At first look, the Audi This fall Sportback e-tron is a automotive with an id disaster.
It’s an electrical car styled as if it has an internal-combustion engine. It’s an SUV that’s attempting to be a sporty coupe. It’s as if Audi is attempting to be edgy, and play it protected, all on the identical time.
The Sportback, because the identify implies, has extra steeply raked rear pillars than the cheaper, extra sensible, hatchback-style This fall e-tron with which it shares showroom area in Europe.
But it surely’s in any other case an identical by way of its powertrain specification, and trim ranges.
From the surface the Audi This fall Sportback e-tron seems to be reassuringly Audi in its design and execution, from the crisp creases on the bodywork to the daring ‘grille’ up entrance.
Peel again the pores and skin, nonetheless, and also you’ll discover {hardware} an identical to that used within the Volkswagen ID.4 and Skoda Enyaq iV electrical SUVs, amongst others. That’s as a result of the This fall Sportback e-tron is constructed on the identical Volkswagen Group MEB electrical car structure.
There’s nothing flawed with that, in concept. Platform sharing – constructing completely different vehicles utilizing a bunch of the identical elements to chop prices – is a brilliant enterprise technique, and the Volkswagen Group is a grasp of the follow.
Even as we speak, few non-enthusiasts are conscious {that a} VW Golf, Audi A3 and Skoda Octavia are essentially the identical automotive beneath. However can the trick work in EVs with identically clean and silent powertrains that carry out the identical?
How a lot does the Audi This fall e-tron Sportback value?
Given it’s not but confirmed for the Australian market, there’s no domestically related pricing and specs.
Wanting abroad to the UK market, the This fall Sportback e-tron begins at £45,475 ($79,031) for the entry-level Sport 35 e-tron grade, climbing to £62,290 ($108,254) for the flagship Version 1 50 e-tron quattro. The Sportback physique fashion carries a circa £1500 ($2606) premium over the equal This fall e-tron SUV.
The Audi This fall Sportback e-tron begins a pair grand GBP over a top-spec Q3 Sportback, with different examples across the £45,000 bracket together with a well-specified VW Golf R or Audi S3 Sportback.
Whereas direct conversions from the UK market aren’t essentially indicative of Australian pricing, it’s a tough information whenever you think about positioning of different autos offered right here.
What’s the Audi This fall e-tron Sportback like on the within?
As with the outside, the inside of the This fall Sportback e-tron is acquainted Audi fare.
Robust geometric types and splashes of brightwork abound, although type has maybe trumped perform within the form of a steering wheel that’s flat on the high and backside and feels odd to make use of whenever you’re winding from lock to lock.
The instrument panel options Audi’s glorious configurable digital cockpit show, and a touchscreen on the centre of the sprint, and angled in the direction of the motive force, controls the infotainment system.
Fortunately, not the whole lot is managed by way of the touchscreen. The heating, cooling and air flow controls are bodily buttons organized below the touchscreen very like the brand new A3 and Q3, which might be simple to search out and use with out trying.
Ancillary controls such because the start-stop button, the Audi drive mode choose button and the drive, impartial and reverse controls are situated on a small panel cantilevered out from below the sprint, and inside simple attain of the motive force.
Beneath it’s a centre console with cubbies, cupholders, USB ports and a centre armrest.
Audi could make modest plastics look costly. The grained stuff within the This fall Sportback e-tron seems to be virtually like leather-based, the shiny stuff seems to be like metallic, and even the piano black seems to be prefer it belongs on a piano.
However the interiors of each the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 give this Audi a run for its cash by way of perceived high quality.
This isn’t a knock in opposition to Audi. Reasonably, it’s a sign of how good the Koreans have change into at these things.
What’s below the bonnet?
As with most EVs, the stuff that makes the Audi This fall Sportback e-tron go is all hidden properly out of sight.
Our German-specification, top-of-the-range Status 50 e-tron quattro mannequin boasted twin motors producing a complete of 220kW and 460N, fed by an 82kWh battery with a usable 76.6kWh of storage.
The This fall Sportback e-tron can also be accessible in two rear-drive variations. The bottom 35 e-tron has a 125kW/310Nm e-motor and 55kWh battery, whereas the 40 e-tron is powered by an e-motor that has the identical torque (310Nm) however produces 150kW and is fed by the larger 76.6kWh battery used within the dual-motor mannequin.
Regardless of being the heaviest of the three, the 2140kg dual-motor 50 e-tron quattro is the quickest, with a claimed 0-100km/h time of 6.2 seconds, versus 9.0 seconds for the 1895kg 125kW mannequin (35 e-tron) and eight.5 seconds for the 2054kg 150kW 40 e-tron.
Audi claims the This fall Sportback 50 e-tron quattro has a variety between 418km to 498km on the WLTP mixed cycle, whereas the 125kW 35 e-tron with the smaller battery presents 317km to 349km relying on specification.
The gap king of the lineup is the 150kW single-motor e-tron 40 with the long-range battery, which Audi claims will cowl 452km to 528km on the WLTP mixed cycle.
How does the Audi This fall e-tron Sportback drive?
Within the default Auto drive mode, the This fall Sportback e-tron does numerous the considering for the motive force.
On our take a look at drive in Germany, it anticipated velocity restrictions and junctions, routinely growing the extent of regenerative braking because it approached them whereas prompting you to carry off the accelerator to scale back velocity and enhance effectivity.
For those who take pleasure in driving, although, you’ll need to disable the lane-keep help to kill the annoyingly aggressive reactions by means of the steering wheel.
You’ll additionally need to play with the three ranges of lift-off regenerative braking – low, medium, and excessive – or let the This fall Sportback e-tron merely coast whenever you carry off the accelerator.
The degrees are toggled by way of the paddles on the steering wheel, although, confusingly, the plus paddle means much less regen, whereas the minus paddle provides you extra.
And also you’ll need to choose Dynamic mode. This doesn’t simply make the Audi really feel barely sharper and extra responsive, it places the motive force in cost, lowering the interventions from the digital nannies.
What Dynamic mode additionally reveals, nonetheless, is that regardless of its comparatively stiff suspension the This fall Sportback e-tron isn’t that dynamic to drive, particularly on a winding highway.
Sluggish in, quick out; quick in, sluggish out – it doesn’t matter what you strive, the This fall Sportback e-tron’s dealing with stays stubbornly one-dimensional.
There’s loads of grip, and first rate acceleration, however little adjustability within the chassis. The steering doesn’t give a ton of suggestions, and it doesn’t punch out of corners like another electrical SUVs.
The twin-motor Kia EV6 is rather more enjoyable.
What do you get?
Is the Audi This fall e-tron Sportback protected?
Whereas unrated by ANCAP, the This fall e-tron and This fall Sportback e-tron put on a five-star Euro NCAP security ranking.
Class scores included 93 per cent for grownup occupant safety, 89 per cent for little one occupant safety, 66 per cent for weak highway customers and 80 per cent for security help.
Customary security options within the UK embody:
AEB with pedestrian/bike owner assistAEB with flip help (junction AEB)Lane departure warningLane-keep assistSwerve assistRear parking sensorsReversing digital camera
How a lot does the Audi This fall e-tron Sportback value to run?
Audi Australia covers its vary with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee.
The bigger Audi e-tron and e-tron Sportback additionally get six years of complimentary scheduled servicing, in addition to a six-year limitless subscription to the Chargefox public fast-charging community.
Ought to the This fall e-tron vary be made accessible in Australia, we’d anticipate the German marque to supply an identical possession advantages program to its current all-electric e-tron vary.
CarExpert’s Tackle the Audi This fall e-tron Sportback
This good-looking, well-finished, well-equipped Audi EV proves the advantages of platform sharing, nevertheless it additionally reveals a draw back.
Volkswagen Group’s MEB-based autos aren’t significantly inspiring to drive, and that features the This fall Sportback e-tron. It’s competent, nevertheless it doesn’t sparkle.
Then there’s this – the MEB-based Skoda Enyaq iV and Enyaq iV Coupe are additionally sure for Australia, and each ought to retail for considerably lower than the $78,000 or extra that, if abroad pricing is a information, Audi is more likely to cost for a base This fall e-tron or This fall Sportback e-tron.
We’ll affirm as soon as we are able to drive the 2 vehicles back-to-back, however on paper, at the least, if you’d like an electrical SUV with a lot the identical expertise, efficiency, and vary as an Audi This fall e-tron, the Skoda seems to be prefer it might be the smarter purchase.
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MORE: Audi This fall e-tron nonetheless not confirmed for Australia