout. For this version, the battery capacity is 55 kWh. The mid-spec 40 model will include an 83.4 kWh battery pack and a 204 HP motor. On the other hand, the top-of-the-line 50 model has the same 83.4 kWh battery pack but has an AWD design and a 302 HP dual-motor arrangement. The sprint from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour is said to take 6.7 seconds, and a full charge is said to provide 560 kilometers of driving distance.
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