LessCode MoreBeer

This experience is coming for my current old A4 and our new Pacifica Hybrid (I know, weird combo, but I love my mod'd A4 to death, heh). I'm looking at this to replace my daily driver (A4) so that I don't have to worry about the various bits of gas cars that break, the smell of gas every day (carcinogens) when I start my car, yearly gas cost, space + safety for our growing family and my tall self

Performance
So my E1 has arrived here in San Jose, I did the test drive before heading to work and given there's so many neat features to focus on, being with the salesman in the car (whos face started squirming when I pushed the car a little), and my kid previously screaming that I didn't get a chance to focus on performance. What I left with though is that it didn't seem as powerful as I expected compared to my A4 when the turbo hits. I do believe that it was in dynamic mode..I'm going to try to do an extended test to see if it just requires smashing the throttle some more. I did notice the throttle requires more input to accelerate, you have to push further down than I'm used to...less sporty.

Lane Assist
So it's lane assist is definitely capacitive, because I just had to barely touch the wheel to get it to recognize me. I would describe the behavior as very smooth but not completely accurate. My comparison is against our new Pacifica hybrid, which tends to avoid the right lane marker and then jerk and ping-pong between the lane markers (more of a warning system). The Audi instead would smoothly correct, and then when in middle try to stay in the middle. It's definitely glitchy though, as within a few minutes it wanted to leave the lane incorrectly on hwy 85, which is a newish highway, so you can't trust it too much. Also it is MUCH better than the pacifica at following a car in a turn, the pacifica wants to plow into the curve full bore ignoring car in front. What I miss is a display like I see on the Tesla reviews where you can see where the car thinks the cars around you are, it would help me trust it more. With this and the pacifica, IIRC it only tells you if it detects a car in front of you or not, which tends to make me not trust the various scenarios that can confuse these systems. Like oh someone is cutting me, ah, it already knows that so I don't have to build up my freak out and take over...which is a large context switch because it means hitting the break, which dis-engages, and then re-engage when I correct...making it annoying.

HUD
WOW, that thing is impressive even during bright days. It really does look like you have a high-def sign several feet in front of your car. One quirk Doug didn't mention, you can rotate the HUD, I left scratching my head why you'd want to do that It adjusts up and down into the "window" its visible. I had to adjust it all the ways down to not clip..almost wish it would go a little more down. Unfortunately I just remembered about the HUD after we finished driving as it wasn't on during the test drive. What I worry about it is if it's going to be limited to the few things that are hard-coded into the car. I really like the idea of having these things "upgradeable". Audi needs to step up their game and add "apps", would be fine if they were purchases to make some money off updates. This one thing would be a great vehicle for features.

Noise
Noise level was not all that I was led to believe. I mean it was quiet, but I definitely heard quite a bit of wind noise coming from my side while going ~70mph on highway. I remember specifically thinking maybe the window wasn't completely closed and trying to close it several times.

Comfort/Style/Ride
Love. Just wish I could have gotten those other wheels However I have to admit the E1 wheels tends to grow on your in person. Head/leg room is perfect front and back for tall people like me. The ride was very smooth. Either I didn't get to test very bumpy roads, or this just swallowed them whole without me noticing

Trunk
good space, not great. It's kinda high load height because of the spare wheel and some other items. Could be great I think with new dedicated EV platform and less slope in the back. Also they should get rid of that lip which also reduces storage capacity.

Puddle lights
Completely visible and sharp on a bright day, awesome

Here's the problems

Range
Reading reviews this is killer bad compared to competition (166-206 real world per forum members). For my particular scenario I drive 70mi/day. Which means I can only drive two days w/o charge, or I have no ride. Forget twice = no workie The EVs costing sometimes less than half have ~250 this year. Next year averages will be the close to 300 (already have some this year), meaning this car's depreciation rate will probably be pretty high. Comparatively the cheapest 2014 Tesla Model S (60 kWh) has 208 miles on the low range (ouch), making this car 4 years behind in efficiency/range combo. Compounding this is the fact that there are practically no EA chargers here in CA, meaning you're stuck with 50kW EVGo chargers for 1/3 charging speed. From bay area to LA there's ONE scheduled to be built for more than a year, but with only like 4 stalls, which makes it almost pointless as it will either always be full, or never used because people will expect it to always be full. This means in the bay area making trips to Napa/Tahoe will be rather lengthy. This dramatically limits where you can use this car. Comparatively Tesla has a bagillion high speed chargers (scientifically hehe).

Depreciation/Cost
Per above, and given that a Q5/Q7 halves its value in a year or two, and the high base price of this car, it's another item which makes this a hard decision.

I told the sales people that if it were 250 I'd throw my cash at them. So hard! Help me decide ppl!

DMcDnald

I agree with everything you've mentioned. Ideally, you'll get home and just plug in, giving you a "full" charge very morning. The e-Tron would probably meet your needs 90% of the time. It's the longer trips in less than ideal weather conditions where it gets tricky. As you mentioned, the infrastructure isn't there yet in most parts of the country. If you are traveling with a family, 50kW wouldn't cut it. So, if you're OK with an ICE for longer trips and the e-Tron for local driving, it's fine. As others have pointed out, that makes the e-Tron a $90k commuter car. From my perspective, the only way I could get the e-Tron is with a lease. I'm still on the fence myself.

2KA6_2.7T

I would add:
- Phone box with signal booster (that is over $1000 worth of hardware)
- adaptive/predictive cruise - it slows down for you before intersections and steep hills, and of course maintain distance to the vehicle in front of you.
- off-road capable - ( no other EV can)
- this one I am not sure. Do we have magnetic suspension ? not recall seeing this in the specs, but it can be set in the individual driving, and there are wires going into the front struts ( in additional to the air tubes for ride heights)

Photonix

Based on your situation and priorities it seems like a Tesla would be a better choice for you.

I will share my thoughts on your primary concerns:

Range: The e-tron has plenty of range for your normal commuting needs. As a BEV owner I can tell you that you will treat the car as you do a cell phone and charge it every night. In my mind there is no value in being able to go two or three or four days without charging. It is just too easy to plug in every night and it becomes second nature. There are a small number of people for which the 204 limit puts them right on the edge of range for their normal or frequent trips. For them the only real answer is a car with greater range. For long distance travel, any Tesla will be a better choice. Better range, more charging locations. If you make long trips often or if this is when you will enjoy your car most, then choose the Tesla. If you will spend 90% of your time commuting and doing errands then many of us have decided that the e-tron will provide a more enjoyable experience during the majority of our daily life.

Depreciation: We are at the very beginning of a massive transition from ICE to BEV. Anyone considering an electric car today is still an early adopter. Over the coming years we are going to see all the major players and many exciting new ones jump into the fray. Exciting choices over the next five years are going to be many. Depreciation on any BEV you purchase this year is going to be massive. It stands to reason that the e-tron depreciation will be more so because it has less range than the competition. If you are prepared to absorb the massive depreciation on any BEV today then I would argue that the incremental loss on an e-tron is in the noise. Stated another way. Buying any BEV today is a poor financial choice if your only criteria is moving in style from point A to B. Ask anyone who has sold a Tesla if they feel it held its value well. Stated yet another way. If you are comfortable with and can afford the financial consequences of buying any BEV today you probably can afford/justify the incrementally higher e-tron depreciation.

theo1000

I agree on the charge plugin part. Its too much effort to think about plugging in. My EVs are always plugged in to 100%. Even after a gas station visit. I have my chord suspended by my charge port and it is second nature to plug in.

You will start every trip from home with a full 'tank'.

I cant tell enough on how much you will appreciate not having to pump gas. It is my wife's #1 reason for driving EV.

LavaGrau_A3

Well, since you asked:

I cancelled my Edition One about a day after Tesla announced the range improvements to the S and X. Not because I need the range, but because it shows how far Audi (and most likely Mercedes) are behind in their drive technology. I don't think you can make the case that luxury and efficiency are mutually exclusive. There is a price to pay for luxury, but Audi should have done better. For that reason, the numbers started to make no sense to me. My original intent of paying cash or getting a small loan went out the window. I'm all about treating myself well, but the combination of low efficiency, the resultant unfavorable lease rates, and dealer launch exuberance is a spiral I want no part of. I want some value for my money and I started not to see that.

Two days ago I placed a new reservation. I'm going to spec a Premium Plus with Driver Assistance Package and that's it. Even going with 20" wheels. The lower MSRP and better lease make the numbers work for me, but just barely. I can live with the value equation on the Premium Plus car which should be just over $70,000 after credits.

When I reserved on 16 Sep 2018, the e-tron was a dream car and a keeper. Now I consider it a good interim car that I will thoroughly enjoy for 36 months. In the next few months I'll be looking at other options as well; waiting for the Polestar 2 I reserved, the Model S (if they update the interior), the I-PACE. That said, I do love my Audis.

bruinmac

Here's a suggestion: How about an A3 e-tron PHEV if you can still find those at the dealers?! It's a good introduction to the electrified world. That's what I drove the past 3 years prior to jumping to a full electric car.

pkulak

That's where I'm at. I think the ETron still works as something of a value play, as it's a thoroughly premium car that you can get very well spec'd (PP with driver assistance) for 8 grand less than a comparable model X. You lose about 45 miles of range (comparing to the standard range here), but if you rarely drive that far, maybe saving some cash and getting a bit more premium car is worth it.

LessCode MoreBeer

too small for two kids and all that comes with

LessCode MoreBeer

the issue isn't with features, its with utility. You don't want to buy a car just for its bling, you want it to take you from point A->B with bling The A->B part is the problem for maybe 10% of the time.

Interesting about suspension, just found: https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/...spension-11092 where they say "Audi drive select also influences the standard adaptive air suspension with controlled dampers. "

nice find!