2021 (21) Audi e-tron 300kW 55 Quattro 95kWh Vorsprung 5dr Auto

By Jonathan Crouch

Introduction

Audi's first full electric car, the e-tron SUV, was promised to us back in 2019 as a technological 'tour de force'. This battery-powered large SUV took the best bits from the brand's conventional Crossovers and blended them with next-level electrification technology. The driving range lags behind period rivals, but there's a beautiful cabin and even quite engaging driving dynamics. Let's check this luxury EV out as a used buy.

History

Wisely perhaps, Audi took its time in creating its first fully electric car, Ingolstadt having sat and watched others battle with inferior battery technology. In 2019 though, it acted to try and redefine the standard in the Battery Electric Vehicle segment. The first result of the company's efforts was this car, the Audi e-tron, first launched with the conventional SUV body shape we look at here. By 2019, those familiar with the brand were already familiar with the 'e-tron' badge, most notably used on versions of the A3 and Q7 that had embellished petrol engines with plug-in technology. Those models represented a warm-up act; here though was where the company's e-tron engineering started getting serious. Cars like Jaguar's I-PACE, the Mercedes EQC, BMW's iX3 and Tesla's Model X needed to be faced by Ingolstadt's take on what a premium battery-powered electric model should be. 'EV goes Audi' was the marketing strapline here. It's convenient for automotive designers faced with electrification challenges that the market's crying out for SUVs because a Crossover's high-set practical body shape provides plenty of space to squirrel away all the necessary bulky batteries and awkwardly-shaped electric motors without these things intruding into cabin passenger space. Here, that issue was particularly pertinent because as well as a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack, there were two motors to package in - a big one for the rear wheels and a smaller one for the front. The result was a powertrain that weighed almost twice as much as a conventional engine and transmission package, but one which still claimed (in the bigger-battery 95kWh 55 quattro model) to be able to deliver a 241 mile WLTP-rated driving range, though that wasn't particularly class-competitive. Still, Audi hoped that unique cabin technology would set this e-tron apart, perhaps most notably its optional 'Virtual Mirrors', 'L'-shaped pods that replaced ordinary door mirrors and transferred footage of what was happening behind to screens integrated into the doors where door handles would normally be. But that was a bit of tinsel. The important thing here was that Ingolstadt claimed to have packaged up all the elements necessary to create Tesla-style technology with more polish and panache than anything previously seen in this sector. And delivered it in a car that drives, well, like an Audi, not some kind of automotive appliance. In 2019, a separate e-tron Sportback body style followed to sell alongside the standard SUV body shape. And a few months later, a tri-motor e-tron S drivetrain was made available as a flagship option for both body styles. Both the e-tron SUV and the e-tron Sportback were replaced, respectively, by the Q8 e-tron and the Q8 Sportback e-tron models in early 2023.

What You Get

Two e-tron body styles were offered, the Sportback or the standard SUV - which is our focus here. Either way, you'd know this was an Audi. You might not immediately recognise though, that this is an EV. Direct rivals like Jaguar's I-PACE and the Mercedes EQC intentionally deviate from brand styling expectations to emphasise their electrified remit. With the e-tron, Ingolstadt didn't feel the need to do that, though we were told that its design was just as unique. From the side, you realise why this car hides its bulk so well. It's actually almost as long as an A6 Avant estate. A nice touch is the inclusion of charging flaps on both sides of the car behind the front wheel arches. This car's actually narrower than some of its key rivals from its period, but Audi wanted you to think the opposite, hence the use of a wide LED light strip connecting the LED tail lamps, a feature of all the brand's luxury models in this period. Inside, you get a familiar Audi-style cabin complete with two central MMI touch response displays that blend into vast swathes of piano black trim. You view another screen through the four-spoke wheel, this one a 12.3-inch 'Virtual Cockpit' monitor that includes a 'Power Meter' covering the car's charging and regenerative functions. More screens can be added too, if you get a car whose original owner paid extra for Audi's clever 'Virtual exterior mirror' package, which replaces the usual exterior mirrors on each side of the car with a little camera on a stalk relaying images back to a 7-inch OLED display at the top of each front door. Anyway, enough on screens. The leather-stitched seats are superbly comfortable and position you fairly loftily - which is one of the reasons why forward vision is excellent. And there's plenty of interior storage, including a central open-sided compartment between the seats that's intended to have the feel of a light, sleek sculpture. It's unusual, much like the gear selector, which is operated by a hand rest which appears to 'float' above the console and is activated by a one-touch action conducted with either thumb or index finger. And in the rear? Well there's certainly plenty of room in the back for a couple of six-footers to get very comfortable indeed. You could say the same of a rival Jaguar I-PACE, but the rear section of the e-tron's roof doesn't curve down quite so sharply as that of the Jag, so there's less of a claustrophobic feel. The alternative Sportback body style doesn't do quite so well in this regard, but there's still plenty of headroom in the back. We'll finish with a look at cargo space. There's a 60-litre compartment under the bonnet. As for the boot area, you get a powered tailgate of course, which with the SUV body shape rises to reveal a 600-litre luggage bay which also incorporates a useful under-floor storage area. Fold down the rear bench (which folds conveniently in a 40:20:40-split) and 1,725-litres of capacity is freed up. The Sportback version's boot is 45-litres smaller.

What to Look For

You're going to need to be aware of a number of issues if you commit to an Audi e-tron, these mainly centring around charging, software, battery and moisture build-up. We've also come across suspension and braking system problems. But these don't need necessarily to be an issue if the car you're looking at has had regular checks at an Audi franchise. From the beginning, this model experienced battery problems and the brand had to recall over 1,600 vehicles shortly after launch in 2019. Some of these vehicles showed a malfunction in the battery location area - specifically a faulty grommet seal. Tests showed that the grommet allowed moisture to affect the battery, a problem that could lead to a short circuit - and ultimately even to a fire. There are also concerns in this period that the lithium ion batteries used might contain harmful chemicals and in extreme circumstances could produce fire. A yellow light on the dashboard blinks when there's something wrong with the battery and at this point, the driver should immediately stop the car and leave it in an open area. We came across a number of software issues reported: a number of owners pointed out that the home charger function working with the GPS location often doesn't work. This means that if you want to enable the timer mode automatically, it often isn't possible, meaning that it's necessary to manually adjust the time button when home charging. We also came across owners who experienced navigational problems, pointing out that the car's GPS system easily forgot their home address, meaning the manual need to continually enter it all over again. All of these are software issues that can be solved by a dealer, but shouldn't have to be. Check that the car you're looking at doesn't have difficulties when starting a charge session, usually because of connector issues. In some cars, the connector can't make a proper contact, which affects the connection between the car and the charger. You have to make sure the connector is pushed firmly into the charge port, a movement that will create the required connection, which will enable you to start the charging session. We came across a number of e-trons that had moisture build-up problems. These tend to affect models built in the 2019 production year. These cars tend to build up moisture in the electrical system, which causes various issues and can lead to short-circuiting. If a warning appears in the centre display like 'electrical system fault', this could be a sign of this sort of problem. We also came across suspension and braking system issues - specifically troubles with the anti-lock braking set-up and the electronic stability control. These issues caused Audi to recall quite a few models built in the 2020 to 2021 model years, so if you're looking at one of these, make sure the car you have in mind has had the recall.

Replacement Parts

(approx based on an e-tron 55 quattro 2019) - Ex Vat) A pollen filter costs in the £24-£50 bracket. Front brake pads sit in the £111 bracket for a set; for a rear set, it's around £72. Rear brake discs sit in the £130 bracket. A wiper blade is in the £5-£56 bracket.

On the Road

There were two versions available, but you'll want to avoid the base '50 quattro' version, because that had a modest 71kWh battery that only takes the car 212 miles. The '55 quattro' e-tron model most original customers preferred offered an electric driveline using a 95kWh battery. Either way, the battery powers two electronically linked asynchronous electric motors - one on each axle, so creating an electrified interpretation of quattro 4WD. In the '55' version, the motors deliver a prodigious combined output - up to 664Nm of torque and total power of up to 408PS. That translates into a 0-62mph time of 5.7s and a claimed top speed of 124mph, but of course if you regularly get anywhere close to either of those figures, you'll quickly decimate the '55' variant's official WLTP-rated 241 mile driving range. Revert to the undemanding style of driving that tends to suit a large luxury EV and you'll find that realistic range returns for the '55' model of just over 200 miles are possible, in between 14 hour charge sessions using the 7kW wallbox charger that Audi recommends. At a 150kW public charging point with an e-tron 50 quattro, up to 80% of battery capacity can be replenished in just 30 minutes. In 2019, Audi introduced a clever tri-motor e-tron S variant, which had an extra motor at the back. With that version, there's 503PS and a huge 973Nm of torque, which powers the car to a top speed of 130mph. Unlike with a rival Jaguar I-PACE, Audi fitted air suspension as standard across the e-tron range and it imperiously deals with speed humps and potholes, plus it can lower itself to give the car greater stability at speed. You can also use this set-up to raise the car by up to 72mm, giving it a surprising degree of off road prowess. The e-tron's quattro electric 4WD system obviously helps here, but it's primarily there for terrific tarmac traction on slippery surfaces, being capable of transferring torque between the axles far quicker than a conventional mechanical system would be able to do. All the e-tron's drive systems can be influenced by the seven settings of its 'Drive Select' driving modes set-up - or there's an 'auto' option if you want the car to make all the decisions for you. This Audi can also select its own level of brake regeneration - or you can dial that up or down yourself by using the steering wheel paddles. Talking of brakes, the ones here are excellent thanks to a clever electrohydraulic brake control system that combines brake regeneration and the wheel brakes in one single pedal movement. Like much else about this car, it's very clever.

Overall

This e-tron model marked the real start of Audi's electrified adventure. The company cut no corners here and there's a level of polish to this product that no rival luxury EV from this period can surpass. Some original commentators, encouraged by the conservative looks, jumped to the lazy conclusion that Ingolstadt didn't do much to advance the segment standard with this car but actually, the e-tron offered a number of engineering elements that rivals from its period could learn from; the clever electrohydraulic brake control system and the virtual mirrors are the most obvious examples of that. As with competitor large luxury EV models from the 2019-2022 era, we still think driving range will be a dissuading factor for many buyers; cars like this won't be fully accessible until their owners can jump in and embark upon a five hour round trip without a thought. You can't quite do that with an e-tron. But if that's not an issue, you'll find much to like here if you appreciate Audi's cool, understated, considered approach to luxury motoring.