Practical experience Audi E-tron: advantage through technology?

The Audi e-tron is available as ’50 quattro’ and ’55 quattro’. In both cases the car has four-wheel drive, the difference being the combined engine power of 313 or 408 hp respectively. The ’55’ also has a larger battery with 95 kWh gross capacity, compared to 71.2 kWh for the ’50’.

The fact that the e-tron has been known as the Q8 e-tron since this year does not mean that it is also a Q8. Although both cars share the MLB Evo platform, the 4.9 meter long e-tron is 8.5 centimeters shorter and lower than a ‘real’ Q8. The wheelbase is also 7 cm shorter. What did become longer after the facelift is the driving range: the Q8 e-tron should be considerably more efficient than the original.

Audi E-tron

Seating comfort and ease of use

Few riders are concerned about the seat, so we dare to assume that it is in order. The one who does make himself heard is this driver: “Finishing and seats: I am very happy with the well-fitting sports seats that are perfectly heated and adjustable. The Alcantara feels nice.” Two riders have found a point of criticism. “The downside is that I think the sessions are a bit too short. I am not overly tall myself (1.83 metres), but they would have liked me to be a little longer,” writes another driver, before concluding: “Other than that, the seat is fine.” Another rider notes that a possible middle rear passenger is the bitten dog. “The middle seat is virtually unusable due to the center console, which protrudes in an extremely strange way.”

The luggage space is also rated satisfactory. “The trunk is easily accessible, but the sill is a bit high and the loading floor is a little deeper behind that sill. So be careful, because you will damage your bumper if you do not lift high enough.”

Like some other e-models, the e-tron also has a ‘frunk’. However, this storage space in the front scores few points. “I think the ‘frunk’ is a nonsensical thing,” writes a critical owner. “Far too small to really add value. And an illogical place for the most commonly used cables, because you first have to open the hood and then the frunk itself. Cumbersome.”

Dashboard and ease of use

Although Audi has a reputation for interior finishing, the e-tron seems to be based on a different approach. “I think Audi has deteriorated in terms of finish and use of materials in recent years, I think the interior with the corrugated plastic panels is far from high-quality and sensitive to dirt,” writes a less satisfied driver. “I continue to find it absurd how cheap, hard plastic is used on fairly visible and frequently touched surfaces in a car of this budget,” writes another. “Is unworthy of the car and the brand. This concerns, for example, the glove box. When you touch this you just notice that savings have been made.”

Relatively new is the multimedia system with two screens. This leads to different reactions. “I was initially very skeptical about the new MMI with double touchscreen, but I actually don’t miss the old rotary knob at all,” is one of the positive reactions. “The nice thing is that there are plenty of shortcuts.” Another pays attention to the digital instruments. “The ‘virtual cockpit’ works very well. This is new to me, but I really like having the navigation instructions on screen where I can see them most easily. The other functions make sense and work well.”

Yet this driver also has criticism: “The MMI system is not always great. It looks great, with Google Maps images, but it’s just slow at times. And the Apple CarPlay doesn’t always work either.” Another disadvantage of the screens is also mentioned several times: “Stain stress. The touchscreens are quite sensitive to greasy fingers. That doesn’t really suit me, with the result that I end up cleaning the screens after every ride.”

Road behavior Audi e-tron

Owners have different opinions about the handling of their large electric SUV. “The Audi is big. You will notice that when you are on the road with it. I find it a bit cumbersome in bends and you have to be extra careful when parking,” writes an owner after the first kilometers. He later adds to this experience: “We have now passed the 20,000 km mark, with great pleasure! Wonderful peace and quiet in the car. When you drive on the highway it seems as if you are sitting quietly on the couch at home. So quiet and smooth.” An experience that someone else endorses. “Driving: It is very quiet and drives excellently. Of course it is a heavy car and you feel that when you go around the bend a little more smoothly, but it handles very well.”

Those who have sportier aspirations face limitations. “When cornering you really notice the 2.5 tonnes. It has (a lot of) understeer. Not a real driver’s car,” reports one of these drivers. “The car is large and very heavy. And that’s how the car drives. It feels cumbersome and heavy,” another driver agrees.

Driving assistance

To make the ride even smoother, the e-tron is equipped with a wide range of driving aids. At least, that’s the theory. Several drivers describe a practice in which traffic sign recognition in particular suffers. “Assistant with traffic sign recognition does not always work on the highway, for example, where the lane next to you has a speed limit sign of 70 at the exit and you are allowed to go 100. Then he brakes,” this rider experiences. Another rider has also disabled this system. “The Tour package works great. I have turned off the traffic sign recognition system, because this is simply not practical in the Netherlands due to the multitude of traffic signs in our country.” He cannot completely blame the car: “A normal person often doesn’t understand it.”

The active lane assistant also makes more enemies than friends. “The safety features are countless, but sometimes go too far for me. This way, the car steers when it detects that you are deviating from your course. Something that has been installed as a safety-enhancing feature unintentionally has the opposite effect: it is not pleasant when the steering wheel is pulled out of your hands at higher speed in a bend, supposedly because you are not driving between the lines.” The next rider has a similar experience: “The safety systems are less nice. I think this is really dangerous. It’s like sitting on a rocking horse. The car is no stranger to a jerk on the steering wheel or a sudden braking action.”

What is also striking is the presence of matrix headlights and dynamic turn signals. Although… “You have to take out a very expensive subscription for the dynamic flashing lights,” writes a surprised driver, “because they are only available together with matrix lights. It will cost you around €260 per year…”

Audi E-tron

Audi e-tron: Range

With an electric car you cannot avoid the subject of ‘range’. Because this depends very much on what people expect from the car, we stick to numbers. “It is of course a heavy beast and you notice that in use,” writes a rider with extensive experience. “After 42,000 km I arrive at 24.5 kWh per 100 km. This varies between 19 kWh at 20 degrees and on country roads to 30 kWh in winter on the highway at 120 km/h. With a trailer, consumption naturally increases significantly and I often reach 35 kWh per 100 km.”

“Electric driving also brings a new habit,” writes another, “the range. According to the WLTP test standard, my Audi e-tron must reach 55 417 kilometers on a full battery, but in practice it is a bit more difficult. On average I get 270 km on a full battery (240 in winter and 300 in summer).” A driver who has now traveled 135,000 km writes: “Consumption is stable around 25 kWh/100 km in summer and 28 kWh/100 km in winter.”

Audi E-tron

Maintenance, malfunctions and irritations

Anyone who keeps an eye on this section knows that new electric models often have malfunctions in the beginning. This Audi e-tron also suffers from this somewhat, although fortunately no drivers were stranded along the way.

A major point of annoyance is the Audi app, which can be used to preheat or cool the car, among other things. “The second miss is the app. I’ve mentioned it before, but it continues to function poorly. In recent weeks I have tried every morning to switch on the preheating of the interior: ‘success rate’ 1 in 3…,” is just one of the many responses. The first miss is a too sensitive key, which can be used to open the tailgate remotely. “Quite annoying when a colleague stands at your desk and asks if your lid is open for a reason…”

Some riders complain about an outdated update policy. “Software updates still have to go through the dealer, instead of just at your doorstep, as with Tesla. This takes up unnecessary time,” says a driver who, although he lists a large number of points of interest, is still satisfied.

Not only is the software updated at the dealer, the cars have also received hardware adjustments, as this e-tron driver describes. “The car has just been to the dealer for its first service. A number of things that were noted as a recall were immediately adjusted: The rear LED bar has been completely replaced. This sometimes showed malfunctions and was a known problem. The charging port has also been replaced. It was known that condensation could occur here and that was also the case with mine. In addition, the rubbers of the panoramic roof have been completely renewed. Here too I had found condensation before, but not as bad as some others had reported on the Facebook e-tron group.” And indeed, in ‘our’ reviews, several drivers also complain about a poorly functioning charging port and leakage through the panoramic roof.

The most serious fault that an e-tron showed was a leak in the cooling system. “As a result, coolant entered the electric motor. This resulted in this engine being damaged beyond repair. Audi has replaced this engine and repaired the cooling system,” writes the driver who had to deal with this problem. Now that we’re talking about coolant: “Last month we had maintenance on the Audi (60,000 km service). What does that cost now? Still surprised that it was €580, including coolant for the battery,” reports a rider who expected clearly lower costs.

The picture that owners of the Audi e-tron paint is variable. The car scores points with comfort and space, but the finish of the interior is subject to criticism. The handling is mainly comfortable and the e-tron does not appear to be a car for sportier drivers. Even those who pay close attention to energy consumption should opt for an alternative, although the facelifted Q8 e-tron promises improvement in that regard. There were also start-up problems, although most of these were resolved under warranty and it appears that these did not make the car unreliable. The app appears to be unreliable, about which almost every rider posted a comment. All in all, the e-tron seems like an excellent first attempt, but drivers expected more because of Audi’s slogan ‘lead through technology’.