With the release of the delisting timetable for traditional fuel vehicles in various countries, the trend of automobile electrification has become unstoppable.

However, when we talk about electric vehicles today, the first things that come to mind are emerging brands such as Tesla, Xpeng, and NIO, or even domestic independent automobile brands that have made early electrification plans, such as BYD, Wuling, and GAC.

In the era of fuel vehicles, luxury car brands that represent the technology and design trends in the automotive industry, such as the BBA we are most familiar with, seem to be a bit slow.

For this reason, as the first mass-produced pure electric model among German luxury car brands, the Audi e-tron has attracted special attention from the market and consumers because of its pioneering and connecting the past and the future.

As Audi said, before becoming an electric car, the e-tron is first and foremost an Audi. In general, the Audi e-tron is getting closer to the Audi fuel car family in terms of design language and control tuning.

Unlike new car manufacturers who try to highlight the futuristic look in appearance and demonstrate performance in driving experience, the Audi e-tron pays more attention to the acceptance of new models by old Audi users. After all, as a century-old German luxury brand, Audi has always maintained the title of the most popular high-end sedan brand in China and has accumulated a huge user base over decades.

After a few days of test driving, 91che found that behind the traditional and pure appearance and tuning, the Audi e-tron has hidden subversive changes in the control mode, reflecting Audi's most profound thinking about the new species of electric vehicles, and in terms of safety, comfort and type The continued efforts in traditional strong areas such as the four-wheel drive algorithm demonstrate Audi's profound technical foundation as a traditional automobile manufacturer.

First impression - a culmination of family elements

In terms of appearance, as mentioned earlier, the Audi e-tron adopts the family's latest design language as a whole. Except for the green license plate, it is difficult to tell at a glance that it is actually an electric car.

On the front of the body, the Audi e-tron retains the iconic octagonal grille. Although the motor does not need air intake, Audi still installed a condenser behind the grille, which is connected to the liquid cooling pipe at the bottom of the battery pack and cooperates with the thermal conductive gel between the modules to ensure that the temperature of the entire battery pack is always in a safe state.

The e-tron's grille adopts a semi-enclosed design that is closed at the top and bottom and open in the middle. While ensuring the heat dissipation of the condenser, it also minimizes the wind resistance of the car when driving at high speeds.

The lines on the upper part of the center grille are perfectly integrated with the headlights. The overall horizontal lines increase the visual width of the e-tron. Combined with the family's vertical air intake grille and 20-inch tires, as well as the sharp body lines, the e-tron looks more powerful and sporty.

Audi, known as the "light factory", has never disappointed in its headlight design. In addition to high performance, the Audi e-tron's headlights are rich in details, showing a familiar and exquisite texture.

In addition, four banner-style LED light strips are used at the bottom of the headlights, which is a new element introduced by the e-tron. It seems to imply the battery "power" of the electric vehicle and is said to be continued as the logo ID design of future electric vehicles.

This element is also reflected in the taillights. The horizontal light bar looks like feathers, and together with the through-type taillights it seems to form a feather arrow, which looks outstanding.

On the side of the car, the black wheel arches and the thick black bottom edge visually highlight the sense of stability. It must be mentioned that the chassis of the Audi e-tron is quite thick because it contains a 95kWh, 700kg battery. Coupled with the height of the chassis of the SUV shape, the overall visual effect is quite domineering.

Because Audi attaches great importance to the safety design of the battery pack, Audi has designed a unique aluminum alloy anti-collision structure for the e-tron, which can minimize the risk of battery thermal runaway.

The e-tron battery pack is riveted to the stainless steel vehicle floor with 34 bolts to solve the problem of unstable stress points caused by aluminum-steel riveting.

According to Audi's data, this design makes the e-tron 40% more rigid than ordinary fuel vehicles. Because of this "extremely conservative" design, the e-tron received a five-star rating in the E-NCAP crash test and also received the highest safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the United States.

It has to be admitted that in terms of traditional safety design, veteran car manufacturers like Audi are indeed strong, and such "conservatism" is worthy of emulation by more friendly competitors.

The e-tron has a body size of 4901x1935x1628mm and a wheelbase of 2928mm. Its overall size is between the Q5L and Q7. It has ample trunk space. When the bottom of the trunk is lifted, the spare tire underneath can be seen. The net bags on both sides divide the space into two storage spaces, which is convenient and practical.

The interior space performance is excellent. After the front seats are adjusted to the standard position, the rear passenger's knees are still two fists away from the front seats, and the head of a 1.8-meter-tall passenger is still one fist away from the roof.

The mid-to-high-end version of the Audi e-tron uses leather seats and is equipped with four-zone air conditioning. The rear seats are of moderate length and have good support, providing an executive-level riding experience. The front seats are soft enough and the backrests are extremely wrapping, so you won't feel tired even after driving for a long time.

In terms of interior, the Audi e-tron almost perfectly inherits the style of the mid-term facelift Q7. Audi's iconic MMI triple touch screen combines functionality and technology, and the virtual cockpit system with vibration and sound feedback is extremely futuristic.

The most distinctive feature of the Audi e-tron is its gear lever design. On the left side of the leather armrest, there is a silver slider that can be slid up and down to select the gear position, giving a feeling of flying an airplane.

Because I am used to driving manual cars, I like to put my right hand on the gear lever. On the e-tron, I can usually put it on this pad. It is very comfortable whether operating on the touch screen or shifting gears.

Audi's car computer supports wired and wireless CarPlay connections, and provides a wireless charging position behind the gear lever. Interestingly, the charging position is designed to be vertical and fixed by a rubber clip. While it is convenient to take and put, the driver will never see the notification push on the screen. In order to allow the driver to concentrate as much as possible and not play with the mobile phone while driving, Audi is also very concerned about this.

It is worth mentioning that as a C-class SUV, the Audi e-tron is also a perfect family "daddy" car. Not only does the passenger seat provide a baby seat interface, but there are also two child lock buttons for the rear doors directly on the driver's door, which is very convenient.

There is an irregular space inside the door, which is reserved for the virtual rearview mirror in the overseas version, but in China, due to the restrictions of road traffic regulations, the e-tron has to use the traditional rearview mirror. Although I personally like the sense of technology of the virtual rearview mirror, I still think that the traditional mirror that can provide three-dimensional depth of field information will make people feel safer, and more importantly, the later maintenance cost is more controllable.

Driving – Radical Purist

We have spent quite a bit of space introducing the exterior and interior. If you simply test drive it, you will probably have the following impression: "Audi tuned this electric car to be too much like a fuel car."

For an SUV, the Audi e-tron is tuned for comfort. On paved roads, combined with the dense and smooth characteristics of electric vehicles, the e-tron's first half of the journey will provide a relatively conservative acceleration process, thereby achieving a driving experience close to that of a fuel vehicle. Car owners who are used to driving Audi will feel very familiar with it, and the passenger experience is more comfortable. Unlike other electric vehicles, in order to "show off", they often make people feel dizzy when moving together.

However, in dynamic mode, the e-tron can also fully unleash the surging performance of the two asynchronous motors at the front and rear with 300kW and 664N·m, allowing you to experience the push-back feeling of 5.7s zero-to-100km/h acceleration and fully enjoy the driving pleasure.

The Audi e-tron uses a five-link air suspension structure at the front and rear, and the spring can be adjusted according to driving speed and road conditions. The ride height can be changed by as much as 76 mm from the basic setting of 170 mm.

On the highway, the body can be lowered by 26 mm to improve stability and aerodynamics, extending driving range.

Overall, when driving at low speeds in urban areas, the e-tron's suspension can effectively filter out road vibrations; at high speeds, the e-tron's air suspension can automatically lower its height to improve stability; and in off-road scenarios, the e-tron with its raised chassis height can also achieve excellent passing performance.

Compared with other electric vehicles, the Audi e-tron's intelligent kinetic energy recovery system is more innovative. It subverts the monotonous mode of pedal acceleration and recovery in the past, and instead can adjust the three-level energy recovery from 0.1g to 0.3g through the shift paddles.

And when we step on the brakes, the motor also works with the hydraulic brake system to recover kinetic energy while braking. This wonderful feeling will make you forget that this is an electric car. According to Audi data, the e-tron's high-tech kinetic energy recovery system contributes up to 30% to the range.

For Audi, quattro technology is naturally indispensable. Without a mechanical drive shaft, the independently controlled dual motors are more flexible and responsive under Audi's four-wheel drive technology. Whether it is a launch start that quickly squeezes out performance, precise control of high-speed cornering, or in extreme rainy and snowy slippery road conditions, the intelligent distribution of four-wheel torque allows the e-tron to move steadily and far according to the driver's intention.

Although Audi has tuned the e-tron's appearance and driving experience to be as close to that of a fuel vehicle as possible, Audi has made a bold design on the e-tron - that is, it cancels the car's creeping.

Since the days of gasoline cars, we have been accustomed to idling. From manual cars to automatic cars, and then to electric cars, our understanding of cars should be that when we release the brake pedal, the car will move slowly forward.

However, for the Audi e-tron, whether it is forward gear or reverse gear, the car will not accelerate after releasing the brake, and the driver must step on the accelerator pedal.

At first, the driver may need time to get familiar with this process, but after getting used to it, I found that this is the way electric cars will be operated in the future, and it also cured my automatic parking anxiety.

I believe everyone is familiar with automatic parking. For example, when waiting for a red light to stop, most electric vehicles have a setting to activate automatic parking by pressing the brake pedal deeply. This way, the driver does not have to keep pressing the brake, freeing up his right foot.

But at the same time, the driver must pay attention to whether the prompt sign on the dashboard is on to confirm whether the brake pedal is pressed deeply and the automatic parking function is activated. Otherwise, as long as the brake pedal is released, the car will creep forward, which may cause a rear-end collision.

In fact, creeping is a product of the internal combustion engine era. Its essence is to keep the engine on standby at all times. However, in the era of electric vehicles where power is available on demand, this function is actually no longer necessary.

One major change brought about by this is that the car's control logic has become clearer and simpler.

In addition, a more important change is that Audi has fully utilized the advantages of the on-board computer and the characteristics of electric vehicles. The e-tron's accelerator pedal can be used accurately to control the vehicle speed and improve the vehicle's handling.

How do you understand it?

The throttle of a fuel vehicle actually controls the throttle opening. It can be simply understood that the throttle depth is proportional to the car's output power. The harder you step on it, the greater the car's horsepower output, and the quicker the response.

I believe that experienced drivers have encountered this problem. If we need to pass a threshold, we need to step on the accelerator to make the car output higher power, but when the car passes threshold Afterwards, with the power still high, the car would rush forward, making the driver feel out of control.

However, the e-tron uses the "accelerator pedal" to control the speed, and the on-board computer will dynamically calculate the power required to be output based on the resistance.

The same is true threshold For example, if I want to cross the threshold at a speed of 2km/h, I will press the accelerator to the corresponding depth. When I encounter the same threshold, the e-tron will instantly increase the output power to help me cross it. Once I cross it, the power will be immediately reduced to ensure a speed of 2km/h.

In this way, the problem of loss of control that can easily lead to car accidents is solved, perfectly demonstrating the advantages of electric vehicles.

Battery life: surprisingly good

91che also conducted tests on battery life and charging.

According to 91che's test in downtown Beijing, the outdoor temperature was 5°C, the air conditioner was turned on and set to the third wind speed at 22°C, and the Audi e-tron was traveling at a speed of about 60km/h. The average power consumption per 100km was about 24.4kWh.

That is, the Audi e-tron 95kWh battery can be used for approx. exercise 390km, which is only 83% off its NEDC range of 470km. This is actually a very good result, even close to the actual range of some electric vehicles we tested with a NEDC nominal range of around 600km. Don't forget that the e-tron is a 2.6-ton "big guy".

In terms of charging, FAW-Volkswagen Audi provides the "Audi e-Charge" solution, which includes five dimensions of services: home charging, public charging, valet charging, emergency charging, and branded charging stations, ensuring dense coverage of charging piles within a 10-minute drive from major cities.

Currently, Audi's charging platform has more than 120,000 charging terminals, which can provide navigation services through APP and connect online services.

According to data provided by Audi, the e-tron supports 11kW AC charging through home charging and can be charged to 80% in 40 minutes at a fast charging station.

According to 91che's test, the Audi e-tron can charge 34kW of electricity from the national grid at a current of 144A, a voltage of 426V, and a charging power of 61kW in 33 minutes, charging the SOC from 30% to 67% at a cost of 59.5 yuan. The peak electricity price is about 1.73 yuan/kW.

That is to say, every time we push this heavy luxury pure electric vehicle forward one kilometer, we only need to pay about 0.42 yuan.

Summarize

After several days of testing, 91che was deeply impressed by the Audi e-tron.

In terms of exterior and interior, in order to take care of the feelings of old users, it adopts a pure design strategy, but also provides a more mature sense of luxury compared to new car-making forces including Tesla;

In terms of driving experience, the Audi e-tron is tuned to be conservative, actively moving closer to the handling experience of fuel vehicles, but it has also carried out a radical underlying logic revolution in the driving experience, demonstrating its keen insight into the direction of driving technology and user experience.

Ultimately, unlike the new car-making forces that start from scratch, the Audi e-tron is positioned first as a luxury SUV that continues the family bloodline, and only secondarily as a groundbreaking electric car.

Even so, based on Audi's excellent design genes, with strong industrial design capabilities, a deeper understanding of the industry, and new thinking on electric vehicle products, the Audi e-tron has become a pure electric luxury SUV that is pure in appearance but seeks change in reality.

Today, as countries around the world have given timetables for the delisting of fuel vehicles, in the face of this battle for future survival space, will Tesla, which has no historical baggage, win, or will Audi, which has accumulated a century of industry experience, successfully defend its title? In the final analysis, everything still has to go back to the origin of the product. Obviously, from the perspective of the e-tron, Audi does not intend to rest on its laurels in the electric field, but chooses to start all over again and use technology to inspire the future.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.