2018 launch Audi E-tron BESUV. Official thread?

[KeiJidosha]

Not great news for the US market;

"Attempting to match Tesla's successful and overloaded reservation list, Audi dealers will not stock a single e-tron in their showrooms as the automaker begins selling its first battery-electric car.

That means nothing—no test drives, walkarounds, or buttocks in seats—until the first deliveries arrive by summer 2019. At that time, Audi will let dealers order demo cars but only allow them to stock inventory once reservations have been met, an Audi spokesman told C/D. "

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/audi- ... ealerships

"The e-tron officially goes on sale in the U.S. in mid-2019, but if demand is high, delivers could start sometime in 2020 then. "

https://insideevs.com/audi-no-stock-e-t ... ial-order/

"Sales in North America will begin in the second-quarter of 2019, but with no dealer stock expected, we doubt the e-tron will sell in volume here."

https://insideevs.com/audi-10000-pre-orders-etron/

"Keogh said he expects customers could wait months or up to a year for delivery, depending on demand for the e-tron."

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/11 ... ct-to-wait

[KeiJidosha]

Looks like the BESUV will be more succinctly referred to as the; Audi e-tron 55 quattro

https://insideevs.com/audi-e-tron-55-qu ... ore-paris/

[GlennD]

I looked at the car at the Orange County Auto show. It is priced like a base Tesla X. Very nice but Tesla has the Suprercharge network. Both are too much for me. I will stick with my Mercedes B250e

[KeiJidosha]

So much for scarcity. Audi had the eTron 55 quattro at the AltCar Expo in Santa Monica over the weekend. Per the Audi rep this is a Euro production build with US paint and mirrors. European models will have the gray plastic "allroad" lower body treatment that makes the car look longer. US models will paint match the rocker panels and fender flairs for a taller SUV look.

[KeiJidosha]

Ugh...

“Brake without guilt. One-pedal braking is a thing of the past.”

https://insideevs.com/audi-e-tron-elect ... ve-review/

[GRA]

Here’s where things get tricky. Audi acknowledged that the official numbers for range will be less than 248.5 miles – possibly around 230 to 240 miles. For an EV with a nominal 95-kWh pack, it’s becoming clear that the e-tron could be one of the least efficient of the new breed of long-range EVs. Our day of driving put the e-tron SUV’s efficiency at about two miles per kilowatt hour.

“I don’t think the customer cares about the absolute efficiency number,” said Matthew Mostafaei, Audi E-Tron vehicle manager. “There are a number of other factors that are more important.”

Mostafaei said that Audi responded to direct customer feedback that their priority is a normal-looking, upright SUV with optimal cargo capacity. Audi believes that the efficiency number is also less important than adding a relatively heavy safety cage and being very conservative with the amount of the battery’s capacity that’s used. It’s part of the same strategy to mainstream EVs. Using less of the battery’s energy (officially rated at 95 kWh) means that quick-charging happens faster because you are never cramming the last electrons into the pack. “It’s the fastest EV to 80 percent on the market,” said Mostafaei.

I asked him if he can live with a lower MPGe than what competitors offer and the potential negative reaction from EV enthusiasts. He replied, “I think we have to live with it if we are going to give a customer everything that the e-tron offers them.” Mostafaei told me that some of the auto journalists on the e-tron drive in Abu Dhabi could barely tell the difference from being in a Audi Q8 SUV with a gas engine and an e-tron with an electric motor. That, in a nutshell, was Audi’s goal – even if it means taking heat for a lower MPGe number. The e-tron is still a ton more efficient than a Q8-type vehicle.

Unless/until battery tech improves so that tapering isn't necessary and the full capacity can be used without damage, I think the brute force approach of over-sizing the pack and limiting usable capacity for both charge rate and longevity is a good idea for mainstream users, at least at the upper end of the market. I liked GM doing the same thing on the Gen 1 Volt for the same reason. Obviously, hauling a lot of extra weight around that isn't of any value (until the battery degrades) isn't ideal from an efficiency standpoint, but it means degradation range loss and best charging practices are two fewer things you have to try and educate ICE owners about while trying to get them to switch.

[GRA]

Unless/until battery tech improves so that tapering isn't necessary and the full capacity can be used without damage, I think the brute force approach of over-sizing the pack and limiting usable capacity for both charge rate and longevity is a good idea for mainstream users, at least at the upper end of the market. I liked GM doing the same thing on the Gen 1 Volt for the same reason. Obviously, hauling a lot of extra weight around that isn't of any value (until the battery degrades) isn't ideal from an efficiency standpoint, but it means degradation range loss and best charging practices are two fewer things you have to try and educate ICE owners about while trying to get them to switch.

As an example of how far away the general public is from early adopters when it comes to PEVs, see this article for the amount of education currently required:

This Contributor Rents Out A Whole Fleet Of EVs On Turo

https://insideevs.com/contributor-ev-ow ... tric-cars/

This information makes it more clear why people aren’t so sure about EVs and why some dealerships just won’t deal with them.

Back in January, I wrote an article about renting out a Fiat 500e on Turo. I said I had planned to start renting other EVs on turo and eventually return with my experiences on those. Well, it’s almost a year later and here we go. I have now been renting out a Chevy Volt, Prius Prime, BMW i3 Rex, and more recently a Tesla Model 3, in addition to the Fiat 500e. Each of these vehicles seem to have their own set of challenges renting them to the general public. But first, I want to talk about some of the issues that seem to span all of the vehicles. This has given me real insight as to why many salesmen at dealerships don’t like dealing with EVs. . . .

[GRA]

IEVS:

Audi Says E-Tron SUV Will Get Performance & Entry-Level Variants

https://insideevs.com/audi-e-tron-elect ... rformance/

[KeiJidosha]

The Nitty Gritty Details On Audi’s Two-Pedal EV Braking System https://insideevs.com/audis-two-pedal-e ... ng-system/

"Balkcom told me, “If you really like the one-pedal thing, you can have it. But because we have a fully separated brake system, you don’t need one-pedal driving. Driving in the Automatic mode is the most efficient way to drive this car.” The Automatic mode also allows the car to read the terrain and other conditions to help determine the most efficient level of brake-regen level.

If you have the e-tron in the default Automatic efficiency mode, the use of paddle shifters for increased regen is temporary. As soon as you put your foot on the accelerator, the regen level is wiped clean, reverting to the lowest level. (It also times out after a few seconds to let the Automatic function do its thing)."

"Based on our time behind the wheel, the feeling of driving an e-tron is noticeably different than other EVs because you coast more. Unless you use the Manual mode and set higher regen, then there’s a very light touch to the pedals. “If you are using one-pedal driving, then have to push through with the accelerator when you don’t need to,” said Underberg. “That’s not as convenient (and comfortable) as you experience with the e-tron.”"

"By the way, there were some complaints about how the left steering-wheel paddle with the minus (-) sign increases the regen level – and the right side with the plus (+) sign provides a looser, lighter amount of regen. Is that counter-intuitive? "

What a mess...

[SageBrush]

"Sales in North America will begin in the second-quarter of 2019, but with no dealer stock expected, we doubt the e-tron will sell in volume here

No ... really ?!

In other news, the car price makes the Tesla Model 3 look inexpensive.