The Good and the Bad: Road Tripping in the Audi e-tron
AudiWorld member A4 Phil took his Audi e-tron on a 5,000-road trip over Christmas and dubbed his e-tron a ‘road trip king.’
The 2019 Audi e-tron was a huge moment in the history of the brand, as it marked the beginning of Ingolstadt’s pivot toward its all-electric future. With 355 horsepower, electronic quattro all-wheel drive, and a 204-mile range, it’s a new breed of EV, and unlike many competitors, the styling doesn’t scream “electric car.” But while most buyers would be content to use the e-tron as a daily driver or commuter, AudiWorld member A4 Phil recently completed a 5,000-mile road trip, and overall, he’s beyond pleased with the performance of his green machine.
In fact, he starts the post with this endorsement: “Our e-trons really are road trip kings. Take yours on a trip. You will love it.” He also praised the e-tron’s charging speed, saying “There is something very satisfying about rolling into charge with your ’19 and being out of there in 20 minutes while the other new Mach-Es, BMWs, etc, are wondering why they are charging at 50 kWs.” That said, while things went smoothly overall, A4 Phil has a separate thread on the Adaptive Cruise Assist, and posted some interesting observations about the e-tron’s route planner.
If you’re curious about what it’s like to travel via electric car, it’s a good read, so I’m including his first two points here:
Why does the map not yet show DC chargers en route? If I have a leg that the map is showing me my next charge, I’d like it to also show me any other EA’s I am passing in case my family is asking for a food stop, I can select an exit because of an available EA that is in the area. It shows me gas stations and all sorts of useless information, but not en route DCQC’s.
Why does the e-tron route planner not give you an SOC charging target? It gives you a charging time. But the time is useless because it does not account for the actual speed of the charger. Just the planned speed. So it tells you that you are going to roll in at 21% SOC and you will need to charge for 26 minutes. To what SOC? Why doesn’t it say that you are rolling in at 21% SOC and you need to charge to 87% SOC. Or better, why doesn’t it push you an alert on your phone so that you are notified while wandering around Walmart or whatever you are doing.
For the uninitiated, “EA” stands for Electrify America, “DCQC” stands for DC Quick Chargers, and “SOC” stands for State of Charge. And just as you’d think, his fellow Audi fans have some thoughts.
For starters, rdgrimes has an easy solution to the quirks of the native system, saying “I think the general consensus is to use anything other than the Audi route planning.” Also, yeamac points out that when it comes to road trip royalty, his Chrysler Pacifica takes the crown. And having driven Ma Mopar’s luxurious people mover? I can see why. Because while it’s as comfortable as an old-school Lincoln Continental, it’s got way more room, and the hybrid system gives it a range of around 500 miles — so your bladder will likely require attention before the fuel tank will.
Of course, that’s comparing apples to oranges, as there’s no gas engine on board with the e-tron. And it’s worth noting that exotic EV manufacturers like Lucid have already cracked the 400-mile mark, meaning we’ll soon see electric vehicles with an even more impressive range. There’s plenty more great info on the thread, so head over and check it out!
Image Source: Audi