I own a model 3 but I prefer the traditional boxy shape of an SUV and to that end I drove an Audi e-Tron Quattro today. I was so disappointed and will cancel my order. It seems to me that the overall appearance, fit and paint for this $80,000 vehicle are better than my Model 3. That said the driving experience was extremely poor in comparison, it drove like a truck and from my perspective the user interface isn't nearly as intuitive. I guess I could go on about it but suffice to say it isn't anything like my experience driving my M3. Certainly made me appreciate Tesla even more.
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Drove Audi e-tron Today
- Thread starter NWPILOT
- Start date
Its going to be pretty hard to beat the driving experience of a Model 3 in an SUV. I can't wait to try the model Y. When getting back into a Model X after driving the 3, it feels like a tank!
TT97
Active Member
TT97
Active Member
Sorry, didn't mean to scare you - I assumed you had heard. It is for European customers (although pretty low by Audi)...
Amid delays, Audi e-tron buyers cry foul over $6,800 cancellation penalty - LeftLaneNews
An Audi e-tron can carry a Tesla Model 3 instead of a spare
Watts_Up
Well-Known Member
This was my impression, you should compare the Audi e-Tron driving experience with the Tesla Model X.
There is also a similar tread on this subject: Audi e-Tron in person, disappointing?
No plans to test drive the Audi at this point; I did spend about 20 minutes with it here at the auto-show in NYC with an Audi representative. I would not consider my initial impression as disappointing, but I am also not considering a purchase - just more of a curiosity since I moved over from Audi when I went to Tesla.
CarlK
Active Member
Pretty much what I saw on the Porsche forum too. Long time Porsche owners say how nice my Tesla drives compare to Porsche, how the Taycan is over-priced, and how I will cancel my Taycan reservation and buy a Model Y (I think he meant a Model 3) performance.
We've been hearing Tesla competitors are coming all those years. Now they came and we realize there is still no Tesla competitor. It had years of head start and was moving fast. Very hard for others to catch up now.
Some mentioned the Model X. Other than bigger and taller it's actually very responsive and does not drive like your average SUV at all, We've also owned Explorer and MDX in the past.
We've been hearing Tesla competitors are coming all those years. Now they came and we realize there is still no Tesla competitor. It had years of head start and was moving fast. Very hard for others to catch up now.
Some mentioned the Model X. Other than bigger and taller it's actually very responsive and does not drive like your average SUV at all, We've also owned Explorer and MDX in the past.
I think you are right. I really want to be driving a traditional looking SUV not the X or Y because to me that rounded shape is not attractive nor do they give me the impression of an SUV. Now I think it might be quite awhile before another electric is as good as a Tesla. I own a 2016 BMW X3 328i and it has an excellent feel, light control and very sporty. Now I'm thinking that all Audi SUV's drive like a truck and a certain clientele prefers that heavy feeling.
CarlK
Active Member
The trend now is car based SUB/CUV which is supposed to be best of both worlds for most. Even Explorer which helped start this SUV craze a couple decades ago now is going the unibody car like construction.
The Model X/Y free flow body style is for aerodynamic reasons that is important for an EV (less so for ICE cars because they are already inefficient). It may take a little getting use to but that's function over form. Traditional auto companies are still too timid to get on board, and suffer efficiency, but like everything else form will eventually follow function. I believe by time our perception of how a SUV or truck should look will change.
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Hey, I love my X. Easily the safest car I've ever owned. Yeah, it's bit long and you have to learn how to drive it, but it's really comfortable. And the 2.5 tons - it really hugs the road around curves. The standout for my X is the electronics system behind the car. It's superb. Of course, when I need a bit of speed the car is ready for it.
I saw one at an Earth day even a couple weeks ago. I asked the sales person what the range was and after listing, full of people, all the electronics on, -2 degrees out(failed to mentioned driving 85 mph) he said about 200. I had a hard time not giggling, rolling my eyes and walking off. The one thing I did like was the sparkly turquoise paint.
RogerHScott
Active Member
Indeed. Teslas are by far the worst EVs on the market, with the exception of every other EV on the market.
caskater47
Member
It's not surprising to me that it drives like a truck. A few years ago my wife and I were buying an SUV. We test drove the Audi Q5 and Q7 and I was very dissappointed by both. I'm a car guy (I don't like big boxy vehicles like SUVs) and having an S4 I expected the Audi SUVs to have a similar sporty feel but it didn't at all.
It wasn't until we discovered the Acura MDX did we find what we were looking for. The MDX drives more like the Audi I've come to know and love than the actual Audi did. Maybe one day Audi will build an SUV worthy of its name or the Japanese will finally join the rest of the world and build an EV.
It wasn't until we discovered the Acura MDX did we find what we were looking for. The MDX drives more like the Audi I've come to know and love than the actual Audi did. Maybe one day Audi will build an SUV worthy of its name or the Japanese will finally join the rest of the world and build an EV.
John Beans
Member
There has been a great deal of overgeneralizing in the press: "Wait until Audi/Porsche/Mercedes/Jaguar introduce their electric cars."
But here's the thing: while taking a car and putting an electric motor in it is a step in the right direction, it doesn't mean the car will be great.
My test day on the slalom course and around town with the Jaguar I-PACE was like that: hmm...meh. Quieter, peppier—yes. But I wasn't holding back buying a Jaguar because they needed to be quieter, or peppier. (By the way, I-PACE still isn't the quickest version of the x-PACE line.)
Like the Audi, I have no idea why a traditional Jaguar customer would buy I-PACE, unless they LOVED Jaguar and really wanted an electric car for the sake of having an electric car. But we have years and years of history that show that the percentage of people who primarily buy a car because it's electric is marginal—which is what led Toyota and other major OEMs to pooh-pooh their demand forecasts for all-electric vehicles. Well, until March 31, 2016 when people lined up in droves for Model 3.
The trad automakers have yet to face the most daunting aspect of Teslas: the software. Software is the hardest and most valuable part of most modern businesses. Tesla is dragging the auto world into 2019, and they are resisting mightily. "We have future models with big LCDs to show the gauges!" they might say. "Our upholstery is better! Our paint is better!"
The key to delivering a long-lasting, high-performing battery is software. The chemistry is easy to copy (grab a 2170 and do a chemical analysis), and widely discussed. The reliable in-use management is a black art, all done in software. How fast to charge, how fast to discharge, management over temperature and time. Tesla has a decade of experience in that, and they make their own electronics to fully enable it at a deep, module-by-module level.
As Alan Kay once said, "People who are serious about software should make their own hardware." Trad automakers aren't even close to that—they aren't even making their own software, they are buying it as well as their hardware from a variety of vendors and cobbling it together.
/rant
But here's the thing: while taking a car and putting an electric motor in it is a step in the right direction, it doesn't mean the car will be great.
My test day on the slalom course and around town with the Jaguar I-PACE was like that: hmm...meh. Quieter, peppier—yes. But I wasn't holding back buying a Jaguar because they needed to be quieter, or peppier. (By the way, I-PACE still isn't the quickest version of the x-PACE line.)
Like the Audi, I have no idea why a traditional Jaguar customer would buy I-PACE, unless they LOVED Jaguar and really wanted an electric car for the sake of having an electric car. But we have years and years of history that show that the percentage of people who primarily buy a car because it's electric is marginal—which is what led Toyota and other major OEMs to pooh-pooh their demand forecasts for all-electric vehicles. Well, until March 31, 2016 when people lined up in droves for Model 3.
The trad automakers have yet to face the most daunting aspect of Teslas: the software. Software is the hardest and most valuable part of most modern businesses. Tesla is dragging the auto world into 2019, and they are resisting mightily. "We have future models with big LCDs to show the gauges!" they might say. "Our upholstery is better! Our paint is better!"
The key to delivering a long-lasting, high-performing battery is software. The chemistry is easy to copy (grab a 2170 and do a chemical analysis), and widely discussed. The reliable in-use management is a black art, all done in software. How fast to charge, how fast to discharge, management over temperature and time. Tesla has a decade of experience in that, and they make their own electronics to fully enable it at a deep, module-by-module level.
As Alan Kay once said, "People who are serious about software should make their own hardware." Trad automakers aren't even close to that—they aren't even making their own software, they are buying it as well as their hardware from a variety of vendors and cobbling it together.
/rant
milleron
Member
And energy economy should be mentioned in any discussion of the e-tron. It goes about 2.5 miles on a KWH of electricity. If you're conservative driving your M3 this time of year you can go TWICE that far on that much energy . . . or pretty darn close to twice as far. I rather imagine that in the winter, you'd get more than twice as far as the Audi e-truck.
Somewhat like CarlK mentioned above, and as Elon said on Autonomy Day, "all these years, and the world still has not seen a better car than a 2012 Model S. Still waiting." To the doom predictors who warned of how much trouble Tesla would be in once the "real" car companies got into the game: Humbug.
Joer293
MODEL X P100DL
The subtle irony here is that the X qualifies for the $25k Hummer tax 'gas guzzler subsidy' credit, and the E-tron qualifies as well.
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