Audi e-tron Test Drive: Thirsty

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For about another month, the “Audi Meteorite” has landed at Munich Airport. It’s a small off-road course meant to demonstrate some Audi e-tron features. After a short wait and without an appointment, a staff member drives you up the ramp, demonstrating the very impressive virtual camera views around the car and its off-road mode, then roughs up the pavement with a short burst of acceleration. The pavement is already pretty battered. This car has electronic side mirrors that continuously display camera images on OLED screens in the doors.

It’s rather amusing, but far from the ordinary use of an SUV; somebody has to drive the kids to school. You can therefore book a road test online, or just ask on a Monday without an appointment. It was quiet, so I got to drive the 50 km home to Pasing myself; the staff member brought the car back afterward.

My impressions, in no particular order:

The head-up display is very practical and uncluttered, but unpleasantly distorted. Is it misadjusted, or really crooked?
The gear selector is unnecessarily hipster-ish and initially encourages you to shift the wrong way. Push forward for reverse. With a normal lever, that’s how it works, but here it feels backwards.
Cruise control is on its own stalk, not on the steering wheel as in a VW.
This test car had normal mirrors: the blind-spot warning is very bright and large, almost too conspicuous.
The digital instrument display is large and easy to read, but I barely used it because of the head-up display.
Navigation uses “haptic” touch: a light touch animates the button highlights but doesn’t click; a firmer press activates the function and gives a vibration. It takes getting used to, but on a bumpy ride, if you must have a touchscreen, it’s not a bad idea.
The large touch screen for air conditioning: I’d prefer plastic knobs, but at least these aren’t as fiddly and tiny as in some BMWs.
According to the staff member, the motor’s character is restrained in software so the average Audi buyer won’t be scared by an electric motor. While a Ludicrous Tesla breaks the driver’s neck, the Audi just gives a gentle massage. Meh.

All fine, but the big catch is energy consumption.

On the 50 km drive in heavy rush-hour traffic on the motorway ring, at slightly above-freezing temperatures, the e-tron used about 32 kWh/100 km. By comparison, my e-Golf would probably use 16–18 kWh/100 km on that drive—about half. Average speed was 80 km/h. A brief run at 150 km/h pushed consumption well over 40 kWh/100 km. A Model X also uses an unreasonable amount of electricity at high speeds, but not quite as much, and Superchargers already exist.

At 160 km/h on the motorway, the Audi’s range would likely be well under 200 km, not the promised 400 km. WLTP only measures up to 120 km/h, and is still too optimistic.

That makes the e-tron probably the thirstiest car in its class. For everyday short trips, the electricity bill at the socket then costs almost as much as a comparable diesel. On long trips, you spend twice as long at a 50 kW charger as in an e-Golf—about two hours.

High-power chargers are still scarce, though the network is steadily growing. The advertising claim “80% in 30 minutes” was available at best at 15 Ionity locations in Germany at the time. People have already laughed heartily about the prices. When I asked, the Audi employee said there would be 5,000 high-power chargers in Germany in two years. Unfortunately, that number came straight from fairyland.

Overall, apart from the consumption, it’s a very pleasant car, but no match for the raw power of a Model S or X. If I were spending this much on a car, I’d clearly choose a Tesla for its better software, honest accelerator pedal, efficiency, and Superchargers. The Model 3 will soon be available for half the price, be much more efficient, and charge quickly everywhere. The German manufacturers’ charging network is many years behind Tesla’s. They’re paying for that now, and doubly so with such a thirsty car.