It was in September 2018 that Audi revealed the e-Tron – its first electric car – to the world and now just 10 months later, we are going to see the car make its way to India. Yes, the Audi e-Tron will be unveiled in India on June 27, with the launch scheduled for later. This will be the first time India gets to see the car in the flesh and yes it will be the first electric car from a luxury carmaker to hit our markets. The Audi e-Tron gets a sharp and edgy styling along with keeping it more conventional than wild, as was the case for earlier concept models.
The front end gets an octagonal grille with active flaps, that allow air to pass through and cool the front axle motor. Viewed in profile, the e-Tron SUV has a typical crossover silhouette and when it comes to size, the e-Tron sits between the Audi Q5 and the Audi Q7. The rear of the SUV is characterized by a sloping roofline along with the LED taillights which run across the boot of the SUV. Overall, the design of the Audi e-Tron is not a far cry from its Q range of SUVs but still distinguishes itself from its other SUV siblings, thanks to contemporary styling.
The Audi e-Tron SUV gets two electric motors, one on each axle. The one on the front makes 125 kW while the rear motor makes 140 kW, with the combined total of 265 kW or 355 bhp. The peak torque output is 561 Nm. In the boost mode, the power output goes up to 300 kW or 408 bhp. The Audi e-Tron SUV has a range of 400 km on a single charge according to WLTP cycle and can touch a top speed of 200 kmph. Also, the 0-100 kmph sprint is done in 6.6 seconds in the normal mode and 5.7 seconds in the boost mode. Being an Audi SUV, Quattro is standard fitment. The SUV gets 432 cells in 36 modules which are packed together on the floor of the vehicle and have a combined weight of 699 kg with the power capacity of 95 kWh.
The interior of the Audi e-Tron too is contemporary rather than being overly futuristic. There are hardly any buttons in the cabin, with all controls being distributed between the three display panels on the dashboard. The party piece on the Audi e-Tron SUV is the virtual camera rear view mirrors. This means that the wing mirrors on the car are basically high definition cameras, which project the rear view image inside the cabin, on two display screens mounted on the front doors. The display screens can be controlled via touch as well. The Audi e-Tron will be the first production car in the world to get the virtual rearview mirrors.
The SUV has seating for 5 people and can swallow in 660 litres worth of luggage at the rear. There are an additional 60 litres of space under the hood of the car, which can be used to store tools and charging wires. We expect the Audi e-Tron to be priced at around Rs1.5 crores but we'll know more very soon.
