the Bucket: Bucket Seat: Audi e-tron 55 Sportback

It seems like a life time ago since I got to experience Audi's range of electric cars at their launch in Cape Town, even though it was March 2022. Just feels like so much has happened since then and truth be told, a lot has happened but rather late than never, Audi sent down a test unit for me to zoot across town with a for a week. It wasn't the Iron Man edition RS e-tron GT but rather the 55 Sportback which, coincidentally I didn't get to drive on that evening, so I wasn't too disappointed to see this quietly roll into my driveway. Audi is one of the only manufacturers who have committed to a date whereby they will be stopping production on all internal combustion engines from their line-up, some might so bold, some might say stupid but given the vast array of models showcased in their e-tron line-up, it might be very bold of them to do so. After experiencing what the RS GT could do, I was blown away, so spending a week with the e-tron 55 Sportback was looking rather exciting to me, especially seeing that this would be my fourth EV on test, and the first from Audi, so I could gauge how different their approach is to the competitions.

DESIGN

The one question I got when EV's were first introduced into the market was "why must they be so ugly", I get that manufacturers wanted them to stand out, but some designs were a bit out there. I admired the creativity from some brands which incorporated recycled materials and made their EV's in factories which were Green rating but to the normal consumer, these were not characteristics they were interested, they just wanted normal looking cars and to their credit, that is exactly what Audi have done. The e-tron 55 Sportback looks as normal as a car could be, Audi say it combines spaciousness of an SUV with the performance of a four-door coupe. The lines of the car are stunning and with the large 21-inch 5 V spoke diamond turned rims really make the car give off a commanding presence. The headlamps are identical to the Q3, the body is similar shape to the Q5 and the only major difference is the dynamic looking rear of the car with the solid rear light. Both front and back lights are Audi's famed Matrix LED's which provide you with a welcome sequence "dance" as they like to call it, which one never gets tired of. The colour of this particular model was something that got a lot of attention too, the one pager I got with the car said it was Beige but after looking at the Audi website, the closest colour to it from their pallet I could see was "Typhoon Grey Pearl", I'll go with Beige. I know I said the car looked normal but there are distinct design differences which does make the car stand out and be more bold than other SUV's in the Audi stable. While the large Audi grille is there, it's completely blanked off, as there isn't a radiator that needs cool air to come through the car. The SUV coupe body does make it look ever so elegant on the road as well, one of the other big talking points was the lack of side mirrors which were replaced with the optional extra virtual exterior mirrors which I will touch on further on in the blog. The interior design matched the current new design language from Audi, almost a replica of the Q8 SUV Coupe.

PERFORMANCE

From the previous reviews, we know that EV's are super quick, with no combustion engine and no gears, it just means all the power available at once! But these cars are heavy, thanks to the batteries and other electrical elements to make the car function, also there has to be a way of regulating the power delivery to the wheels otherwise the driver and its occupants would suffer from whiplash on every take off! The 55 Sportback comes power with two synchronous electric motor which derive a combined power output of 300kW and 664Nm of torque at full tilt, this can be adjusted by the various driving modes with Dynamic being the one that unleashes the most amount of power on demand and Eco being the one that limits the most power. The various modes would obviously determine the amount of power is consumed by the batteries, hence the range when fully charged can give you anything from 372km to 453km. An interesting thing happened to me while driving this car, I think given the fact that I have driven quite a few of the newer EV's, I found that my range anxiety was no where existent when driving the 55 Sportback. Not sure if it was due to the realisation that this was one of the bigger batteries being the 95kW giving that longer lasting usage or that I was just becoming accustomed to EV driving. For the 7 days I had it, I probably only needed to charge it once but due to the inner journalist in me, I had to go try out the various new charges that have been installed around town. Fast charging had me go from 10% to 99% in just 28 minutes, you can download the Audi app and keep connected to monitor your cars status while you go about your shopping and know exactly when its time to go. The Quattro four wheel drive gives the car more composure and helps balance out that high torque factor, the large tyres minimize the bumps on the road and gives you a softer ride. The e-tron 55 is the first EV I saw with charging ports on either side of the car and with automatic retractable and closing covers. The right side also had the DC fast charging while the other had the normal AC charging port only.

COMFORT

Being based of an SUV, even though the coupe spec, the 55 Sportback was extremely spacious. The brown leather seats really complemented the beige exterior and black finishes on the inside. The piano black elements gave the car the premium feeling it deserves. The e-tron like the Q8 comes with a triple screen display, with the virtual cockpit which can be changed per user preference to display anything form your normal speedometer, to a full size navigation map. The main infotainment screen with MMI touch response is easy to use with Audi's new tile interface and has wireless mobile app connectivity which is simple to setup. The bottom screen is mainly used for the climate control settings but also displays the keyboard for navigation and as a sketch surface to write commands into. The gear shift is a rather interesting design, which looks like a plane throttle lever, its wrapped in soft touch leather which makes its nice place to rest your hand while driving, not that I'd encourage it as both hands should be on the steering at all times! The drive quality on the e-tron is smooth as silk, the lack of noise coupled with how easy it is to maneuver this large chassis around really makes it a pleasure. Now many think due to the car being electric, most of the creature comforts of the normal cars are cut out due to their high power consumption, well you'd be wrong because the e-tron 55 Sportback also offers seat heating for the driver and front passenger. The rear occupants also get dual zone climate control, a full panoramic sunroof, mesmerizing ambient lighting fills the cabin at night and remember those virtual exterior mirrors? Well add another two more screens, one on each door panel. It was a bit to get your head around at first but one quickly adjusts to it. Coming in at R24,000, it may seem like a massive waste of money but to me, after using them and seeing how much more attention it gets you, if you spending this much on a car, whats that little bit more to make it stand out? The benefits of it really came through in night driving, where it would cancel out the harsh glares from cars behind and give you a better view of either side when driving. The car also came with Bang & Olufsen Premium 3D sound system which is standard by the way. The slanted boot has an automated tailgate with a large luggage space and a full size spare wheel. The charging cables can be found at the front of the car. The Matrix LED lighting works like a dream, knowing when to switch on the extended lights, beam lights onto road signed and bend around corners, seriously my favourite lighting from all manufacturers at the moment.

VERDICT

I say this with a big chest, as this is the first EV I've driven and felt it just as or even better than a normal car. The confidence you get from driving the e-tron really gives you faith in Audi's goal of cutting out the ICE engines from their line up by 2026. If the technology they've managed to create now can deliver so much in their products, I can't wait to see what the next range of e-trons have to offer. While I was snobbish at the launch, only opting to drive the GT's because I wanted to unleash my inner Tony Stark, these are the really money makers for the brand and where you see the true benefit of their EV journey. It's for everyday people, doing everyday things but without the hassle of needing to fill fuel. I think if driven properly and not like a maniac like me, one only has to charge these cars maybe once every 10 days if its basic running around town you're doing. The regenerating power from the average driving around is pretty good too, so you learn to adapt to get the maximum benefits from it. The price is a bit much and a big pill to swallow but its the price to pay to change the future which is inevitable. There is a massive drive to get more charging facilities in the country and Audi have partnered with Rubicon to install more chargers at their dealerships and malls around the country. This is another massive positive step to making South Africa more EV friendly. Notice I didn't bring up load shedding once in this article but I have to unfortunately, lucky for us, its the one thing that we get right all the time, they keep to the time tables so you should plan in advance if your car requires charging, don't get caught out then put the blame on Eskom if you aren't quick to act. Also not sure if I mentioned in any of my other posts on EV's, most public places have dedicated EV parking bays, like major shopping malls and the airport, which are usually right by the entrance and wheel-clamp zones for none EV's, so you score on that front by getting premium parking!