Audi e-tron
A trip to Africa for a go in Audi’s first EV reveals a surprising party piece...
Driving a Tesla Model S on ice is no fun, because you can’t turn the traction control all the way off. You can use something called “Slip Start Mode” to get yourself going with a bit of drama, but beyond a certain speed all the systems spring back to life, and return to their daily business of keeping you alive/ruining your fun.
But good news: this is not true of the new Audi e-Tron, which lets you turn its systems quite spectacularly off for the biggest, dustiest drifts south of the Sahara.
Audi’s first proper EV is a conspicuously inconspicuous SUV (the company didn’t want to scare away its existing customers with anything too futuristic) that’ll cost about £70k when it reaches the UK next year. As far as size goes, it’s a five-seater somewhere between a Q5 and Q7.
A whopping 700kg battery (that’s heavier than an entire Ariel Atom) contributes to an overall weight well in excess of two tonnes, despite the extensive use of aluminium in the car’s construction. Yet the e-Tron launches to 62mph with the characteristic punch of an EV (yes, it does have launch control), hitting the milestone in 5.7 seconds before running into the buffers at 124mph. On the WLTP cycle, you’re looking at 250 miles or so between recharges. Combined output from the two motors – one for each axle – is 402bhp and 490lb ft.
Very much unlike the other eight million or so quattro-badged Audis running around, the e-Tron doesn’t need to have a mechanical link between the front and rear axles. Front motor does the fronts, rear motor does the rears – easy. The distribution of power to individual wheels can therefore be controlled much more precisely and quickly than in a normal car, giving faster reacting, more adaptable AWD and thus better grip. And bigger drifts.
On this little handling circuit Audi carved into a Namibian salt flat, the e-Tron feels small. Not Q3 small, but certainly closer to the Q5 than Q7 or 8. Nimbler, though, than either its kerbweight or dimensions would have you believe. And fast, because there’s power everywhere and no gearbox whose action might delay proceedings. The steering is very Audi – light and twirly, with next to no feedback – but quick. The brakes are a bit odd – as indeed they are on almost every car that uses regenerative braking – but they feel strong enough, even on this marbled surface. But we’d still like another, more ferocious mode.
Granted, it’s hard to get a proper feel for a car without driving it on tarmac, but the way the e-Tron handled the salt pan is indicative of a well-sorted SUV that should handle fluidly, if not outright amusingly. Bodes rather well for the future, we’d say.