AUDI E-TRON. POSITIVE CHARGE

Last updated Apr 16, 2022

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS AUDI E-TRON 55 QUATTRO

The market for electric vehicles has recently been an ephemeral concept. The infrastructure is still poorly developed, and the climate does not add optimism. Therefore, each new electric model is a landmark event for us. Especially when it comes to the German premium!

If you're looking at an electric car purely from a rational standpoint—calculating fuel costs and benefits relative to gasoline or diesel—the e-tron et al won't be right for you. In all countries with high sales of electric vehicles, the state takes part in their popularization, dating the purchase and maintenance. So far, we have only one bonus – free parking, although recently the state nevertheless went for relief in terms of customs duties.

An electric car is fashionable and environmentally friendly. Many people buy “electric trains” guided by this very fact.

NO LONGER KITSCH

Once upon a time, the creators of electric vehicles gave cars an extravagant look. The specific design was dictated by design features – heavy batteries and electrical components under the floor, in the trunk and even behind the back of the rear seat did not contribute to practicality. But one proud American company with comical ambitions turned the electrical world upside down. Tesla offered customers visually fashionable, spacious models that are in no way inferior in practicality to ordinary cars and crossovers.

Audi e-tron is from this company. The body stretched 4.90 m: the e-tron is shorter than the Q7 by 15 cm and longer than the Q5 by 25 cm. the best in the segment of full-size crossovers. There is no central tunnel, typical of ordinary cars, so it is very spacious in the back even for three. Trunk volume is 660 liters, and under the floor there is a spacious compartment with a lid for an additional 60 liters. With the second-row seats folded down, the trunk volume reaches 1725 liters.

There are essentially two visual elements that are 100% related to other Audi models: a luminous strip that combines the rear LED lights and an octagonal Singleframe grille with vertical slats, and even that is made in an unusual Platinum Gray color, symbolizing the electric drive.

The rest is yours. These are Matrix LED headlights with four integrated horizontal strips of daytime running lights that form the e-tron lighting signature. As well as a low shoulder line and roof, a wide diffuser in the rear, hinting at the sporting ambitions of an electric crossover. Cross bars on the sides of the diffuser emphasize the absence of exhaust pipes. The icing on the cake is the bright orange e-tron emblems on the charging port cover and brake calipers “Beware of high voltage!”.

Everything inside is delicious too. Typical for Audi tactilely flawless plastics, chic decoration with brushed aluminum, Valcona leather and even outlandish natural ash. The electrical undertones are also underlined here – the orange stitching of the seats is immediately associated with electrical circuits. For a surcharge, all this luxury can be accentuated by contour and background lighting with 30 color options and an illuminated e-tron logo. Audi virtual cockpit with a resolution of 1920 × 720 pixels (full HD) and graphics specially developed for the e-tron. At hand is a very convenient selector for selecting driving modes.

Chip Audi e-tron – virtual exterior mirrors. The first production car in the world with such “optics”! Compact cameras are built into the hexagonal poles, the image from which is transmitted to OLED displays with a resolution of 1200 × 800 pixels in the door panels. Out of habit, you first look for mirrors in the usual place, but you soon get used to it. OLED displays can be customized, zoom in and change the viewing angle. When you bring your finger to the surface of the screen, a set of characters is activated to move the image.

ELECTROPOWER

Two induction motors are ready to support a maximum output of 300 kW (408 hp) and a torque of 664 Nm. The front electric motor for the sake of layout is parallel to the front axle and develops a peak of 135 kW and 309 Nm. The rear engine is mounted transversely and delivers 165 kW and 355 Nm of torque. Planetary gears transmit power to all four wheels through differentials.

Sounds fantastic! But the mass of the car is 2565 kg, so the e-tron accelerates slowly to hundreds … by the standards of a supercar, of course! Less than 6 seconds (in Boost mode) is great, although another recent Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicle on the market is still faster at just 4.8 seconds. But compared to the gasoline Audi e-tron performs in the big leagues.

Of course, the driving experience is completely different. And the main, striking difference is complete silence. You are pushed into the back by a barely audible electric hum that almost immediately overrides the noise of rolling tires. Very, very quiet! The drama inherent in old-school cars with their roaring “sixes” and exhaust systems tearing the air is not in sight.

Despite the rather large mass, seven hundred kilograms of which is on the conscience of the battery, the e-tron is good on winding roads. Ironically, the same battery under the floor provides a low center of gravity and ideal weight distribution along the axes. Throw in the adaptive air suspension, which changes ground clearance in a range of 76mm from the standard 172mm, and it becomes clear why the e-tron cuts corners into hunting.

By the way, the suspension aligns the position of the body depending on the load, and the Audi drive select system also changes the ride at the request of the driver. It's not worth driving a car off the asphalt – the suspension here is short-stroke, and the curb weight threatens to bury the e-tron, which also doesn’t like to slip.

GOT FAR?

Serpentines are good, but what about the power reserve? Claimed mileage per charge in the WLTP cycle is 436 km. As is often the case with passport data, this figure is clearly obtained in greenhouse conditions. In summer mode, with a fully charged battery, the Audi e-tron travels about 350 km, even less in winter. It's simple: in hot weather, a lot of energy is spent on air conditioning, and in winter – on warming it up. A positive charge neutralizes negative temperatures – the battery does not like the cold very much.

The fastest charging is with DC power up to 150 kW. The process takes about 30 minutes and returns the battery to 80% capacity. Alas, this option is possible only at the charging station, of which there have been one or two recently. So you should rely on charging from a home outlet.

At your request, Audi will send a specialist to check the power supply in the garage and install the necessary equipment. Standard mobile charging provides two options: with a current of up to 2.3 kW from a 230 V household network or up to 11 kW from a three-phase 400 V network. In the second case, a full charge takes 8.5 hours. The optional 22 kW connect system reduces the time to 4.5 hours.

As you can see, while the electric car is a rather troublesome toy. And not cheap! The pre-order was announced at a price of 5,595,000 conventional units. The Advance, Sport and Design performance lines are priced at 6,025,000, 6,515,000 and 6,615,000 conventional units, respectively. The only recent competitor to the Audi e-tron, the Jaguar I Pace, is estimated at 5,946,000–6,910,000 rubles. AG