As if by magic the Audi e-tron has arrived, out of a puff of… perfectly clean air!

And breathe (that same clean air), it’s still 100% Audi and it’s still 100% quattro and it’s 100% electric! The move to the eco side by the Audi e-tron hasn’t lost anything in terms of the Audi aesthetic, performance or aspiration…

We showcased the (battery) power for ourselves at an exclusive event held on the outskirts of Munich, and established that this new vehicle is all Audi and all SUV.

Let’s start with the assets that one would expect from an SUV – we have ample space for five passengers, capacity to tow, a spacious boot and 0-62mph in less than six-seconds. And in second seven you can expect to drive without needing a charge break for an industry record of 248 miles… the impressive in-car tech includes the MMI system, the MyAudi smartphone app, and it can show you the most electric efficient route to your destination, via charging stations if necessary through the e-tron route planner.

At one of these fast chargers you can add another 150 miles to the battery capacity in just 20-minutes (and 100% re-charge in 50-minutes). With charging kit cunningly stowed under the bonnet – not in the boot where valuable space is optimised.

And Audi really, really did want to get the most out of the range, so what did they do to minimise drag and add 10-miles to the range? Ditch the wing mirrors of course and replace them with high definition cameras that change perspective depending on the driving conditions – view the road behind through two displays mounted in the front doors – this really is stranger than reality, as the view from these screens is better than real life…

We took the e-tron on a tour into Munich in the snow, we super-charged through the slick pop-out charging bracket and three-hours went in a flash – as our lives did before our eyes as we went off-road and on a 35-degree ramp and on several warehouse ‘hot laps’ with pro-drivers.

Day two was spent understanding our customer’s needs and the ethos behind the electric SUV with the longest range on the market. We understand that thanks to this pioneering technology, there is a need to be in at the start, and with the BIK tax break at just £48pcm (compared to another £40,000 Audi diesel SUV’s BIK at £575pcm) one makes up half the starting list price difference of £30,000 in just three years and that’s before taking into account the zero fuel costs.

The Audi e-tron starts at £71,000, Munich has never been so quiet, the SUV moves in a stealth way thanks to two electric motors producing 300kW of power, it handles beautifully, the interior is detailed and we love it – so will you and even the maths makes sense…

Understand our customers? Of course we do – day two could have been spent at 35-degrees, in minus 5 degrees of German winter agreeing with our customer demand, and what better way of spending it?

Shhhhhh



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