LavaGrau_A3

The 204 EPA rating hit me hard. I have a very good idea of what the e-tron is capable of, but this was the last chance for Audi to pull a rabbit out of the hat. They decidedly didn't. Is 204 realistic for mixed driving? Maybe yes, maybe no. So a little thinking out loud, grasping at straws, weighing and measuring to follow:

• Auto, Motor und Sport did a video comparison test with the Tesla Model X 100D and the e-tron. They measured consumption in a mixed driving scenario, real cars, real roads. The consumption figures were 21.7 kWh/100km for the Tesla and 21.8 kWh/100km for the e-tron. These figures represent a range, based on 83.6 kWh usable in the e-tron, of 236 miles. Charging to 100% and then depleting to 10% would yield 214 miles range. The video points out the superior recuperation of the e-tron for allowing it to match the X. Does the EPA even consider recuperation in their testing? And you can add a further 3% to the 236 mile range because the test car was on 20" wheels, not the 19" wheels on the EPA car. That's 243 miles equivalent.
• Top Gear's comparo of the Model X, the e-tron and the I-PACE concludes that on real roads, over 1600 miles of testing, all three cars were at about 2 miles per kWh: 1.99, 2.04, 2.15 respectively. Obviously they were flogging these cars, but e-tron's consumption was on par. Not the standout in inefficiency the EPA results portray.
• Bjorn Nyland is a funny guy, but he knows EV's at least as well, if not better than, the automotive journalists. His test of the e-tron, in a slow speed highway circuit (90 km/h or 57 mph) meant to simulate mixed highway/city testing, recorded 205 miles range. The entire test was performed on wet roads, winter tires, and at temperatures of -5°C. Winter conditions where at least a 12% drop in range would be expected (conservatively). Range corrected for just temperature, about 233.

Auto, Motor und Sport
Top Gear
Audi e-tron winter range test

alexlear

Great analysis!

As you said, I think all of these are data points but we're still in a "your mileage may vary" situation.

In the case of the Auto, Motor, and Sport: The Tesla is lighter with more battery capacity. Recuperation is a benefit only available by using the energy. Unless you're stopping faster than the Tesla can regen (i.e. using the friction brakes), the Tesla should get similar regen and have better range. The e-tron has more regen potential but not necessarily better regen efficiency.

Top gear implied that they were driving very aggressively. This would have a greater consumption effect on the Tesla because of its much higher output motors/controller.

Since the EPA rated the city/highway MPGe about the same, this indicates that the average city driving and highway driving are surprisingly similar. I trust Bjorns testing. I think you'll get better range than he did in warmer weather but I think that's offset when you drive on the highway at more than 56mph (90kph).

Based on all the other online/video sources, the EPA number seems right in line with them. I think you could get better range but there's only so much you can do as a driver. As much as I would like to see better range, I think this is just a case of accepting it for what it is. Don't get me wrong, it's a great car! I've been driving EV's for a long time. For me it's always been best to try to be as honest/conservative as you can be about the range and range variable influences. The alternative is some seriously unpleasant range anxiety.

DMcDnald

From the videos I've seen, driving at roughly 70 mph should result in a 170-180 mile range, conditions permitting. I look forward to seeing real life reports from this site in May.

perlfather

Have a look at Audi's calculation on the range (on their German web site) as a function of temperature, speed, and wheel size.

https://www.audi.de/de/brand/de/neuw...nchor273476721

ted99

Believers are gonna believe whatever they want to believe. The "public" perception (read general interest press) is going to cite the EPA number. Public perception is what will drive acceptance and resale values. If engineer's explanations had any weight, nuclear power plants would dot the USA.

theo1000

I'm glad you picked up on that as well. As soon as I saw I was quite certain this is a derate situation kinda like the WLTP derate.

alexlear

I agree with this which is why Electrify America placing the stations at ~195 miles apart in my area is poorly planned. VW's future cars may be able to handle this but the e-tron is stuck in a rough position.

alexlear

Although, I'm not sure the exact reason, I think the lower than expected EPA City rating is due to the significantly higher weight of the e-tron. Continuously accelerating that weight in City driving takes it's toll on efficiency. The recuperation is only about 70% efficient in best case senarios.

By the way, I'm looking forward to the e-tron brake-by-wire pedal-based regen. My other EVs all have one-pedal type regen, which is fine but personally I prefer to coast and use regen through the brake pedal. Add in the predictive efficiency system and traffic jam assist and it should be a nice regen system to use.

Midnightblue

My current EV is a 2018 VW eGolf. EPA range is listed as 125 miles. I think the VW group sandbagged the numbers to stay as far away from any lawsuits as possible. (Dieselgate may have burned them pretty bad). Even on a longer mostly highway 70 mph trip I get well above the 125. As an example I just did a run from my house up to a winery in Napa, CA a few days ago. The trip is 65 miles. 50 miles of highway and about 15 of two lane rural surface streets. Light traffic conditions and I was not drafting behind other vehicles or anything like that. On the highway parts my speed was right around 70 mph most of the time. I started at 100% charge with an indicated range of 143 miles. Arrived at the destination with more than 50% of battery remaining and an indicated remaining range of 72 miles. Assuming the remaining range calculation is accurate the "real" range for this trip was 137 miles. So the EPA range was 10% low compared to real world. If the e-Tron has a similar error then real world would be over 220.
In other words, until I see real people using the e-Tron on real roads I'm not going to stress over the listed range. If I get mine and I start getting 180 or 190 then I'll be disappointed but even 204 is not bad for a large luxury vehicle. I don't mind giving up range VS the Teslas if it means getting a nicer cabin where I'm spending most of my time.

alexlear

Your experience sounds good but leaves me with so many questions.

What was the temperature?
What wheels/tires are you using?
What was the elevation change?
Was there at tailwind?
What is your driving style?
What was you average speed vs what you remember as your top speed?

The EPA number helps us get away from anecdotal EV range and gives us a baseline to compare all EVs. With that said, I completely agree that this is a great car regardless of range and we just need to get some on the road to see what they're capable of in each of our use cases.