These Audi e-trons are practical electric vehicles that are almost ready for production.
For the first time ever, one of Japan’s best roads for driving enthusiasts was closed for a media event organised by a car company. It wasn’t one of the big Japanese manufacturers, however, but Audi. The German automaker somehow managed to convince the authorities to close the Hakone Turnpike for the Audi e-tron Driving Experience.
The cars we would be driving are special and very expensive, so closing off a good stretch of road was necessary for this exercise. (Insurance coverage was another important factor.) The prototypes – Audi calls them “technology platforms” – were the A1 e-tron and A3 e-tron.
Only the instrumentation and trim are unique, the rest of the interior in either EV is standard-issue Audi.
The “e-tron” moniker has been adopted for Audis with all-electric drivetrains. The sub-brand first appeared on the R8-based e-tron concept car at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, which will be produced as a limited edition next year and be the first e-tron model you can buy in an Audi showroom.
Depending on market demand, Audi plans to roll out e-tron variants of every major model in its line-up. The firm wants the e-tron nameplate to become synonymous with electric Audis, just as quattro is identified with the brand’s all-wheel drive cars.
While the e-tron namesake has been confirmed for sale in the form of an exotic sports car, the e-tron editions of the A1 supermini and A3 hatchback are still at the prototype stage and being evaluated for series production. Both the A1 e-tron and A3 e-tron are powered by electric motors, but they are rather different in concept. The A1 e-tron features a small-output motor with a petrol-fuelled range extender to charge the batteries on the go, while the A3 e-tron employs a higher-output motor and higher-capacity batteries.
We had the opportunity to drive the two e-trons back-to-back with their conventional cousins. First up was the “electrified” A3. On the outside, it looks like any A3 Sportback, while on the inside, there is just a modified instrument cluster with a kilowatt gauge instead of a rev counter, as well as purposeful Alcantara upholstery.
The 100kW electric motor resides under the bonnet and powers the front wheels via a single-speed transmission. Starting the A3 e-tron is straightforward – turn the key in the ignition barrel to switch on the electrical systems, put the gear lever into “D” and the electric vehicle is ready to go. All the cockpit controls are similar to those in the petrol model, except the functions of the steering wheel-mounted paddles.
In a regular A3, they are used to manually select gears but in the e-version, the same paddles allow the driver to regulate the degree of energy recovery on the move by choosing one of the four recuperation levels. At the lowest level, the A3 e-tron simply coasts freely when the accelerator pedal is released, hence saving energy. At the highest level, the car simulates engine braking with the electric motor acting as a generator to charge the batteries.
The hills are alive with the sound of magic, produced by Audis e-tron powertrains in the A1 and A3.
As expected of an electric vehicle (EV), the battery-driven A3 runs up the road with immediate urgency and vigour, thanks to its peak torque of 270Nm available right from the word go. Audi quotes a 0-100km/h timing of 11.2 seconds but the car certainly feels faster than that, because of its sprightly nature off the line.
Like a typical EV, there’s an uncanny quietness when driving this thing. It accelerates away from standstill with only a slight whine from the electric motor (rather than the roar of an internal combustion engine), while road and wind noise can be heard pretty clearly from the driver’s seat because of the mechanical quietude. On a full charge, the A3 e-tron has a realistic range of 140km, which should be more than enough for most daily commutes in Asian cities.
The sepentine strands of Turnpike tarmac make it a perfect playground for petrolheads.
Thanks to the lithium-ion batteries’ 300kg weight being evenly distributed under the rear seat and even within the central transmission tunnel, the A3 e-tron’s handling is well balanced. The driving dynamics is also helped by the fact that its kerb weight is not significantly heavier than that of the turbo-diesel A3 Sportback 2.0 TDI. The battery stack’s placement also means no compromises in boot space or cabin packaging.
Compared to the A3 e-tron, the 1.4-litre TFSI A3 we drove afterwards is discernibly lazier when accelerating from a standstill as its peak torque is available only at higher engine speeds. The petrol engine’s noise makes it feel more involving, but the roadholding is remarkably similar to that of the electric derivative.
Charging socket is under the “fuel filler” cap on the Audi A3 e-tron and behind the grille’s four-ring emblem on the Audi A1 e-tron.
Like the A3 e-tron, the A1 e-tron operates like its petrol-powered cousin. With a much smaller electric motor than the A3, the A1 is obviously less eager to accelerate, but it still feels quick enough to match the 1.4 TFSI A1 over the same road.
With small “throttle” openings, the A1 relies solely on electric power, but give the right-side pedal a bootful and the range extender in the boot comes alive, audibly. Said engine is a compact 254cc single-rotor Wankel unit that produces up to 15kW to charge the A1’s batteries when they are depleted or to “supercharge” them when maximum performance is required. The range extension in question is 200km, compared to 50km on battery juice alone.
With that powerplant in the trunk, the A1 e-tron doesn’t feel as poised as the A3 e-tron, with the front end feeling light and the front wheels spinning occasionally as weight gets transferred to the rear upon hard acceleration. But at cruising speeds of up to 80km/h, the electric A1 is perfectly stable and always predictable, just like any petrol A1 runabout.
The range extender and its ancillaries are housed neatly under the boot floor while the batteries sit under the rear seat base, which means that cabin space is unchanged from the standard A1.
Our e-tron driving experience not only offered a rare opportunity to navigate one of the world’s greatest roads, it also gave us a better understanding of Audi’s e-tron technologies and a sneak peek into the future of sustainable mobility.
Check out the 2018 Audi e-tron models
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