Audi e-tron Sportback

But hey, we should not forget that we have 360 ​​hp under the right pedal! 360 hp which can also be transformed into 408 hp for a few moments via a manually selectable “Boost” function. Sufficient cavalry to take the big beast (2,555 kg !!) from 0 to 100 km / h in 5.7 s, while the torque of 561 Nm available immediately allows reminders, my faith, of very good quality. So, on a daily basis…well, that's great. Ultimate flexibility, responsiveness on demand, not forgetting -and it's important to remember this, since it's the pitfall of a lot of EVs- a brake pedal with a totally transparent feel, thanks to “ by wire ” braking“. And again, I haven't used it much, since Audi has equipped its e-tron with paddles behind the steering wheel managing the intensity of regenerative braking on 3 levels, from freewheeling to quasi-driving “one pedal”. As a result, many decelerations are done “by hand”, making the driving experience even more pleasant.

But it is time to address the question that kills: “and autonomy then?”. Remember here that I had an e-tron Sportback in the 55 quattro version, promising a range of 446 km WLTP thanks to its large battery…as well as its more slender bodywork than that of the “normal” e-tron (which tops out at 416 km, that big sucker). As for me, I covered the 170 km of the loop at a perfectly normal pace, spent the overwhelming majority of the time in “Comfort” mode - with a few passages in “Dynamic” because, damn at the end, we have 408 hp, as well as a few much less exciting short kilometers in “Eco”. The path ? A small discovery of Yvelines and Vexin spent almost entirely on country roads, with only a few tens of kilometers on the motorway limited to 110 km / h (in the best of cases).

Let's stop the suspense here: once I arrived at my destination, the on-board computer showed me an average consumption of 20.3 kWh/100 km as well as 224 theoretical km remaining. By taking out my calculator and my cross product (to reduce the average consumption to the useful capacity of the battery), I arrived at a result of 426 km of total autonomy. A score, certainly not very far from the official figures, but to be balanced: the conditions of the test were, so to speak, optimal, with a moderate temperature and a type of route extremely favorable to EVs. Let's also add that the consumption obtained by the other journalists in my session clearly revolved around 25 kWh/100 km (i.e. ~350 km), a score generally in the average of large electric SUVs (like EQC, I-Pace or Model X). On the charging side, the e-tron Sportback can collect up to 150 kW of power on the Ionity network, enough to recharge 80% of its battery in 30 short minutes; a charge at 50 kW will take this time to 1h45 and plugging the Audi into an 11 kW socket will require you to wait 9h30 before having a full battery.

The article is (almost) coming to an end, so it's time to talk big moula. If the “very short” e-tron starts at 71,900 €, it will be necessary to add 2,600 € to Sportbackiser the car – for information, the copy presented here overflowing the options peaked at 119,350 €. It's expensive ? It's on the same strings as its rivals, Mercedes-Benz EQC & Tesla Model X in the lead - the Jaguar i-Pace, 22cm shorter, boxing in another category. If these three big patapoufs remain eligible for the TVS exemption for 3 years as well as the almost free green card, they will not be able to receive any bonus, their prices being all the same sufficiently voluptuous for the State to say to itself that customers can do without a discount of €7,000.

This is where things go wrong. You see, in a “normal” essay, I would do my little conclusion, I would put a link to my Twitter account and finished good evening. And my conclusion, for this Audi e-tron Sportback, is super positive: I find it pretty + I like the interior + I loved driving it + the prices are what they are, but remain average. Not much to say, then. But here we are, January 25, 2021 and I don't think I can recommend its purchase.

“But how come, why not vote for a car that you (almost) only say good things about?” Because the problem… does not depend on the car.

In fact, I want to tell you to buy your e-tron in six months – the real problem, in my opinion, is the charging infrastructure. If you have a parking space, Audi explained for a long time during the press conference the different solutions offered: fixed price for installing a charging station at home, monthly subscription for charging in co-ownership, in short, everything is done to reassure the customer on daily use, thus covering 90% of the total use of his car. For the rest, it thickens a bit. Audi is rightly promoting Ionity (as a reminder, a joint venture between BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Audi and Porsche), its rapid deployment (325 stations throughout Europe with a target of 400, ~60 open in France) and its equally fast charge: 350 kW max, where Tesla superchargers “only” stop at 250kW - although you won't see it, the e-tron Sportback being limited to 150kW. Only here, Ionity is obviously the mouth to all that is north of a strange Nantes-Paris-Besançon axis: almost no station above this delimitation, where the southern part is much better endowed.

And since Ionity is currently the only non-Tesla highway operating charging network, you won't have many alternatives. Take for example a typical route for this type of car: a Paris-Deauville-Paris, or 400 km of non-stop motorway round trip. If the outward journey does not worry me too much, it is the return which saddens me: the recharge is compulsory to regain our penates. And there, sit down: not a singlefast terminal is not in service on the entire A13. The owner of the e-tron will therefore be obliged to plug in when arriving in Deauville, but the charging stations are not found in the streets, they are unlocked with a region-specific app, and… they do not necessarily charge super fast , hence a mandatory wait. And there, the question I ask myself is: “will the guy who spends €100,000 in an Audi SUV really have the faith to go through all these hassles, when a full tank of gas for five minutes largely covers the round trip?”

This is when my slightly blissful optimism takes over: Ionity has not finished its deployment, the oil companies (Total and Shell in the lead) are announcing some nice projects, in short, come back next summer, everything should be fine better. I therefore offer two definitive conclusions to this article:

1- that of the Bagnolo-Bagnolard blogger: “The Audi e-tron Sportback is a great car, buy it if you want.”

2- that of the blogger who goes a little further, perhaps too much for a simple car test: “The Audi e-tron Sportback is a great car, buy it if you want…but not right away.”