First Test Drive of the Audi E-Tron 2019: Kool-SUV Desert Electric Test

When you think about electric cars, you probably imagine them crashing into highway traffic during rush hours, or maybe sneaking between skyscrapers.

Generally, you do not see them running here.

By "this place", I mean Namibia. In the middle of the Kalahari desert, under a shouting sun. And yet, I find myself exactly driving Audi's first consumer electric vehicle, the 2019 SUV E-Tron.

I've designed the epic flight in three flights to take the time to get behind the wheel of this important machine and, over the course of a few days, I'll bomb a huge open-side salt pan – day and night. the darkness, and I will pass silently in front of a tower of giraffes on an off-road course.

The Kalahari ?!

Why Namibia? A number of reasons it turns out.

L & # 39; E-Tron starts at $ 74,800 and introduces a new form of Quattro all-wheel drive, a two-engine, road-type system. As you may remember, Quattro made its way into dusty, remote and inhospitable terrain that often resembled Namibia. In fact, in the early eighties, including in Africa, Audi is doing well to compete in world rally championship races around the world.

Naturally, the way this electric SUV delivers its power to all four wheels is totally different from these legendary gasoline monsters, but Audi has gone a long way to ensure that the E-Tron is not only able to run on large drifting drifting loose surfaces, this is exactly the type of machine that can encourage the driver to do so.

The other thing about Namibia? It is stuffed with German atmospheres, having been occupied by the European country in the 19th century. Relationships are rather more cordial these days. Namibia remains a favorite tourist destination of the German volks and, in the capital, Windhoek, Deutsch We often hear that signs are frequently written in German and that many people speak fluently.

In other words, although it does not have anything like a charging infrastructure for electric cars, the E-Tron is unlikely at home in Africa.

In numbers

But before I get distracted by the history of the world, let's focus on the present. Although I now wear my gloves, I still do not know everything about E-Tron. Audi has not hesitated to disclose certain performance indicators, including its essential EV factor: the range.

Such details will likely have to wait for a later road test, but for now, we know that this mid-size SUV will generate up to 402 hp and 490 lb-ft of torque. Audi says this is enough to bring the 4,500-pound crossover to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 124 mph.

We can also ensure that, with its 95 kilowatt-hour battery, the E-Tron 2019 should travel between 240 and 295 miles per charge. An exhausted pack, by the way, can be filled to 80% in about 30 minutes if you have the chance to find a DC fast charger of 150 kW.

Drift magnet

Enough of numbers.

What hard and hard speculations can not tell you is how the E-Tron behaves – what it feels like driving. Although my driving time was limited to the formation of the salt pan mentioned above around a temporary road course and a slight off-road driving, I can say that E-Tron has the ingredients To be a much more entertaining flywheel than its SUV body style and conservative sheet metal can get you thinking.

If you hear the term "salt pan", it makes you think of the compact surface of a place like the Bonneville salt works, think again. The traction coefficient of the pan is actually an approximation of the snow. So it's not just an exercise for fun, it's rather what E-Tron drivers are likely to face in the real world.

Given the low center of gravity of the E-Tron inherent in its massive 1500-pound battery pack, it is reasonable to assume stable and predictable handling on unstable surfaces. However, we do not expect the verve and ease with which this SUV attacks such scenarios.

Thanks to the 50/50 weight distribution of E-Tron and the intrinsic power of its electric drive train (and the absence of rifle transmission), it is easier to catch and hold a drift. than in most comparable conventional systems. internal combustion models. I've also found it very easy to change direction, slaloming through the gates of our temporary course as a super-G Alpine skier.

Advanced electronics for the powertrain

Part of this performance is possible because Audi has developed brand new traction and traction management systems that by their very nature are simply faster than a typical SUV IC configuration. .

A new central control unit for the suspension, called the Electronic Chassis Platform, combines the all-wheel controller, which determines the torque distribution, and the selective torque controller, which gently brakes the individual wheels as needed to keep the vehicle there. where the driver intends. The new electronic stability control system has gone straight from a stand-alone module to power electronics, where it can react in milliseconds, without having to go through a bunch of extra cables.

It is not new that modern braking systems can apply force to individual angles, and virtually every full-wheel drive configuration can channel power to adherent wheels. However, thanks to the way Audi has located the components and networked everything, the E-Tron Quattro is able to monitor and react quickly for extremely fast grip and slip. This is great news for management, whether you're mimicking your favorite rally driver or doing hot yoga on a cold morning.

For those who channel their Stig Blomqvist or Michèle Mouton, you'll be delighted to learn that Audi does not only offer Sport and Offroad electronic stability control modes. They will let you completely turn off the controller and give you the details of the steering wheel. As far as I know, this is the only electric vehicle to entrust this level of control to the driver. Audi did not need to take that extra step, so I consider that as a measure of the confidence it has in the chassis of the E-Tron and the Quattro e-AWD for allowing these nannies to be completely extinct.

Hidden ability

In most cases, the E-Tron looks almost as much a break as a traditional SUV, mainly because it's so close to the ground in normal driving. The E-Tron is equipped with a standard automatic leveling air suspension, which allows it to slow down at higher speeds against the wind and up the skirt to negotiate a more rugged terrain. The ground clearance of the base is 6.8 inches, but the air suspension can vary the clearances up to three inches as needed.

To be honest, raising the E-Tron to its maximum height does not make it look or be a rudimentary sport utility vehicle, at least not to judge by the off-roader I participated. Modestly mountainous and gnarly dirt roads, as well as a unique sequence of deep ruts designed to show the articulation of the suspension and rigidity of the E-Tron chassis.

Powered by all seasons Goodyear Eagle Sport 20 inches, the E-Tron solves all this easily, of course, but it will be the same for many other SUVs, even those who do not wear a Jeep or Land Rover badge.

(I should take care to note, however, that The bottom X model of Tesla – apparently one of the main competitors of E-Tron – would have had great difficulties, although The new I-Pace by Jaguar could have taken it in the wake).

Lift capacity

An interesting departure from the norm? The descent control of E-Tron Hill. Most new SUVs have some sort of off-road cruise control for low speed descents, but E-Tron is unusual if speed is not added or subtracted with the steering wheel buttons. from a joystick. Instead, the rate of progression is changed using the brake and throttle pedals, which are temporarily desensitized to allow control at a single mph.

Another interesting note: the descent control is activated automatically on slopes of more than 6% when the Drive Select option is set to Offroad – most vehicles require a dedicated button to be pressed.

It will take me longer to determine whether this control pattern appeals better or worse than traditional button-based configurations, but in my limited testing, it worked well.

Reflection on digital mirrors

Talking about technology, I need more time, my E-Tron introduces the all-new Audi Virtual side mirrors. These units replace traditional reflective glass with a pair of small cameras and a set of high-resolution displays mounted in the upper corners of the interior doors near the dashboard. I dreamed of having this technology since I had seen it for the first time in concept cars in the 1980s.

After decades of delays, digital mirrors have finally invaded the streets of the world, although the Washington bureaucracy seems to have to prevent digital mirrors from entering the United States in the short term.

This may not be all bad. Although I like the idea of ​​camera-based mirrors, I found that there had been moments under the harsh Kalahari sun where the screens had been washed away, possibly to be more than their traditional fixed glass counterparts. And in the E-Tron, the screens are mounted too low, so you must leave the road eyes longer to view them. The Lexus solution in his Japanese market ES sedan seems relatively ugly and nailed on it, but they might have the best choice.

Much remains to be known

My prototype Namibian reader did not answer all my questions about the new E-Tron. I do not know, for example, how it feels on a highway or in rush hour. I do not have an idea of ​​the real world reach. I sampled less than half of the seven different settings of the Drive Select controller.

I have not even really had the opportunity to properly evaluate the complete interior of this SUV, leave only things like infotainment and advanced safety aids. All of this will have to wait a little longer until we have an appropriate reader of undisguised production models later this year.

Until then, what I can To tell you that if you're an unconditional cheerleader, an Audi fan, or just a driving enthusiast, the 2019 E-Tron seems to deserve a long look when it hits US dealers in the spring. next.