Audi e-tron S Sportback a shocking thrill

I will be the first to admit that my first tenure with an all-electric car started out rather annoying.

While I was very keen to spend time in the company of the Audi e-tron S Sportback, it was somewhat diluted by the so-called electric car ‘experts’.

You can have an EV

Mention the words electric car and you are immediately asked, how can you drive an EV in South Africa when there is load shedding?

While indeed a valid point, it still requires a lot of patience and gritted teeth when explaining to these gifted futurologists that ownership is possible in modern day, Eskom-deprived South Africa.

For one, charging stations, thanks to not only manufacturers, but to a large extent, GridCars, are popping up across large cities regularly.

Therefore, charging is as easy is going to the mall, literally. And secondly, the practice of charging is similar to that of a smartphone i.e. you simply plan ahead by keeping tabs on the battery.

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Of course, the other side of the coin is that power cuts are likely to hit home whilst charging. Again, no problem.

With planning, a charging station can be easily located using a smartphone app, and being from GridCars, it will be a faster unit that produces quicker results without the prolonged wait of the home mains.

The downside of electric car ownership though is a familiar one; the lack of infrastructure outside large cities and limited range.

Dwarfing these however is an even bigger issue, but before this argument escalates into a full blown rant, the car in question cleverly plays a two-face role.

It doesn’t look electric

Unlike its contemporaries, the BMW iX, Jaguar I-Pace and even the Mercedes-Benz EQC, the e-tron S Sportback simply doesn’t adhere to many people’s perceived view of what an electric car should look like.

To the casual observer, it could just as well be a Q5 Sportback, albeit one mounted on massive 22-inch S alloy wheels, and finished in a sinister black hue.

Discreet, svelte and stylish, it only discloses its EV identity by the sealed Singleframe grille, e-tron badges and dual charging flap doors on both front wings. But even these will need pointing out to the uninitiated, in addition to the full-width LED lights not found on the Q5 Sportback

It is therefore not the standout or statement making electric car the iX, I-Pace and EQC are, but, depending how you look it, factors that still play in the e-tron S Sportback’s favour.

Normality inside

Step inside, the normality continues. Aside from the redesigned centre console that houses a deep storage area and an aircraft-style fixed lever that acts as wrist-rest for the 8.6-inch touchscreen climate control panel, in addition to the thumb toggle for the transmission, the layout is standard Audi with impeccable materials and built quality.

Traditional, un-EV values continue in the shape of the superbly comfortable, and stunningly looking, electric, heated and cooled red Vienna leather S sport seats, the annoying haptic feedback for the climate control and the 10.1-inch MMI infotainment system – whose ease of use still needs a bit of polishing – and the clear quality of the optional Bang & Olufsen sound system.

Even more surprising is the amount of space, with complaints unlikely from those seated in the rear, even with the sloping roofline and optional panoramic sunroof, never mind the driver and passenger.

The same goes for the boot. Massive in appearance, the e-tron S Sportback can swallow 615-litres with the rears up, or 1 665-litres with the 60/40 split rear back lowered.

A proper shock

Unsurprisingly, setting off uncloaks the e-tron’s two-face persona. Push the starter button, a faint but audible whine emits from the electric motors, but nothing else.

Select Drive via the toggle switch, the different readouts and dials within the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, together with the S logos, provides a further clue that you are driving anything but a regular S-infused Audi.

If the eerie silence isn’t enough, stomping on the accelerator changes everything. While electric car acceleration is vested in automotive folklore by now, it still fails to disappoint, even more so when the car weighs 2 620 kg.

Of little consideration at this point is the infotainment system or the styling, as the e-tron transforms from a docile, stylish coupe-SUV when doddering, to a hard-hitting S-car wanting a go at your face and internal organs as your foot slides deeper into the carpet. And this in “balanced” Auto mode.

Switch to Dynamic mode, the acceleration is not only violent, brutal, intoxicating and addictive, but guaranteed to leave even the most hardcore internal combustion advocate speechless.

In this case, the culprit is the 95-kWh battery that powers two electric motors mounted on each axle. Successfully warranting the quattro badge on the tailgate, the setup produces 320kW/808Nm, but for eight seconds, activates an overboost function that unleashes the full 370kW/973Nm.

More powerful and torquier than the 4.0-litre bi-turbodiesel V8 Audi uses in the SQ7 and SQ8, the e-tron S Sportback will get from 0-100 km/h in 4.5 seconds and reach a limited top speed of 210 km/h.

It actually feels considerably faster and thanks to the EV optimised S adaptive air suspension, it rides smoothly without feeling firm or coarse as a result of those wheels.

Despite its mass, the upgraded S brakes are ferociously sharp, the steering light but not overly so as lacking feedback, the body-roll marginal and the level refinement such that no amount of adjectives are necessary.

In typical EV fashion, the e-tron S Sportback also has brake regeneration, whereby lost energy is recouped and stored within the battery as a means of aiding range.

The severity, adjusted via the paddles now that the gearbox only has one-speed, can be altered from unnoticeable to such that momentum instead of the brakes can be used to bring the e-tron to a complete stop. 

The C-word

Out of EV nirvana and back into reality, the all-important issue surrounding charging is inevitable and likely to occur more often depending on how much blasting or use of Dynamic mode prevails.

As standard, the e-tron S Sportback comes equipped with a three-phase charger that involves a 32 amp socket being installed at your house by an Audi approved electrician.

Up to R5 000 of the installation cost will be covered by Ingolstadt and allow for a single phase charging up to 7.2-kW. The resulting waiting time is 13 hours from 0-100%.

While the latter is guaranteed to attract the attention of the anti-EV futurologists mentioned earlier, the alternative is in the use of the GridCars charging network.

Using the provided GridCars charging card, or alternatively the GridCars app, serves as the payment method, with the actual activation process, once plugged-in to any of 300+ charging stations around the country, being as simple as holding either up to the display on the charging station. 

The majority of the GridCars chargers are designated fast chargers, meaning a maximum of 60 kW. Selecting the station at Irene Village Mall after trekking from Johannesburg, the e-tron S Sportback had a remaining range of 108 km.

After one hour 34 minutes, the topped-up e-tron S Sportback’s instrument cluster showed 317 km, which later increased to 330 km on the move, 17 km less than Audi’s claim.

Although prices differ from station to station, the Irene station charges R5.88 per kWh. Plugged-in, 64.39-kWh was used, which when multiplied with the per kWh tariff, equates to R378 to charge the e-tron S Sportback from almost empty to full.

Conclusion

Suffice to say that despite my horrible range anxiety and annoyance at the naysayers, the tenure with the Audi e-tron S Sportback was not only enjoyable, but fuss-free when it came to the issues of charging or the fear of running out of power.

However, as much as the eagerness and immediacy of EVs stun and provoke a huge smile, it comes with a tinge of sadness relating to the complete lack of emotive response that is a V8, V10 or even a V12 soundtrack you would associate with that level of grunt.

But the biggest issue with electric cars remains the price. At R2 425 000 before options, the e-tron S Sportback is out of most buyers’ reach and even for the well healed, likely to appeal to a select few.

Until government incentives are applied, better support given to electric vehicles and of course, fears over electricity generation completely put to rest, prices will remain high and render electric vehicles as statement items for the very few.