It will be in Audi’s Canadian showrooms some time in the second quarter of 2019. Pricing starts at $90,000 Canadian. If, after reading this review, you absolutely must have one, go to audi.ca and it will tell you how to place an order.
I heard everything there was to hear about the new e-tron, about how the all-wheel drive, mid-size SUV that seats five can go more than 400 kilometres on a single charge (making range anxiety “a thing of the past,” according to one executive), about how it can go from zero to 100 km/h in 6.6 seconds, has a top speed of 200 km/h and can tow up to 1,800 kilograms.
Here are some other specifics:
The battery system, which is liquid-cooled to ensure best performance, can store up to 95 kW/h of energy and is flat between the two axels underneath the passenger department. A sheet of aluminum across the bottom protects the battery if stones should get kicked up while driving or you get stuck in a snowbank (or, as happened to us out in the desert, a sand dune).
The car is driven by two electric motors (one on each axle) and has 300 kW and 664 Nm (489.7 lb.-ft.) of torque in boost mode.
If you have an electrical plug in your garage, either a 120v or 240v, the e-tron will take 10 hours to charge but you will be good to go for — the company says — about 400 kilometres. Under normal driving conditions, that means you won’t have to worry about stopping during the day to get a boost.
If you want to spend about $1,000 to have a fast charger installed in your garage, it will only take between four and five hours for the car to fully charge. If you want to drive to New York City for a vacation, though, you will have to stop at charging stations along the way and it will take about a half-hour every time to reach 80 per cent of capacity after you plug in.
Speaking of taking a vacation, the e-tron has 660 litres of cargo space. The SUV itself is 4,901 millimetres long, 1,935 mms wide and 1,616 mms high.
Inside, the driver has two interactive touch screens available, one for infotainment and the other for driver assists and other technology. I particularly liked the three-button shifter on the centre console with park, reverse and drive right under your thumb.
The interior is attractive and functional, as you would expect in a $90,000 vehicle. I’m a big guy and bopped my head once getting into the passenger side. But once bitten, twice shy and that didn’t happen again. Inside, the e-tron feels really roomy and although Bettencourt and I didn’t get into the back seat together, we would not have been in each other’s way if we had.
Now, about the drive.
We landed at the Abu Dhabi airport after dark (it’s the capital of the Emirates on the shore of the Arabian Gulf). As we were shuttled to the hotel, the tour guide pointed out the red roof on the Ferrari World theme park off in the distance but I was more interested in the huge Ikea store we drove past, and the Popeye’s chicken and Burger King signs. It seems you can’t go anywhere in the world any more without being exposed to Big Business.
Of course, there weren’t any Esso, Sunoco or Shell signs at the gasoline stations. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) is king in the Emirates and Abu Dhabi itself sits on 97.8 billion barrels of oil that represent the world’s seventh-largest proven reserves of the black gold. (Which means it was kind of a gutsy move on Audi's part to launch an all-electric car here …)
Interestingly, although there were lots of service stations, most had lineups at the pumps. I don’t know the percentage of households that own cars but it’s safe to say that just about everybody has one. There is public transit (a bus system; no subways — for obvious reasons) but the car is top dog in this part of the world.
It is a Muslim country but there is no doubt the welcome mat is out for all cultures — tourists as well as expatriates, who make up more than 80 per cent of the people working in Abu Dhabi. Our second hotel (we had rooms in two) had a huge Christmas tree and other decorations in the lobby and signs announcing that the “best Christmas brunch in the Ermirates” would be served on Dec. 25 for US$24.95.
Our first stop on Drive Day (as I called it) was a place called Masdar City, which is not far from Yas Marina and the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix circuit. It is a public/private project in which experimentation to make sustainability a way of life is being conducted. Research and development into solar and wind energy, the use of seawater for agriculture and the feasibility of city cooling powered by geothermal energy are among the experiments currently being conducted.
What better place, then, to start the all-electric vehicle drive, which took us on superhighways, side roads, off-roads and through city streets? Other than the irritation of trying to see behind the Audi via the rear-view cameras (I think I used the normal-position rear-view mirror more than I have in years), I found the e-tron a delight to drive — particularly out in the boonies where the speed limit on the superhighway was 160 km/h.
Now, although Mr. Bettencourt, my co-driver, says he didn’t notice this when he was behind the wheel, I found that the e-tron seemed to strain a bit — a wee bit, but a bit nonetheless — going from 150 up to 160 km/h. Going from zero to 140-150 was no problem and, in fact, was an effortless dream, but then I detected a slight reluctance to go faster.
2019 Audi e-tron All-electric Luxury SUV
Engine: Fully electric drive system with one electric motor on the front axle and one on the rear axle including motor boost and efficient cooling system
Battery capacity: 95 kW/h
Transmission: Planetary gear set (1-speed)
System output: 265 kW (360 hp); 300 kW (408 hp) in boost mode
Maximum torque: 561 Nm (413.8 lb.-ft.); 664 Nm (489.7 lb.-ft.)
Top speed: 200 km/h
Acceleration: 6.6 seconds — 0 to 100 km/h
Weight: 2,490 kg
Range: 400 kilometres
Website: Audi e-tron