The Audi e-tron is Coming to Australia and it’s Hot AF

The Audi e-tron is Coming to Australia and it’s Hot AF

Audi is launching it’s very first EV in Australia — the Audi e-tron. This brand new SUV not only looks stunning, but has some great inclusions like free charging and virtual mirrors.

Audi e-tron specs

Six variants of the Audi e-tron will be hitting Australia later this year, with two two body variants to choose from —  regular SUV and ‘sportsback’. It also comes with two powertrain options – the Quattro 50 and Quattro 55.

According to Cars Guide the e-tron Quattro 50 will produce up to230kW/540Nm over eight seconds. It can go from 0 to 100km/h in 6.8 seconds. The Quttro 55 reportedly hits 300kW/664Nm in eight seconds and goes from 0 to 100km/h in 5.7 seconds.

Both vehicles have an 1,800kg towing capacity.

Audi e-tron battery

Image: Audi

The Audi e-tron Quattro 50 comes with a 71kWh battery that can go from 0 to 80 per cent charge in 6 hours with an 11kW AC onboard charger. This comes as standard.

It has a 336km range for the wagon and 347km range for the sportsback.

The Audi e-tron Quattro 55 has a 95kWh battery and takes 8 hours to hit 80 per cent with the same standard charger. The larger battery offers 436km range on the wagon and 446km on the sportsback.

Fast charging is a possibility with both vehicles, with the Quattro 55 being able to take a 150kW DC fast charge to go from 0 to 80 per cent in 30 minutes. The Quattro 50 can only hit 120kW but will get the same result in the same time due to the smaller battery.

One nice touch here is that there are charging ports on both sides of the e-tron, which is quite cool. The batteries are also covered by an eight year/160,000km warranty and are repairable.

And as an added bonus, the Audi e-tron comes with six years of unlimited public charging. This is thanks ChargeFox’s stations across the country, and is more of an EV incentive that the government will even provide.

This is also a nice differentiation from Tesla, which has been charging for public charging for a few years now.

Tech

Image: Audi

Arguably the coolest tech inclusion in the Audi e-tron is the use of cameras instead of side mirrors. Traditional mirrors have been replaced with 7-inch OLED touchscreens that show a live feed of the rear of the vehicle.

This is a first for passenger vehicles and cost $3,500 as an optional extra.

Some things you do get as standard are folding side mirrors, hands-free tailgate, LED headlights, keyless entry and adaptive air suspension.

Inside the vehicles you’ll find both a 10.1 and 8.6-inch touchscreens, wireless Apple Carplay and Android auto support, wireless phone charger, 4 x USB-A ports and dual climate control.

On the safety front the e-tron has lane and steering assist, autonomous emergency brake, pedestrian and bike detection, rear cross traffic alert, blind sport monitoring and adaptive cruise control. It also has front and rear parking sensors and surround-view cameras.

 

Audi e-tron price Australia

Like most EVs in Australia, the Audi e-tron is not cheap. This is due to a variety of factors, including Audi being a premium brand, luxury car tax (which is ironically attached to fuel usage) and a lack of EV incentives or subsidies in Australia.

As such, the entry-level e-tron comes in at over $137,000 before on-road costs and other inclusions you might want to add. If you really want to go hard, the 55 Sportback First Edition starts at almost $170,000 before on-road costs.

Here’s a full breakdown

  • e-tron 50: $137,700
  • e-tron 55 : $146,000
  • e-tron 50 Sportback: $148,700
  • Audi e-tron 55 Sportback: $157,700
  • Audi e-tron 50 First Edition: $159,600
  • Audi e-tron 55 Sportback First Edition: $169,950

Australian release date

The Audi e-tron will launch in Australia in September. Online pre-orders will open on June 19, 2020.


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