Q4 e-Tron unveiled but not close

NZ not prioritised for Audi’s tasty medium crossover.

INTRODUCTION here of the Audi Q4 e-Tron unveiled overnight has been blown apart by the same issue that has delayed sister cars – maker determination other countries are initially more deserving.

Forget the early 2022 timeframe touted previously by Audi New Zealand. Local boss Dean Sheed says any hope of that occurring has gone. At very best the new crossover model, set to hit Europe’s roads in June, ‘might’ be available for launch here at the end of next year, though it could yet have to be a 2023 sighting.

“It definitely won’t be early 2022 … it will be late 2022. At the earliest. Potentially even flipping it to early 2023 is a possibility. We are down the pecking order and the challenge is securing volume.”

It’s a story that also already been told for two close cousins, the Volkswagen ID4 and Skoda Enyaq and seems increasingly likely to be aired for two others indicated for eventual NZ availability, the next-generation Porsche Macan and the SEAT/Cupra Born. 

In addition to being Audi’s seventh electric vehicle the Q4 it is also the first on the MEB platform, the structure upon which all key VW Group electric vehicles set for NZ introduction are based.

Basically, when it comes to the release of MEB models, VW Group is calling the shots.

 New Zealand does not have priority – as much as anything else, Sheed believes, it’s because VW Group has decided our national policies are not up to the pace of other countries pushing electric car adoption.

Audi NZ has been promoting the early 2022 release schedule for Q4 for some time and some months ago began to back that up with a viral warm-up campaign, now seemingly shelved.

With three powertrain options, offering up to 520km of range, and in sports utility wagon and more rakish, also five-door, Sportback body stylings, the Q4 has long been touted as being the model that would achieve as a best-seller for Audi.

The new car will sit below the e-tron in wagon and Sportback styles, the impending S editions of those, plus the more performance-oriented e-tron GT, which shares an underpinning with the Porsche Taycan and includes an RS edition.

Sheed says it’s a disappointment not achieving Q4 to the original timeframe because a lot of groundwork for its release has been laid by his brand, but fact is that VW is giving preference to countries that have a stronger Green attitude and are doing more to encourage electric vehicles.

“A lot of the volume is going to the countries with legislation and requirements for CO2 (reduction). Our country doesn’t have those yet so we are down the pecking order.

“With these (MEB) cars, demand is in excess of supply. So it comes down to rationing … VW Group has to prioritise and those countries with very strong Governmental pressure typically get the product first.

“So it’s Europe first and then they will go outside that to other countries.

“Are we (Audi NZ) ready for it? Absolutely are. However, when it comes down to prioritisation, the Government and the country does not have a sound pathway yet.”

While MEB-based cars are particularly affected, he believes this issue will also disrupt availability of many other EVs and potentially also plug-in hybrids.

However, the e-Tron GT and RS cars that will go on sale in June are not affected, being on an Audi (and Porsche)-specific platform. Also, product planning for those was signed off months ago the factory has begun production of NZ models.

The Q4 family is headed by a 50 Quattro, offering 220kW and 460Nm through dual electric motors, sending power to all four wheels for a 0-100kmh time of 6.2 seconds. It also involves an entry-level 125kW/310Nm Q4 E-Tron 35 and mid-spec 150kW/310Nm Q4 E-Tron 40. These use a single electric motor to power the rear wheels, for 0-100kmh times of between 9.0 and 8.5 seconds depending on the variant chosen. 

Audi quotes 341km of range from the E-Tron 35's 52kWh battery on the WLTP cycle. The E-Tron 40 and 50 Quattro have a 77kWh battery pack offering 520km and 488km of range respectively.

The E-Tron 35 can support fast charging up to 100kW, with 125kW charging available to the 40 and 50 Quattro models. The company says in ideal conditions, the E-Tron 40 can gain 130km of range in around 10 minutes of charging. 

The SUV body is 4590mm long, 1865mm wide, and 1613mm tall. Boot space is 520 litres, or 1490 litres with second-row seats folded down. The SUV shape has a drag coefficient of 0.28, whereas the Sportback variant has a 0.26 Cd signature.

The car runs disc front and drum rear brakes; the latter is to enable a regeneration cycle from the rear electric motor under braking, meaning less mechanical braking force is required.

The provisions to expected luxury level. It rides on 20 or 21 inch wheels and provisions a 10.1-inch infotainment screen with voice control, with an 11.6-inch screen as an option. The driver gets a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster with an augmented-reality head-up display.

Buyers can also choose from nine equipment packages, each offering different trims, accents, stitching, headlining, and door sill combinations.

Those who opt for the sportier S Line interior can choose between standard natural/synthetic combination leather, premium nappa leather, Dinamica artificial suede, and Puls artificial leather – the latter two which are created from recycled plastics.

Haptic-touch buttons feature on the steering wheel, while seat heating, ventilation, and massage function can figure.

RS and S today, E-tron GT and S tomorrow?

Are you ready to say auf wiedersehen to performance petrol engines? Audi NZ’s push to point purists toward an electric future is about to kick off.

E-tron GT is expected to stay true to the styling presented by the same-named concept here.

INTENT to steer Kiwis away from their fossil fuel-frenzied Audis and toward full fizz electric equivalents is about to step up.

The trigger is the E-tron GT, a performance-focused four-door coupé combining enough rapid performance with rapid charging to match the platform-sharing Porsche Taycan, whose supercar-slaying stomp has won global acclaim.

 The first electric out of Audi that’s been purpose-designed to specifically appeal to the marque’s petrolhead audience, especially fervent in this country, is a confirmed starter here.

 The model received mention at today’s media event for the E-Tron Sportback, a $169,990 car that’s also set to develop into an S-badged flagship that’ll also represent in the SUV bodystyle that’s been here for a year.

Audi NZ boss Dean Sheed also shared why he’s comfortable promoting all three future additions with revheads presently driving fossil-fuelled S and RS models. 

“We’ll definitely be talking to them because they are right in the sweet spot. The reason I say that is because this is the first complete car from Audi Sport … it has a huge credibility and it just happens to also be electric.”

Will the old-school buy into the new way? Sheed reckons he can talk most around to at least thinking about it.

“When people see it, when they understand the technology and when they find out how it drives .. well, they’re going to want it.”

The GT won’t be here until mid-2021 and the S derivatives are likely to land in the third quarter, yet the hearts and minds campaign starts in January.

 The GT’s full development path is exciting, with high certainty it will ultimately achieve RennSport accreditation, so becoming the first non fuel pump-reliant RS car ever. That breakthrough might occur in 2022.

Those S models and the GT in its initial roll out won’t be lacking, either.

Whereas the mainstream E-Tron SUV that has been here since last year and the new Sportback that releases this week run dual motors, and offer power and torque of 300kW and 664Nm (there’s also a base E-Tron SUV with 230kW and 540Nm), the S editions are the world’s first EVs with three motors – one of the front and two in the back – and pack 370kW and 973Nm.

A cited 0-100kmh time of 4.5 seconds places the models as the second fastest S models Audi presently makes, beaten only by the petrol-gulping S8 sedan. Top speed is regulated to 210kmh.

As for the GT? Outputs have yet to be given, but Taycan presumably gives a good idea of what’s in store and Audi has already made clear that even if some GTs are dual motor like the Taycan, the RS will provide with three as well. 

Porsche’s model line spans from a 4S with 320kW (390kW on overboost) and 640Nm, a Turbo with 460-500kW and a flagship Turbo S with up to 560kW. Zero to 100 times range from 4.2 to just 2.8 seconds.

Talk overseas is that the GT RS will pack no more than 522kW, so as not overshadow the top trumps Porsche. For his part, Sheed assures the car will be comfortably quicker and gruntier than the E-Tron S and will also serve up with varying levels of hotness.

“We have not made up our minds which ones we will take yet but, if you have an S car with around 370kW, we are unlikely to a GT at the same level. We will likely go with a hot car and an even hotter car.”

The e-tron Sportback (above) that has just gone on sale here now will be joined by a S variant in 2021 that makes history as the world’s first tri-motor electric car.

He acknowledges Audi NZ has enjoyed massive success with its S and RS badged models. RS penetration here is world-leading on a per head of population count.

A wide span of more than a dozen models – not just the traditional passenger models, but also sports utilities from the Q3 up to the Q8 – are presently leveraging that interest, with more than 200 registered this year alone.

Yet times are changing. While some have 48 volt electrical architectures that alleviate some fuel burn burden, all these heavy hitters rely on souped up petrol engines – from fours to also turbocharged V6s, V8s, plus a V10 - that are the biggest drinkers within their respective model families.

That actually raises another point. When it comes to range, most of Audi’s electrics will prove superior to some of the big banger petrols; the GT, for instance, is expected to arrive with a 96kWh battery that delivers a respectable 400km electric range on the official WLTP test cycle. Try getting that far in an RSQ8.

Sheed isn’t sure the argument needs be that direct. “You can burn a lot of petrol and diesel in any car … we’re just talking about using another fuel type and it happens to be electricity.

“The cool thing about EV technology is that you can ‘refuel’ your car overnight and your running costs are an absolute fraction of what you would normally have.”

Alternately, an 80 percent charge should be possible in as little as 20 minutes if you can find a rapid charger that allows the car to absorb energy at its maximum 350kW rate. Present E-trons replenish at a maximum 150kW.

Dynamics-wise? Even though EVS carry lots of weight, they need not be elephantine.

“You can also do all the things you might enjoy doing in an ICE (internal combustion) car,” Sheed says, pointing out that as well as being massively accelerative, the S models and GT are tailored to undertake drifting naughtiness.

That close relationship with the Taycan also suggests that the handling should be pretty special, as does the fact the battery occupies the entire underfloor area between the front and rear axles.

This helps to give the car a centre of gravity comparable with the Audi R8 supercar which, ironically, is set to be the other model rolling out of the Neckarsulm factory that will host GT production.

Plus, there’s an additional feel-good: “If you’re focussed on sustainability and on wanting to leave the world in a better place … well, there is one clear choice.” 

Audi has not signalled intent here or internationally to curtail any of its combustion-engined performance models, but simply the VW Group’s determination to leave ICE behind for an electric future says everything.

Sheed says moves in the United Kingdom and Europe to make the sale of ICE models illegal from as early as 2030 are obviously being noted by makers. The NZ scene is obviously influenced by that, yet of course there’s yet to be direction from Government about fleet intention so “without clear direction … we have no plan.”

However change is unavoidable. “I understand why people are petrol heads and I started life that way, too.

“But I understand where the electrical strategy is and I understand how good an EV can be. If I had a future view about leaving our wonderful country in a better place, my choice is electric.”

Audi NZ has not yet shared specific volume expectation for GT, which stands as the brand’s fifth production-confirmed electric car. Two others that have been made public, the Q4 E-Tron and Q4 e-tron Sportback, are coming to NZ at the start of 2022.

The GT’s finished design is set to be revealed soon, but pictures of camouflaged prototypes suggest that it won’t stray far from the 2018 concept car of the same name.

One last thing. The sound signature: Nothing beats the roar of a performance petrol engine, right? Well, true, electrics cannot emulate that level of noise, but Audi promises the GT will be pleasing to the purist ear. A team of sound engineers have, through blending combinations of 32 different audio tracks, created what they claim will be ‘one of the most aurally active’ EVs on the market.

Audi gets loud with quiet achiever

The car that kicks off a new era for Audi is now available in a cheaper format.

 EFFORT to instil the e-tron as a relevant competitor to fossil-fuelled supports utilities is stepping up with arrival of another variant. 

The e-tron ‘50’ quattro going into dealerships now is a lookalike for the ‘55’ model that started Audi’s full-electric charge into the SUV sector a year ago, but has a less powerful quattro drivetrain that offers about 100kms’ less range. 

Those factors, however, don’t inhibit it from being perfect for NZ driving the brand says. They also deliver a positive in the model’s pricing – the launch price is more than $30,000 less than that for the ‘55’. 

In this respect, though, an equally significant contributor to this positioning is Audi itself. 

Audi New Zealand, which is a privately-owned concession held by the Giltrap family, has acknowledged it has received something independent national distributors cannot always rely upon - significant factory support. 

This has allowed the Auckland distributor to launch the model at $119,900.

Brand boss Dean Sheed says that’s around $16k less than the recommended retail the car will ultimately carry once that support ends. By comparison, the ‘55’ comes in for around $150,000 in a base format, with a higher-specced Advanced model costing another $5000. 

Audi NZ intends to leverage the ‘market special’ launch price fully, by also advertising that the ‘50’ will be eligible for an operational lease arrangement for businesses. 

This provisions the car for-$1799 plus GST a month with no deposit and monthly payments all tax deductible as an operating expense. “And you hand the car back in three years’ time.”

Sheed has not disclosed volume expectations for the ‘50’, but says has expressed hope that its positioning will draw a significant interest, not least from purchasers for whom price is more of a priority than any prestige factor. 

“If the buyer is a price shopper then the $119k MSRP puts it smack into high end mid-sized SUVs … if it’s a first time EV buyer its more palatable than its big brother at $155k.”

Audi NZ is set to progressively enlarge the e-tron family over the next year; soon the range will be joined by a lower-roofed Sportback shape and this time next year it is adding performance-themed S model.

All variants are all-wheel drive models, powered by an electric motor for each axle. By default the e-tron drives through the rear motor only, until the driver demands extra performance and traction. 

All variants also have lithium ion batteries, but whereas the ‘55’ has a 95kWh unit and electric motors that generate 300kW and 664Nm, the ‘50’ runs a 71kWh battery and power and torque reduce to 230kW and 540Nm.

This translates to a longer 0-100kmh time, of 6.8 seconds versus 5.7s, and also a lower range, with Audi claiming a maximum 347kms’ from full battery to depleted as established from assessment on the WLTP protocol against 446km. 

How much difference will this make to the buyer profile? Probably.

“The ‘50’ is a trial at the entry point … we will see the public feedback. I believe it will be mainly a city-based car for family’s or a business owner’s car.” 

Sheed says the ‘55’ has proven itself; not least because it’s in a sweet spot for price versus spec. And yet “this smaller battery enables a smaller price point which can be used in other models.”

The variant’s arrival as NZ comes part some degree of post-Covid normality is useful. Sales stopped during lockdown but not consumer interest. 

“Buyers kept doing research, now they are coming back to the market with precise needs and expectations.”

Warranty and roadside assist provisions are as per the ‘55’ and it also runs a comprehensive specification, including the 20-inch rim and 225/50 tyre set that otherwise provides to the ‘55’ Advance. The battery comprises 324 prismatic cells combined in 27 modules.

Recharging times are as per the ‘55’, with Audi NZ reminding that compliance with fast-charging available up to 120kW means that the car is “all set for the next long-distance stretch of a journey in approximately 30 minutes.”

A mobile charging system can be used with a 230-volt household outlet or the recommended, 32 Amp industrial plug via Audi’s home charging installation process. Alternately, the battery can be supplied with alternating current (AC) at a charging capacity up to 11kW, which will take approximately seven hours.

Q4 e-tron on target for NZ

Here it is, the Audi electric going for mass appeal.

“WE are still discussing the car but our desire is to take it as it will become a volume seller here.

“I have seen the vehicle as a concept and I know it will work and become a mainline seller here.”

So, there you have it. The viewpoint from Audi NZ boss Dean Sheed, in respect to the latest electric from Ingolstadt unveiled to the world today, could surely not be plainer.

 As soon as the Q4 e-tron hits the production line – at the moment, that’s timed for late this year, pesky Covid-19 allowing - he’ll be booking it a ticket to our market and making arrangement for it to achieve permanent residency, with intent to have it fully settled in by early 2022.

And why not? The car’s credentials are really quite impressive, and not just because of the cited potential range of 500km.

In addition to being Audi’s seventh EV it is also the first on the MEB platform, the structure upon which all key VW Group electric vehicles already signed off for NZ introduction are based. VW’s impending ID family, starting with the ID3 hatch and a close-following ID4 crossover, the SEAT El-Born and Skoda Enyaq are all close cousins.

When you think Q4, it’s times two. A more orthodox hatch – subject of a preview last year - and now the car revealed today, a rakish, coupe-style Sportback offshoot, which is the one that especially has Sheed’s attention.

He suggests the cars each “sit nicely between the Q3 and Q5 exterior dimensions (German logic) and the Sportback denotes the coupe style to the body – think the latest Q3 SUV to the Q3 Sportback.”

By the time Q4 arrives, Audi will have already enlarged its electric family beyond the e-tron SUV that has been on sale for almost a year, and a Sportback coming on sale in late September, to include S versions of those cars – coming in the third quarter of next year - plus the e-tron GT. 

The last is basically a sister ship to the Porsche Taycan and potentially the most exclusive Audi EV here until 2025, when the so-called A9, a new flagship model being developed by an in-house working group called Artemis, arrives.

The S variants of e-tron have just been unveiled in Europe and will certainly add fizz to the category. As the first production electric cars to feature three electric motors they pump out around 372kW, which translates to a 0-100kmh time of 4.5 seconds and top speed of 210kmh. It’s the second fastest S model Audi makes, beaten only by the petrol-gulping S8 sedan.

Anyway, Audi’s incoming EV imprint is something of a mass attack, and even though it’s not one specifically aimed at the mass market – that’s a turf VW, Skoda and SEAT will be focussing on – it will be expected to be Ingolstadt’s highest volume EV for the foreseeable future. 

Rivals will be other plush electric SUVs such as the Tesla Model Y and Volvo XC40 Recharge. Undoubtedly the BMW i4 will also be considered a foil.

So, anyway, with the timelines all sorted, potential Kiwi customers have a good year to consider which version they might prefer – one with, as Audi AG puts it, “the versatility and robustness” of the classic SUV or the dynamic elegance of the Coupe variant. 

Either way, the dimensions are almost identical. With an exterior length of 4.6 metres and a height of 1.6m, the Sportback is 1cm longer and flatter than the hatch. They’re identical for width (1.9m) and wheelbase (2.77m).

They also have the same drive technology, comprising two electric motors mobilising 225kW of system output, transferring via quattro all-wheel drive (which, in EV terms, means each wheel set having an electric motor to drive it) or, optionally, via the rear wheels alone, in which case there’s just a single electric motor.

The all-paw edition is designated the performance format, but that’s not going to make it a threat to any of Audi’s petrol-dedicated RS cars. 

Perhaps the inevitable S variants will zap things up all the more, but at present with Q4 e-tron quattro zero to 100kmh occurs in 6.3 seconds and, as on the other MEB cars, top speed is restricted to 180kmh. 

The electric motors are fed by an 82 kiloWatt hour battery that takes up almost the entire space in the underbody area between the axles. A range of “over 450 kilometres” assessed under the worldwide harmonised light vehicle (WLTP) process is claimed for the quattro and just over 500km for the rear-drive. Audi sees this as setting a benchmark in its class.

Even though it’s dual motor, in most cases, the quattro mainly uses its rear electric motor, a permanently excited synchronous motor, in order to achieve the highest efficiency. For reasons of efficiency, the drive torque is generally distributed with a rear-axle bias. 

Audi says if the driver demands more power than the rear electric motor can supply, the electric all-wheel drive uses the front asynchronous motor to redistribute the torque as required to the front axle. “This also happens predictively even before slip occurs in icy conditions or when cornering fast, or if the car understeers or oversteers.”

The electric motor in the rear end has an output of 150 kW and torque of 310Nm. The front motor supplies the front wheels with up to 75kW and 150Nm. The system output is 225kW. The battery is charged with a maximum of 125 kilowatts so therefore takes little more than 30 minutes to reach 80 percent of the total capacity, assuming with direct charge replenishment.

The compact electric product line also features a sophisticated recuperation strategy, “leaving out no possibility for optimising its range” according to the factory bumpf. “The complex thermal management of the drive and battery, which involves a CO2 heat pump, also contributes to this.”

It says a key factor for the car’s sporty character and outstanding transverse dynamics is the low and central position at which the drive components are installed, not least that 510kg battery. 

“The high-voltage battery system is optimally matched to the dimensions of the Audi Q4 Sportback and is located between the axles in the form of a flat, broad block beneath the passenger compartment. The centre of gravity … is therefore at a similar level to that of a sedan with a conventional drive system. 

“Axle load distribution is perfectly balanced at almost 50:50. The front wheels of the Q4 Sportback e-tron concept are guided on a MacPherson axle with adaptive dampers. In the rear, there is a multi-link axle with separate springs and adaptive dampers.” 

Ingolstadt is really chirpy about the Sportback styling, particularly in respect to how the silhouette slopes downward to the back in a subtle and dynamic curve, part of the effort to achieve an impressive aero of just 0.26 Cd. 

“The roof line transitions into the significantly inclined D-pillars and ends in a horizontal spoiler at the level of the lower window edge. As a result, the future Audi Q4 Sportback appears much longer than its sister model, the Q4 e-tron concept.” It’s impossible for Audi not to mention any new design without claiming reference to the legendary original quattro of 1980. With the Q4 e-tron the lineage expresses in those prominently modelled wheel arches.

As much as the Sportback is being pushed as the prettier thing, it is hardly calling the more orthodox alternate a mutt. “The widened features of the Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback are designed to be highly organic and flowing, and they add a characteristic touch to the side view.”

 It is confident no-one will be troubled understanding how these two models belong to the same e-tron family. Likewise, neither will there be any misunderstanding to them being battery-fed, claiming “it will take no more than two glances to see that this is an electric Audi.” Oh yes, and you’re correct in assuming these cars run on 22 inch hoops. 

Of course, so slinky is all well and good, but what of interior space? Well, that the cars present in four-seater format suggests compromise has been unavoidable. Yet Audi also proposes that the 2.77m wheelbase and the lack of a transmission tunnel deliver enough pluses for it to offer “unsuspected spaciousness and comfort, especially in terms of legroom at the front and even more in the rear.” They’ve also meted it an interior colour scheme to accentuate impression of it being less than of a cocoon; so, dark hues are restricted to the carpets and upper section is lighter hues, with the headlining, window pillars and the upper section of the door rail and dash panel fitted with white and beige microfiber textiles.

The latter also reflects a sustainability priority: The floor covering is made of recycled materials and, instead of chrome-plated metal decor frames, the surfaces are covered with a high-quality multi-layer paint finish. Seats are upholstered in Alcantara material rather than leather here.

As expected, the Q4 follows in the e-tron SUV’s tyre tracks in making full use of Audi’s virtual cockpit tech; core display elements for speed, charge level, and navigation are located behind the steering wheel but there’s also the new feature of a large-format head-up display with an augmented reality function. It can display important graphical information, such as directional arrows for turning, directly on the course of the road.

Control panels designed as touch elements on the steering wheel spokes can be used to select frequently used functions. In the middle above the centre console, there is a 12.3-inch touchscreen via which the infotainment and vehicle functions are displayed and operated, with ventilation controls below.

As the centre console does not need to account for a gear lever or hand brake, it becomes a stowage compartment that includes a cell phone charging cradle. A horizontal area into which the selector button for the transmission mode is integrated also serves as a cover for the front section of the console.

S editions enhance e-tron spark

Audi’s big electric breakthrough is about to achieve extra sizzle.

The e-tron S is the first three-motor electric car.

TWENTY percent of annual volume, perhaps even more at the start.

That’s the prediction Audi New Zealand boss Dean Sheed has expressed for a pair of more potent editions of the all-electric e-tron sports utility. 

Just unveiled on its home turf and set to come on sale in the third quarter of next year, the e-tron S variants are hotted-up versions of the 55 quattro five-door wagon that has been here since last July plus a more rakish Sportback landing in September.

A thorough rework of the standard cars has been required to earn a performance badge that’s historically been the preserve of fizzed-up petrol product sitting one step below the ultimate RS cars.

To achieve the right performance edge, these are the first production electric cars to feature three electric motors. 

Whereas the current e-tron 55 has an electric motor on each axle, the S versions maintain a single up front and has two on the rear.

The full output is around 372kW – against around 300kW for the e-tron 55 on sale here at the moment - and while the top speed is just 210kmh, the step-off is far more … well, electric.

A cited 0-100kmh time of 4.5 seconds places the e-tron S as the second fastest S model Audi presently makes, beaten only by the petrol-gulping S8 sedan. 

Also, as today’s video shows, that oomph out back allows it to doing something else special: It’s an e-tron that’ll drift. 

The cars’ international unveiling this week has prompted the national distributor to speak about its own plans.

Sheed says it is still too early to discuss price in part because local market content has yet to be decided. In the first right-hand-drive market, the United Kingdom, the models place around $20,000 above NZ specification e-tron 55s.

However, he already has no doubt that the S variants will be well placed to lend significant additional zap to the e-tron 55’s sales impact, which in itself has been satisfactory, with 130 registered to date.

The just-landed entry $119,900 e-tron 50 variant, which reduces from a 91kWh battery to a 71kWh unit and drops in range to 305km, is expected to elevate that count and keep Audi in tune with its forecast. More improvement will come with the Sportback releasing in September.

Even so, it’s the S editions that seem set to be the powerbrokers – they’ll achieve two in every five sales almost off the bat, he says, so keeping step with a ratio that also occurs with the S petrol cars. So, hardly niche.

As for e-tron’s overall status? Well, it’s still something of an outsider in terms of what it achieves for overall Audi volume, though that’s simply down to historic perception about electric cars, Sheed believes. 

the e-tron sportback, landing in september, is also achieving S treatment.

However, there’s positivity the message is getting through and transition occurring.

“EVs are still an education,” he concedes, but acceptance of the path car makers are taking and the sustainability advantages is increasing.

“There is a strong mental shift in respect to EVs in the market … you will see the mainstreaming of EVs over time with or without Government support.” 

Meantime, the e-tron S is expected to be seen as a more powerful alternate to the Jaguar I-Pace and Tesla Model X Long Range, which it matches for acceleration. 

With the S, only the rear motors are used in normal driving, the front motor being reserved for hard acceleration and if the wheels start to lose traction. 

The two rear motors can send varying amounts of power to each wheel as needed, and Audi says the ‘S’ versions are more rear-biased than regular models. 

orange highlights are not mandatory

The extra performance only slightly affects range. Audi says the e-tron S and e-tron S Sportback manage 358 and 363km respectively on a full charge, whereas the 55 quattro versions offer just over 400kms.

S-specific adaptive suspension is fitted, which can adjust the ride height by up to 76mm to best suit the seven driving modes on offer.

As with other e-trons, the ‘S’ variants can replenish off 150kW fast chargers; that kind of hit will restore the battery to 80 percent in around half an hour. 

Thanks to wheel arch extensions, the e-tron S pair are 5cm wider than standard, while S styling touches like aluminium mirror caps and extra trim are fitted.

Automatically opening grilles and vents, which remain closed until they’re needed to improve efficiency. UK models are fitted with 21-inch alloy wheels as standard; 22s being available as an optional extra. It’s hard to imagine the NZ spec coming with anything less.

The local distributor’s desire to deliver plenty of spec is going to be easily achieved with the S. 

The model takes electrically adjustable sports seats upholstered in upmarket Nappa leather and a brushed aluminium trim finisher, with a carbon-fibre version on the options list. The Virtual Cockpit digital display is standard alongside online navigation, and as with the 55 quattro a head-up display and cameras instead of wing mirrors can be specified.

Future TT has promise, current has done its dash

The TT as we’ve known it is now a memory – the one that might be next is an exciting thought for Audi NZ.

Still hankering for a TT? Sorry, this one has done its dash in NZ.

LAST chance to see has already gone – but, assuredly, if the TT returns in the form it is predicted to adopt, as an electric car, the local distributor will be interested.

This today as Audi New Zealand has confirmed it has bypassed opportunity to resume selling the TT, preferring instead to focus on the new-generation RSQ3 models set to release imminently in Sportback and continued hatchback formats. 

General manager Dean Sheed says it was a tough call to determine to keep the car that when released originally in 1998, was a global styling bombshell.

But fact is that TT volume was down to a trickle when the car was withdrawn from global production last year, a victim of Volkswagen Group having been defeated in its bid to get all its products homologated in time to meet a rigorous World new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure emissions deadline.

Withdrawing certain models was the only option; cars lacking WLTP compliance could not be sold anyway (in Europe at least) and the maker would have faced hefty fines as well.

That issue has now been resolved for the TT, which has been reissued in a smartened format, headed again by a sharp-looking RS flagship, that in all likelihood will present as the final run for the car in a fossil-fuelled format.

And then? Well, it’s really not shock-horror news any more that there’s supposedly a new TT on the drawing board set to be energised in a totally different, future-ready way.

five cylinder fun can still be had … in the new RSQ3

Audi – and the wider car world of course – is going all-in on electric. And future E-tron models won’t restrict to the sports utility range we presently see. 

Talk about the successor to the TT we have now being re-energised into a fully electric sports weapon for its fourth-generation dates back to May of 2019, when then Audi boss Bram Schot announced that “in a few years, we will replace the TT with a new emotive model in the same price range … with an electric car.”

Just recently, a new report claims the car will ride on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform that debuted last year with the ID.3. The final shape is still under wraps and there’s even been talk that it could re-emerge in an SUV-ish format rather than as it is now.

Sheed was cautious when asked if he knew anything about the e-TT, saying: “I haven’t seen the model you refer to, although it’s been talked about in the media.

“You know our customers and we love performance cars (Audi Sport) and electric powertrains, so naturally I would entertain the concept when it was available – the decision will be the same as today, a hot SUV or a hot sportscar, market size and consumer preference.”

The ‘if’ and ‘when’ of an electric TT will doubtless clarify once Audi gives out some signs about how much longer the current car, with its evocative five-cylinder petrol engine, will live. Potentially it’s not for much longer given this generation shape hit the street in 2014.

Audi’S e-tron family plan is cemented - and an all-electric sports car would seem logical.

It’s also prudent to bear in mind that Audi’s grand plan is to sell one million electrified cars each year by the middle of the next decade, which is quite a lot of electrified cars to sell by 2025.

Of course, that ideal was explained prior to coronavirus, so perhaps the delays and financial walloping the illness has inflicted on the global car trade, and national economies, might slow things down a bit. Yet, at the end of the day, the future will inevitably continue to head away from oil because … well, it’s a finite fuel, remember.

In the here and now, you’d have to think the conventionally powered model would be hardly set to leave the scene quietly.

With 294kW and 480Nm, that 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbocharged engine is a forceful involver; a true celebration of the five-pot fury whose family line runs right back to those original Ur Quattro rally scene changers. The new RS is claimed to accomplish 0-100kmh in 3.7 seconds, which makes it half a second faster in that sprint than the (much more expensive) Porsche 718 Cayman GT4.

Potentially, then, knowing that the ‘final fling’ editions aren’t officially coming here might bolster the residual values of previous RS, which held a recommended retail of $149,500. That car became unavailable around mid-2019.