Audi has finally finished their second fully electric car in the shape of the e-tron Sportback. It's a car which is right inbetween the Q5 and Q7...
when it comes to size, and the Sportback is the one with the sloped roof. It's a tad more fluent, but technologically speaking, it's similar to the e-tron.
Today we're driving the 55 quattro. The version with the most power and the most range.
Of course, the sloped roofline has effects on the luggage space. A regular e-tron has a boot which fits 660 litres, whilst the Sportback...
fits 615 litres. 45 litres less. Underneath the floor, there's a compartment which can fit the loading cables for example. At the front, there's another...
compartment for your cables. And what does the sloped roofline do for the interior space?
Well, there's two centimetres less headroom than in the regular e-tron. I'm 1.81 m. tall myself and I still have some space left.
The legroom is decent as well, so you don't have to skip the e-tron Sportback for its space. Or that seems to be my first impression.
However, the sloped roof does come with some advantages. The most fuel efficient cars, or streamline wonders also have roofs like this.
It's great for efficiency. That means this e-tron Sportback has a bigger range than the regular e-tron.
So, let's talk hard figures. I'm driving the 55 quattro which has a battery pack of 95 kWh. According to Audi, it should be able to do 446 WLTP-km on a single...
charge. That's further than the regular e-tron is able to go. So how does it hold up in real life? We've tested the regular e-tron a lot,
and it can always do around 300 km on a single charge. I do have to admit that we're driving under ideal weather circumstances for a battery pack.
And I think this e-tron Sportback 55 quattro is able to 340 km on a single charge. That's not a whole lot though.
You can also get a lighter version, which is the 50 quattro. According to factory figures, that should be able to do 347 km on a single charge.
But let's be honest, you'll never reach 300 kilometres with that version. Only if you go for short distances with the 50.
The 55 just gets you further, and it supports quickcharging. Up to 150 kW even, so if you plug it in you can get to 80% charge in twenty minutes.
That's pretty nice. Since we're talking about charging possibilities, it's very important to have lots of freedom when it comes to charging.
So it's very handy you can order the e-tron Sportback with different charging ports. Sometimes, one side of the car is closer to the charger than the other.
Then there's the drive. I do have to say, a lot of pieces fall into place. I think the Audi SUV's find their place better than Audi hatchbacks or something.
An SUV is supposed to be comfortable above everything else, and the e-tron certainly delivers. Air suspension, you name it.
Especially when it comes to refinement, the e-tron is a very pleasant car. It's incredibly quiet. Usually, electric cars make a lot of rolling sounds...
and wind noises, but Audi has been able to reduce those significantly. Besides that, the interior looks incredibly good.
A lot of good looking materials with a double screen in the middle. On the lower screen, you can find the temperature settings and such.
And I keep saying it when I'm testing new Audi's, but I really miss the old MMI-button as central controller in the interior.
Luckily, the e-tron Sportback still has a physical button to control the volume of the music. That's very nice.
In front of you, there's a lot of information about your range and stuff. Also, you're able to control the way the car regenerates energy.
You can put it in the automatic setting but you can also control the amount of regenerative braking through the flappy paddles behind the steering wheel.
I like the latter option the most, because you're able to control the amount yourself. That way, you can choose the moments the car charges up,
which is nice.
Another advantage of the electric drivetrain is the speed. It always has all of its torque available and it can literally shoot off the line.
Sure, it's quick as 55 quattro. It should do 0-100 km/h in 5,7 seconds, so it's certainly rapid enough. However, if you get out of a Tesla or a...
Jaguar I-Pace, the Audi doesn't feel as quick anymore. That's just not what the e-tron is about. There will be an S-version though.
That will have three electric motors, two of which on the rear axle. It's going to be an S-version, so it's a proper performance-version,
but it's still not within Tesla-range. The S-version will do 0-100 km/h in 4,5 seconds, whilst the Tesla Model X Long Range-versions do it a lot quicker.
Speaking of Tesla means speaking of prices. I think the e-tron has a price which is very true to the market.
Prices start at a tad over €65.000 for the 50 quattro. That does come with a limited range. This 55 quattro has 170 kg more batteries,
but prices start at €82.000. And that's a normal price for cars in this segment, but a Tesla Model X Long Range is only €10.000 more expensive.
And that's a bigger, more efficient and faster car. Three characteristic which are very important if you ask me.
Having said that: Audi does compete very nicely in the electric segment, but they're far away from leading by example.