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A resolutely modern Audi EV deserves a resolutely modern interior. The Audi e-tron 2020 2020 propels the tech boat. The all-electric competitor of the Tesla Model X and Jaguar I-PACE is not expected to roll in the US before the start of the 2019 year, but Audi has given us a taste of the badpit that we can we expect.
Unfortunately for those who hope that around the space age of the Audi e – tron quattro concept, which first sighted the production SUV, the car coming out of the lines of Factory will be slightly less dramatic. You can say that it is an Audi at first sight, with elements borrowed from other recent cars like the A8 luxury sedan, and SUV Q8 flagship. However, the automaker still finds room for something special just for the e-tron.
Bye By Side Mirrors, Hello OLED
Cameras in place of side mirrors have been a mainstay of concept cars for years now, but Audi plans to bring them to a production vehicle. The virtual side mirrors of the e-tron eliminate the thick appendages that all other cars sport, replacing them with cameras mounted on thin metal rods.
Inside the car, at the junction of the A-pillar, the door trim and the dashboard edge, a 7-inch OLED screen is integrated. This transmits a real-time image of the external cameras. However, because everything is digital, Audi can change what is shown depending on the situation. When you park, for example, the e-tron can show you a different view than the one from the highway.
The result is not only aesthetic, although the electric SUV looks good without traditional mirrors. Audi claims that virtual mirrors help reduce drag by 2 to 7%, leaving the EV more aerodynamic. This should pay dividends when it comes to scope.
Now for the bad news. While virtual side mirrors will be offered as an option in Europe when launching the e-tron, Audi will not make them available in the United States. You can blame federal regulations for this: at the present time, the US government requires that every production car must have two side glbad mirrors. As long as it does not change, you'll have to deal with old-school technology.
But wait, there are more screens
Audi led the game when it took to replace the badog instrumentation by the digital. an appearance in the Audi e-tron, too. The driver receives a widescreen LCD panel to show speed, media information, and a full-screen map if they choose. For the e-tron, it will also have special EV graphics, showing things like charging and battery range.
In the central stack, meanwhile, just about everything is controlled by a pair of touch screens. Audi calls the MMI touch response, and it's the same infotainment system that we've seen used in the 2018 A8 and Q8.
The upper display is the larger of the two, and the e-tron uses it for navigation and multimedia. Like the Q8 and A8, we expect it to be fully connected, able to leverage cloud-based speech recognition with local processing. It's also there that you access your paired phone. New for the e-tron: menus related to electric vehicles, displaying information such as the remaining charge, the driving mode in which you find yourself and even how you could coax more miles if you turn off air conditioning or other electronic devices.
The lower screen manages the comfort of the cabin and the text input. This is where the e-tron's HVAC is managed, including heated and cooled seats, and the heated steering wheel. Audi also uses it to display a QWERTY keyboard, but as we saw in the A8, you can also sketch words with your finger and have a write recognition decipher them.
There are still some physical checks
The e-tron has no transmission, and so the Audi speed selector has a pretty simple job. A simple cursor switches the SUV between the reader, the neutral and the reverse. There is a button for the park.
Given these minimal controls, the size of the selector itself may seem incredibly large. This is because the leather-trimmed surface is designed to be a wrist rest, supporting your forearm as you tap and swipe the lower touchscreen.
On the steering wheel, meanwhile, are buttons that can control most of the electronic features without you having to give up the bar. This includes switches to the page through the Virtual Cockpit panes, shortcuts for the phone and voice control, and a mappable key that can be badigned to the driver's choice of features. The cruise control is managed with a separate rod behind the steering wheel.
The green car can also be luxurious
You could save the planet with your zero emission SUV, but that does not mean you have to suffer from a hair salon at the same time. Audi is among the best when it comes to interior trim, fit and finish, and the e-tron should not be different. Expect genuine brushed aluminum with Valcona leather, among the black piano trims.
The LED stripes with customizable colors certainly match the personality of the e-tron, although ambient lighting is a cost option. As it is, in fact, contrasting colors – such as bright orange – at the leather seat seam. Audi says it's supposed to look like tracks on a circuit board.
It may be subtle, but the Bang & Olufsen 3D surround sound system of 705 watts should not be. Its 16 speakers are also optional, although we suspected many e-tron drivers to take advantage of the relative silence of the SUV cab to enjoy their favorite tracks. Audi says that not only is the powertrain of the electric car quieter than the typical gasoline or diesel engine, but it has also added even more effective sound insulation to the e-tron
Electric means practical [19659009] The Audi e-tron should really put the "utility" in SUV when it launches: after all, there are certain advantages of the basic architecture when using electric motors rather than d & # 39; an ICE transmission. Even if you get the Audi quattro all-wheel drive, without the drive shaft running the full length of the vehicle like you would in a Q7, for example, the entire floor of the cab can be flat .
This yields dividends for the legs, especially if we consider the amount of occupants of the interior space that gets e-tron. Although the wheelbase is similar to that of the Q7, Audi has chosen to ride only two rows in the electric SUV. This can mean seating for up to five, rather than the seven you'll get in a Q7, but it should let them ride in much greater comfort.
Wrap-up
It can not be denied that the Audi e-tron 2020 announces it as an interesting addition to the electrification options. At the moment, the biggest questions we have are the prices and the range of the United States. The first will not be confirmed until the release of the e-tron, which should take place in early 2019.
As to how far this will lead, we have to go for Only the figures of the European tests. There, says Audi, the 95 kWh battery should last about 250 miles. The US EPA tests are however quite different, and their numbers should therefore change somewhat for US roads.
The load, meanwhile, will withstand up to 150 kW of CCS connections: enough, according to Audi, for around 200 miles of range after 30 minutes of connection. For the home or office, in the meantime, the 11 kW and 22 kW charger options will deliver a full charge between 4.5 and 8.5 hours. The e-tron will also benefit from the Chargers network of Electrify America, which is part of the Volkswagen Group's plan to cover the United States in EV installations. The goal is to have 290 active sites by the end of next year.
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