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Audi etron in person, disappointing?
- Thread starter mattack4000
- Start date
whitex
Well-Known Member
I did. I liked it a lot except for weird "bounce-back" at every stop sign, higher than MS ride, and of course acceleration/handling (better than most ICE cars, but hard to compare to P85DL). I was a little less concerned about range as Audi is significantly derated - they probably plan for no battery degradation at all. People (not just here) seem to report getting rated range or higher in real world driving, while with the Tesla's I never get the rated range. I would love to try it out for few days, even pay for it to see if I would get used to it. As they build inventory, I might be able to get one for couple days, Lexus guys used to give me a new car to drive around for a couple of days from time to time, if I liked it, I bought it (assuming they gave me the right deal of course).@whitex have you test driven one yet?
It’s up to the Audi dealer but you should be able to do an overnight test drive (up to them of course). Now we are getting into the pros-cons of dealerships too
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I did a test drive of the E-Tron over the weekend and was very disappointed. Ride quality felt worse than the Model X Raven, the vehicle felt stiffer perhaps because of the shorter wheelbase. In addition, the acceleration was not sufficient, the vehicle felt uncomfortably slow and it did not feel noticeably quieter than the Raven which I have found to be significantly improved from the pre Raven I drove a short while before. In addition, the vehicle feels cramped; you don't have the airy feeling and headroom of the Model X. The E-Tron interior does not have alcantara headliner like the Model X which I feel is a big part of the premium cabin experience. I sat in other Audis of a similar price point (The A8L) and its interior felt noticeably more premium due to the alcantara and overall improved material quality (more wood).
I wen to the Tesla Showroom right after to compare and the only interior aspect which was better than Model X for me was the centre console and switchgear, which looked and felt far more premium in the Audi. I did notice the Model X door pockets are felt lined and use soft touch plastic even on the lowest part of the door. I found the seats on the Model X to be softer and more comfortable. Hopefully we get another price cut next quarter as the E-Tron was about 10% less than the Model X. With some minor changes, the Model X could wholeheartedly beat the E-Tron in the interior department, it has it beat in nearly every other way as it is. However the E-Tron is not a true Model X competitor but sized like a Model Y. Audi needs to create a Q7 sized EV, this felt like a Q5 size wise.
I wen to the Tesla Showroom right after to compare and the only interior aspect which was better than Model X for me was the centre console and switchgear, which looked and felt far more premium in the Audi. I did notice the Model X door pockets are felt lined and use soft touch plastic even on the lowest part of the door. I found the seats on the Model X to be softer and more comfortable. Hopefully we get another price cut next quarter as the E-Tron was about 10% less than the Model X. With some minor changes, the Model X could wholeheartedly beat the E-Tron in the interior department, it has it beat in nearly every other way as it is. However the E-Tron is not a true Model X competitor but sized like a Model Y. Audi needs to create a Q7 sized EV, this felt like a Q5 size wise.
I saw the video, and it is now way any close to Autopilot. It ping pongs even when the lanes are clearly visible and completely gives up with the lanes are a bit iffy. There is no way i would drive this with the level of comfort and confidence I have in the Autopilot.
It reminds me of AP1 only not as good - which perhaps isn't terribly surprising since it appears to be a single camera Mobileye system without Tesla's experience.
AP1 also lost track of lane lines when they fell outside of where it expected them to be - I think the Mobileye code says the line has to be somewhere in this area of the image to be a valid lane line, but it's just a guess based on how my AP1 car did and what I see here.
@whitex have you test driven one yet?
It’s up to the Audi dealer but you should be able to do an overnight test drive (up to them of course). Now we are getting into the pros-cons of dealerships too
After getting a lot of crap from a couple of dealers, I found another one that gave me a decent discount and, since I said I was ready to buy it, let me have it for the week-end, on loan. You may find a local dealer willing to give you the opportunity to do an extended test. And yes, while reasonably revealing, driving around while chatting with the salesman is nowhere as good a test as doing it on your own.
Size-wise, it's exactly halfway between the Q5 and the Q7, however, I did not have the feeling it's larger than our Q5 inside (perhaps a touch wider, but the rear leg room is the same).
I assume you're talking about it rolling back a bit, like some dual-clutch transmissions. That is indeed weird and it can be mitigated using the auto-hold function. That however comes with the slight jerk from unsticking the brakes every time you start moving, which can be annoying as well.
Lane keep made its first attempt to kill me today (by pulling toward a concrete divider, kind of like the formerly-famous Tesla truck-lust).
TL;DR
adaptive cruise is better
lane keep is worse
Perhaps interior volume is positively affected by the packaging parameters possible in an ev design vs an ice
My brother has a Q7, and the footprint is the same when parked side-by-side. The Q7 though is more boxy/van-like with bigger interior space in the rear and boot.
I find the e-tron rear seat space better than my Model S, both feet and also headroom. Compared to the Q5 I have seen, the eTron is roomier.
I find the e-tron rear seat space better than my Model S, both feet and also headroom. Compared to the Q5 I have seen, the eTron is roomier.
mtndrew1
Active Member
Audi e-Tron sales declined again in July in its third full month on the market.
May 856
June 726
July 678
Inventory, on the other hand, has been climbing steadily so there doesn’t seem to be a starvation of cars on the ground. There isn’t excess inventory, just 1.5 months’ worth, but it’s the highest it’s been since launch.
Too early to be certain but it seems the e-tron is not resonating with American consumers. It will be interesting to see if it recovers or if Audi starts piling on the incentives like Jaguar has done with the I-Pace (which has six months of inventory on the ground).
May 856
June 726
July 678
Inventory, on the other hand, has been climbing steadily so there doesn’t seem to be a starvation of cars on the ground. There isn’t excess inventory, just 1.5 months’ worth, but it’s the highest it’s been since launch.
Too early to be certain but it seems the e-tron is not resonating with American consumers. It will be interesting to see if it recovers or if Audi starts piling on the incentives like Jaguar has done with the I-Pace (which has six months of inventory on the ground).
I am starting to notice them on the roads around Silicon Valley. I think I've seen the same one twice (odd red-orange color) and another just this morning. Spotting the grille is easy, from the back I had to check the badge to be sure it wasn't some other Audi model. It's not that distinctive from the rear quarter.
Audi had said they wouldn't stock the e-tron in North America. Sales would be by custom order only. Did they change that?
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mtndrew1
Active Member
They didn’t seem to go that route; there are plenty in stock at Audi dealers across the country.
You can look on cars dot com and there’s nearly 1,000 e-Trons available for immediate purchase. Inventory is building and sales are falling, which is weird.
It's not that weird. It's telling, but not weird.
I just had a conversation with my wife about iPace and e-Tron relative to their advertising immediately after we saw an iPace ad on TV. I said it's strange that even with advertising that these cars aren't selling. She said no, it's not strange - they're advertising because they're not selling. Hmmm.
I think the results will fall into the dealers' story that "nobody wants EVs". To which I've always said "Nobody wants the EVs that you're selling".
Months ago I reluctantly canceled my e-tron reservation after concluding it's not good enough. They continue to send me expensive-looking advertisements in the mail. Hopefully the VW Group will do better with future products. But I'm now 100% that my next EV needs to be a Tesla.
mtndrew1
Active Member
I think the new VW EV platform vehicles could be quite compelling. They have a skateboard chassis and RWD and are fresh designs. If priced and equipped properly they might get some traction with those cars. The e-Tron, in the US anyway, seems like it might be a flop. Time will tell.
