https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/road-tests/113316325/audi-nz-goes-left-of-centre-with-its-electric-suv Audi NZ goes left of centre with its electric SUV Jun 14 2019 DAVID LINKLATER
[images https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/v/k/8/7/2/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.1240x700.1vgrfp.png/1560479277502.jpg It's hi-tech, but looks normal. You'd be hard-pressed to pick this from any other Audi SUV in your rearvision mirror. https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/v/k/8/6/u/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.1240x700.1vgrfp.png/1560479277502.jpg Audi NZ brought customers to the bright lights to see e-tron at an invitation-only launch event this month. https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/v/k/8/b/w/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.1240x700.1vgrfp.png/1560479277502.jpg DAVID LINKLATER/STUFF Audi e-tron on the mean streets of Morningside in Auckland. https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/v/k/8/b/r/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.1240x700.1vgrfp.png/1560479277502.jpg Number plates belong to Audi's home town of Ingolstadt in Germany. Gidday and welcome to NZ / DAVID LINKLATER/STUFF https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/v/k/8/b/s/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.1240x700.1vgrfp.png/1560479277502.jpg Half the stock of Audi e-trons currently in the country. And these ones are leaving again / DAVID LINKLATER/STUFF https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/v/k/8/b/t/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.1240x700.1vgrfp.png/1560479277502.jpg It's a virtual world in here - but that's not unusual for an Audi / DAVID LINKLATER/STUFF video / DAMIEN O'CARROLL https://players.brightcove.net/3921507366001/Syx4Zr1Keb_default/index.html?videoId=6048065224001 Audi has a few left-hook e-tron EVs in New Zealand - we have a go in one. ] AUDI E-TRON Price range: $148,500 (55 quattro) to $157,000 (55 quattro Advanced). Powertrain: Lithium-ion battery (95kWh), 300kW/664Nm, twin electric motors, range 417km (WLTP), 0-100kmh 5.2 seconds. Body style: Five-door SUV. On sale: July. You wait decades for premium SUVs with electric power to come along, and then heaps arrive at once. The latest for New Zealand is the Audi e-tron. Make me an instant expert: what do I need to know? Did we just say the Audi e-tron is here? It's still on the way actually, with the first NZ-specification cars scheduled to arrive to July. But local importer European Motor Distributors (EMD) has launched it anyway, with a glitzy evening in Auckland for customers and media and four left-hand drive cars on the road, which will be demonstrated around NZ over the next few weeks. It's possibly more an exercise in EV education for the Audi elite than a sales programme: there are only 100 cars allocated to NZ for the year and most of those are spoken for. But it's worth doing because there are a lot more electric Audis to come in the next few years. Let's not delve too deep into the specification details as these cars are not country-correct - and we'll get a chance for a more detailed look at e-tron when we undertake a longer drive next month. But the basics are as follows: the e-tron has a 95kWh battery pack and twin electric motors to make it all-wheel drive. Range under the new, more stringent WLTP test procedure being used in Europe is 417km and the car does have the capability of accepting a 150kWh DC fast charge. Most current public stations in NZ are at the 50kWh level, but EMD does plan to have some of these faster chargers operational in NZ when e-tron is on stream. Where did you drive it? A little taste: the media programme for the long-lead left-hook e-tron involved a 30-minute loop around suburban Auckland roads close to the launch venue... but did include a short blast of motorway driving. Company minder in tow too, which is understandable given the nature of the car and drive route: a LHD model in a RHD environment can present challenges for even the most experienced drivers. Which way around that roundabout again? It's smooth, silent and reasonably brisk without offering ludicrous acceleration (0-100kmh in 5.7 seconds). This is a clear strategy from Audi, as it warms customers up for a whole range of EVs. The e-tron will be the base for a higher-performance coupe-style Sportback version and of course there will be dedicated go-fast models like the low-slung e-tron GT (which shares much of its technology with the forthcoming Porsche Taycan). It's well-planted on the road, as it should be: it's a 2.5-tonne SUV. You get a full range of drive modes (just like any other Audi) but a key feature is the ability to use the steering wheel-mounted mounted paddles to select the level of recuperation for the battery. This is not new in its itself - you can do something similar in the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV - but the e-tron is next-level in being the first pure-EV to use brake-by-wire technology. The actuator on the brake pedal is hydraulic, but there's no physical connection between pedal and pad. So you get proper brake feel, but precise computer control makes the stoppers pretty smart. For light braking, the pads might not even be used; the drag provided by the regeneration might be enough to slow the car. You're braking with the pedal... but the brakes aren't being used. What stands out the most? The e-tron is just so... Audi-normal. Brand customers moving to pure-electric power for the first time will find nothing to surprise or frighten. The e-tron actually doesn't look as outrageous as some conventional Audis (like the Q8 coupe-SUV). The interior relies heavily on virtual instruments, but then so do the brand's other high-end models. Why would I buy it? The e-tron offers a complete package of Audi virtues with pure-electric power. It also has some world-first features that will please those with techy leanings, like that clever braking system and virtual side mirrors that present an image inside the cabin (unfortunately, we didn't get to try these on our test drive). Why wouldn't I buy it? You're not wedded to the Audi brand and you're considering other options in this genre, size and price range - like the Jaguar I-Pace, Tesla Model X and forthcoming Mercedes-Benz EQC. Or you're not convinced by the range: e-tron is heavy even by EV standards and the WLTP range isn't brilliant for a vehicle with a 95kWh battery (the 100kWh Model X gets 505km in the same test cycle); although it'll be interesting to see how much gain you get from that trick braking system in the real world. 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