Audi e-tron SUV 2020 in-depth review - Carbuyer
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The e-tron is Audi’s first pure electric car, with rivals including the Tesla Model X, Jaguar I-Pace and the Mercedes EQC. But can it match other electric SUVs on driving range, performance, build quality and practicality? Ginny Buckley puts the Audi e-tron to the test and delivers the Carbuyer verdict.
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Like the fact it doesn't look like a driving spaceship, like some other electric cars try to do !
I give you that just, it looks like a normal audi.
Exactly. Why aren't EV's allowed to look like normal cars? I don't understand the negativity at all.
I'm with Ginny on this, the e-tron is quite conservatively styled for a modern EV. So the best way to describe it is "reassuringly normal" and that's really no bad thing.
When she says ' dip your toes in the EV waters ' Dipping at that cost.💲💲💲
Never looked better! Superb! Bravo! The car is decent too, well done Audi.
Nicely done!
No word about the standard 11kW or optional 22kW in onboard charger?
What a lovely review Ginny. Great to see you so genuinely excited about a car.
Hi Ginny, what watch are you wearing?
At 3.43 she says about a "hand rest for when you flick through the gears"? Electric cars, gears, what did she mean?
Can't the charging cables be like those vacuums that rolls the cord up inside the machine.
This is always my first thought too, it would be so much more neat.
@@Zerofightervi yeah it's rather silly big car manufacturers can't figure this out, and we can. It can't be that difficult to do.
Is the problem all the different cables required? i.e.what you plug into your home might be different from a fast charge station, and might be different from something else?
@@jwa2088 True bit a much smaller adapter could work you can't possibly need a whole cable. Think of a travel adaptor for when you go on vacation that thing is not like a 20kg snake.
@@jwa2088 THE CORD WILL ALWAYS BE THE SAME JUST DIFFERENT ADAPTERS. KIND OF LIKE SWAPPING A DUST BRUSH FOR AN UPHOLSTERY TOOL ON YOUR VAC.
great video BUT... the music has been used in at least 10 videos of car reviews from different channels... AND using 10 times the intro/outro of the song is quickly annoying !
While I was watching this review in the car, I looked out the window and saw a blue Audi E-Tron.
What color is the car?
If I drive it, the range ain’t gonna be anything near the official quoted range
On the charging cables, they will rarely be used with these new EVs. Those cables are mostly for level 2 or when you drive to a remote destination. Most of the charging will be done at home, where you will probably have a wall box with a built-in cable. On longer journeys, you will probably be using high-powered 150 kW DC charging stations, which have to have a built in cable that is liquid cooled to deliver that much power. Sure, if you have an old LEAF or Zoe, it makes sense to charge at the grocery store on a level-2 charger while you shop, but with these larger batteries, it isn't really practical and you probably have a dedicated charge at home if you are buying this car, it is not the sort of the thing that city dwellers would buy. At least this has been my experience with EVs and my thoughts...
This! People who can afford these premium evs will surely get a wallbox. I sure am;).
@@HomeCinemaJunkie most places that have a leaf have wall charger at home (it's a requirement really if you have a eV car)
You don't say anything about the costs...what happens when the batteries worn out? In a diesel if the turbo goes out then you replace the turbo, in a reg engine a pipe bursts you replace the pipe which is not too much trouble but when the batteries for this E tron worn out then what? What would be the cost? How long these batteries run for before they go bust? 2 years? 3 years?
We also reviewed the Etron and think that you summed it up perfectly. We love the fact that it doesn't look like a typical EV!!! Electric vehicles will be a way of life if you own one. They'll fit perfectly into lots of peoples lives. I'm a petrol head and have been a sceptic until now. The Etron is a game changer. What most people are winging about is the range and yes it can be limiting, but it's only gonna get better.
Had an i3 for three years and now have an iPace. Someone posted on piston heads that two etron owners have returned them because the infotainment software is so awful. Charging cables? The froot / frunk is perfect place for them - not used granny charger on the iPace yet and only used on i3 before home charger fitted. Other cable used three times in 39k miles in i3, never yet iPace. Would not get an etron - dull looking and less efficient than iPace (see Bjorn Nyland comparison video on KZhead). And 300-400kg heavier than iPace? Blimey!
Great car ! Love it !
Do the Q3 already!!
It's cool but why there is paddle shifters?
Tsalonen regenerative braking
The only thing letting the interior down is the steering wheel and no, not because it's round, just think the three spoke looks nicer in audis
Really amazing review. Best one yet. Too much info... Nice work
but carwow?
So in the UK, right-handers must always feel how we left-handers to in the USA being forced to manipulate touchscreens with your off-hand.
Matt Richter Import your car from UK and your problem is solved:)
Good realistic and professional review, thanks Ginny. Just watched your review of the 1997 Honda Cr-V..( I drive a '98 ) you haven't chsnged a bit!
you need a white stick.
Ginny, can you confirm the official Audi color name of the vehicle in the video? Is it Galaxy Blue?
The battery has a gross capacity of 95 kwh but apparently a useable capacity of 83 kWh. So range would be 83*2.5, born just over 200. Advantage of This is it allows faster. Charging rate and a better protection of The battery against degradation.
Strange to use" mean you can't or don't want to adapt to change.
I love the car because I like Audi. For the button to open the front hood, I don't think Audi doesn't have the technology of opening the front hood with an electric button. But that's fine for me
The solution for the charge cable? One charging format and an attached cable to the charge tower.
I suspect that the cable gets used if you pull into your garage at work and they have an outlet, but no cable. Or you're driving to a friend's place and want to plug in there while you visit, or if you're spending the night at your parents' house. (Or your kids' house, for that matter.) I'd bet a lot of people don't travel around town with the cable.
@6:00 there are very accomplished engineers who think of everything before coming to any conclusion. The reason there isn’t an electronic button to open the front compartment is because they want to have it there.
Agreed. I own one of these and I for one am glad they chose to save on cost and weight by not a motor adding expensive plastic to something I rarely use. Those cables are for the rear occasion that I travel to a place I need to plug in to a wall outlet.
Two different charging cables is hardly a myriad. And I find storing them in the frunk works well because if you store them in the boot or under the boot floor it is more of a hassle to get at them when the boot is full. In reality with a battery of that size you would use a home charger with a tethered cable or a public rapid charger that also has the cable attached so it really isn’t an issue.
Charging cables always in the frunk of my I-Pace, don’t see why I should put them in the trunk?
Because you don't need them that often?
sebxx depends where you life. As I life in a big city, with no home charger.
@@janheinsiemerink4411 if you don't have a charging spot either at night, of during your work days... You're not best suited for EV yet
sebxx where do you life? I’ve got an I-pace and plenty of public chargers around my appartment in Amsterdam. Never a problem to find a spot to charge. One charge will give me around 350km, enough for one week driving. Or I can charge at the office. Both requirer me to use the cables provided by Jaguar. But I think you are right. If you can’t charge easy, you should get a EV.
The charging cables should be retractable like you have for vacuum cleaners.
Unlike the vacuum cleaner you don't have universal plugs
@@SXsoft99 QUICK TO SWAP OUT THE END IF NEEDED.
It is a good thing!
As more electric cars come on the market they need to make the designs similar to the cars that are currently on the road instead of making them look stupid just because its electric this audi is a perfect example of a normal design car but its electric.
I would wager the aerodynamics are not much to write home about on this car. Tesla S and 3 both look like "normal" cars, but have a drag coefficient similar to race cars, which improves the range greatly. What I don't understand is why ICE cars don't have similar design sense - are people that unconcerned with mileage?
Great car if you don't do lots of long trips. There's only one charger currently in the UK able to deliver more than 50kw so the charging will be slow per mile given that it is nowhere near as efficient as a Tesla (who have the Supercharger network that charges way faster than that). The main problem is the price - yikes.
Robert Smith That’s not true at all. Ionity already finished their first HPC station which is faster than all Superchargers. More are already under construction. Ionity is not the only company offering fast charging, Fastned also opened their first HPC station in the UK with two 175kw charging stations available. 4 HPC charging locations will open up this month and another 3 next month.
@@lorenzmuller4000 I have an EV and use Zap Map to find chargers, You are correct in that there are now three chargers capable of 100kw or above in the UK (there was only one last time I looked which wasn't long ago at all). Tesla superchargers are everywhere. It is worth noting that because of the lower efficiency of the E-Tron compared with a Tesla the actual charging speed in mph is likely faster for a Tesla Model 3 once the V3 Superchargers arrive but in reality they are similar overall. It is true that there are a lot of fast chargers planned but they aren't here yet. I'm pleased that VW group are at last making serious EVs but they aren't yet a no compromise option. I really hope the charging networks improve as quickly as you expect though because it definitely puts people off EVs (especially all the faffing around with apps and RFID cards on most current chargers).
Standard version £71,500. She didn't mention that. 2.5 tonnes, just how is that energy efficient?
Mark Bennett A standard version Audi SQ7 costs £70,835. And believe it or not, but weight is almost insignificant for an EV. They can get most of the energy back when braking. The e-Tron uses less energy than any ICE car on the market. If you convert the amount of Energy the e-Tron needs into mpg it would be close to 90mpg. (1 gallon of gas = 33.4kwh-> 2.6 gallons for 87kwh (230miles) -> 88mpg. The truth is: EVs are so efficient, even big fat (electric) SUVs are more efficient than a very small and economic ICE vehicle.
2.5 miles per kWh OMG, this car is very heavy though. Price you pay for this type of car. Finally a decent estate 👍
Great car for Ice Hockey fans too...NHL...
Nice. I am a fan of electric cars. But what the heck with the charge port door: I can see snow and ice packed in there and trying to close the darn thing !!!
Some corrections with your specifications of the Audi Étron is needed. It has a 95kwh battery with 83kwh useable capacity. With an average of 2.5 miles/kwh, you can expect a 207.5 miles range from full to empty. The range value will significantly decreases if you drive the motorway a lot. It's definitely not an EV, maybe short-range luxury vehicle, but definitely not a family-friendly car as you lack the range to travel long distances for trips. Tldr; just get a Tesla or e-Niro/Kona.
MQNguyen since you know so much, do you own one? Have you even driven one?
No, the virtual mirrors are not strange to use. Tested the e-Tron twice at the last Automobile Barcelona and the way you can set them up is just the same as the traditional rear-view mirrors. By the way, as an experiment about how far they could really, really go, Audi testers got to 275 miles in real-life conditions around Barcelona. The catch? They know how to drive and how to take the car to the limit, unlike most of us (and you.) I also tested the i-Pace and there was “no colour” (as we say in Spain): the Audi was way better, easier to use, more intuitive in the infotainment side, and the Jags’ weight in the steering felt artificial, as well as not being as well-finished...
Have a look at Honda-e this is how proper eMirrors should be
sebxx small?
I live in Cambridgeshire, my son and his wife in Gloucestershire. There's no way I can visit without recharging somewhere as it's not possible at his house, which makes a day visit impossible. Absolutely no problem in my RSQ3, which is probably way more fun....and definitely sounds better!
It hasn’t got 95kWh of battery, it’s got 83.6kWh of usable battery. So 2.5 x 83.6 is 209miles of real world range. Little bit of research.
I don’t think there’s that many people that can afford this that’ll still be giving their granny a lift.. starts at over 70k.
Leasing
HSV Commodore at 600+ a month after thousands up front I still don’t think there’s that many.
Ha! Do you think people with money never take Grandma shopping or to dinner? Fact is, of course, it will just as likely be granny who buys the e-tron. [!]
Tom Crisp I think it’s far more likely that for the majority who can afford this, granny won’t be around to drive anyway. Not sure you got that. I also would 100% contest the fact that it’s “just as likely to be granny who will buy this”. I can’t help but think you know statistically that isn’t true. Not sure why you commented.
Tom Crisp saw you deleted your comment but I’ll reply to it anyway. How does explaining that “most people will be grandparents by 60” relate to my original statement to which you replied? Will their grannies still be around? Not many of them I’d say.
In mercedes the charging cable is in the same place.
It isn't because they haven't even done a front compartment.
They have a «case» for it wich sits in the left “wall” in the trunk.
2.5 tons? Battery miniaturisation can't come quickly enough - a 3 litre TDI engine would weigh a little over 200KG, yet the batteries in the e-tron weigh *700*.
Stephan Dolby Weight doesn’t matter as much because they get most of the energy back when braking. Even a small ICE car needs more energy than this huge Audi e-Tron.
You're comparing apples to oranges, the motor might be must lighter than the tdi engine... But the tank.
ginny wit the gucci
OMG an Audi without black on black on black interior!!!!
Of all the EV’s on the market this vehicle is among the top of the list for all categories but “ONE”. That one is range, 95 kWh battery and only goes 204 miles EPA. So many EV’s at the top go farther. You’re paying all this money for a heavy 95 kWh battery that affects everything in handling, accelerating, braking etc. I believe Audi is not allowing the owner full access to the battery, so the vehicle is the fastest charging to 80%. Could care less! I would rather it take more time if that’s what it takes and give me 250-275 EPA as I along with the majority EV owners charge at home using a Phrase II charger. When I leave home every day, I like the extended range capability and would make extended trips more comfortable. As much as I like this vehicle, the range is disappointing and a "no sale". In a couple of years or sooner, like vehicles or even this one will get 300-400 mile in range.
Ginny + heels = electric.
She’s great! Non stop information
a 12 months honest review from a real owner in english Part 1 : kzhead.info/sun/fLOJds2Ka6J_m5s/bejne.html Part 2 : kzhead.info/sun/hc2nXZiAiXigZ5s/bejne.html
Goes through the wind like a barn. No electric car need that much front area or so bad cw. Cost a least 30% more energy.
‘Cost at least 30% more energy’ ... No pun intended, but there’s a figure plucked out of the air!
Why not have solar panels on the roof. It would extend the range of the car and you can charge the car when it’s parked up. Also if you are low on power, you can park up and charge the batteries with the solar panels.
In my humble opinion, the fact that Tesla’s have a super charging network.. is all the reason enough to buy one over the competition.
ye and those superchargers will ruin the battery! wooo there goes a 140k tesla SUV
Basically because it's normal I just love it! I don't care about them tesla wow factors I want a car
I wish it was a real suv and not a station wagon.
Ginny❤️❤️
Who fucking was so blind to gibe the E-Pace the car award of the year. Why not the model 3?
WRONG : you can distinguish this as an electric Vehicle from: Grill Rims Badging Orange regen brakes
I feel this will be the next Audi Allroad. Don't think it will age well.
Feels like the grille was made of recycled Dyson's
Tesla charge cable is stored at the super charger. I carry a 240 v cable under boot in !Model S but use it perhaps once a year. Not having superchargers is a huge faux pas for Audi, stupidity!
I think Audi/VW are on the Ionity network, a Tesla supercharger equivalent
@@alexjenkins1079 Certainly not an equivalent in number of locations. Tesla's lead is incredible! Especially in China!
I'd agree at least the VW Porsche Audi, etc, with their deep pockets, should be bankrolling charging networks, or even using their clout to motivate big oil to add charging to ICE service stations.
Big oil will be minority oil in 10 years and most top 5 car manufacturers will no longer exist. The big changer will be when oil and ice car manufacturers can no longer afford to fill MPs back pockets.
Alex Jenkins Ionity doesn’t work well I hear.
That front grill looks nasty and cheap and a little superfluous. Also looks a little low on the ground so wouldn't suit my needs. Also for the price where is the sunroof? It doesn't look good value for money to me to be honest and Audi were three from the bottom in last years JD Power survey so Im not sure how this is going to fare. The Jaguar iPace definitely looks better in my opinion. Bit of an update it appears the car is already having problems with potential water ingress into the batteries I have heard.. kzhead.info/sun/i92GnbaHqF9sm4k/bejne.html
Where I live the Audi is a lot cheaper than the Jaguar and the Merc EQC. Thats a big plus since the audi is bigger than the other two rivals (read: way too small for my needs).
The charging cable should be attached to the vehicles charging port, and be wound up inside the car. When you want to charge, you should be able to park near an outlet, open the little charge port door on the car, grab the end of the charging cable, and pull the cable out towards the outlet having it unwind seemingly from the car. This was the best feasible solution I could think of.
What??? You never drove an EV, cable are already on all charging ports... And it's much better this way. This one is for the once a year time you'll be on a weird spot
You don't store charging cables in the car. They're at home, in the garage, connected to an outlet. That front compartment is simply the place to put them when the car is delivered, not a place to "store" them.
Nice electric car, but can play games in the dashboard?
2002 called...they want those rims back 😂😂
From the electric point of view I would call it "étron"
She makes a good point. The range itself is not as important but how close you can get to it🤷🏻♂️. But those wheels though😂.... hideous. I’d take bigger wheels and deal with the decrease in comfort any day. Wow those are hideous😂😂😂😂.
Why is she still being allowed to do trash car reviews??? The Audi E-Tron is an awesome vehicle.
It’s a station wagon, made ugly to not canabolize their gas car sales.
Opens and closes the charge port, German Engineering at its finest 🤔
Electrified ⚡️
Good review, fine car ... I’d rather have the ‘award winning’ I Pace though⚡️
The amount of bias and deflection in this video is amazing
Meanwhile Kia / Hyundai are making practical, reliable ev,s with the same or better drive distances. Electric fuel caps don,t come cheap.
Battery disposal is a REAL environmental issue.
The Big T They’re recycled. The same as the rest of a car has to be. By law.
Fold flat? Those rear seats don't fold anywhere close to flat! Thumbs down.....
If you want to risk your life with Audi, please go ahead and buy the car. Audi just recalled all their cars for faulty batteries and the question remains will they fix their faulty components or take cheap shortcuts. Audi also isn't the fastest charging ev, Tesla just retook that title a few days ago. Don't buy a first gen electric Audi, this is just a test vehicle, they can do better.
They were being proactive. They are fixing the cars before issues arise. Tesla has had actual cars catch fire whereas Audi hasn't.
Like Tesla haven’t had problems with every model they have produced.. 😂
If Ginny is impressed by the charging point door she melt over the Tesla S door handles...
Why do you have to take your own cables with you?
You don't, unless you reach a weird charging destination
Major props to Audi for not making this car look ugly in an attempt to design it futuristically. However the disappointingly low range means this is just a fat town electric scooter... 😶 Oh and it's already had its first recall in the US so... let's see how reliable it'll be....
Normal looking is great for an electric car. You don’t want it to have bright colours everywhere and sealed up vents to denote electric car. Maybe have the charging cable in the boot under the fake floor. Why not have 1 cable and adapters for the charging plug so it can work in different chargers. They should standardise the charging port. Just like usb for computers.
Think is that 230 240 miles is rubbish! means you have to plan every single moment when you get the car! and is not the future, is the past in this way , if you are not free to move when and where you want with you car! ok you find a plug in station on the way?? fine, and if there, there is busy? others car are plugging? what's up? you need to wait for charge? how much time? you are in travel for work or fun and you have to stop 2 hours only for charge? and then if the cable or the plug doesn't work or break down like happens with the mobile phone cable? come on......😂😂 with normal fuel takes 3 minutes...to fill up.! for ev the time is not ready yet...maybe in 10 years will be.. imho.
marco marcob Most of the time you don’t even need a fraction of the Range. I’ve got this car since two months and I’ve spent less time thinking about “refuelling” than before. Every morning I start with a full “tank” and I usually need 60miles/day. I already did a road trip from Munich to Berlin and I had a total charging time of 45 minutes. The best thing is that compared to my old diesel this car is so cheap to operate. My daily commute costs literally nothing (I’ve got a solar system) and my trip from Munich to Berlin and back did cost me 22€. For the average person an EV is already the better choice.
@@lorenzmuller4000 how much the solar sistem at home? did you get it for free? I don't think so! and how much cost e-tron more than and normal petrol or diesel or gas? when you say that it cost you nothing or little money you say something not correct. To spend the same money of an ev compare to a o conventional car , petrol diesel or gas, you have to run with your normal car 10 year or more, after than maybe you star to save a little money. Than common worker can not afford ev car at the moment. even smaller than this iron. Time is not fully ready yet for ev Maybe in the future imho.. Than there is a fact that personallyl, especially for diesel gate I don't want give any money in German product at all. Kind regards.
Marco Bresciani I already had the solar system for my home so no extra costs here... And many public chargers are free as well. And the petrol version of the e-Tron is the SQ7 which costs exactly the same. And there are already cheap EVs like the Renault Zoe and next year the VW ID3. And btw it’s silly to avoid *all* German company’s just because one got caught cheating especially because we know that almost every company cheated (PSA, GM, etc...). Compared to my old car I save 2000€/year just with fuel savings and without considering maintenance, taxes etc...
Esh You We
I'd prefer a tesla over any other electric car any day
@notformebeaky Not so. Issues at the beginning, but much, much improved. Look at Ginny's review of the Model 3.
@notformebeaky I'd say you have a fixed focus on the negatives of EVs. That's fine, but I find that posture a bit like the "smart" men who would go down to the pier to laugh at Robert Fulton as he built his steamboat.
The E-tron isn't very good at range.... Beaten by the much cheaper Hyundai Kona. Aaaaand all the Teslas's. nextmove.de/autobahn-test-audi-e-tron-against-the-rest-of-the-ev-world/
Yet another "Esh U V".
Dipping your toe in the EV waters.... Bad analogy as electricity and water just don't mix...
not really since all the biggest electricity power plant generators are using water to produce the power 😅
If it didn't cost 1 billion pounds it would be relevant.
This is not an suv. More like an ugly crossover. Audi should have made a spacious 7 or 8 seater suv with more range. They did not capitalize on Tesla’s weaknesses. No thanks on an electric stantionwagon Audi. This car is for show and meant to not take marketshare from their gas cars.
And apparently full of electronic problems and recalls already. The last one, its about fire caused by water going where it shouldn't.
Esh u v?
Meh
Meh for the car... The review is great
An EV vehicle that doesn't shout.. Look at me! I'm an EV douchebag!
I have a solution for the charging cables: Buy a petrol car and you won't have to worry about where you leave them.
Tesla Model X puts this to shame 😬
Yeah but this is for people who like SUVs, not minivans
Well.. I hardly bet that the Audi will be as problematic and unreliable as the Model X is.. Also, the Audi is much better built in general, much better seats and panel gaps that aren’t the size of the moon..
petrolpower96 you mean the audi that just got called back because of batteries catching fire? 🙄
@@7MWA C mon Tesla build quality is Chinese level. lol
The Jaguar is hideous. This is much more conventional.
Not had good publicity recently due to battery fires
Tesla down to 1.5kwh
I have a Leaf, I only ever carry one cable which I hardly ever use, all rapid chargers have a built on cable. 2.7kwh per mile is terrible!!! The leaf gets 4 kwh per mile plus. This audi is a badly packaged brick and not worth the money
The leaf is one ugly impractical ev...
Dear carbyuer, swear on your children's life that this is an actual car from 2020 as the title claims ! Are you time travelers or just clickbait liers ?
Cars get called by the next year from release all the time unless it's just a facelift what are you on about
@@shroomyesc logic much ?