Audi Q7 e-Tron Joins The Plug-In Party
Originally published on EV Obsession.
The Audi Q7 e-Tron, a plug-in hybrid electric car that can run on pure electricity or diesel fuel, made its début this last week at the Geneva Motor Show. It looks like a great car.
Audi has been slow to get into the electric vehicle market, but it’s now introducing a number of good-looking options (despite some boring advertising). The Audi Q7 e-Tron was introduced in December, but more information has arrived with its début in Geneva.
First, here’s a video:
Looks good. And the luxury quotient is certainly there. The Audi Q7 e-Tron’s reportedly includes “ultra-plush” heated seats (very useful during the long winters of Europe) than can massage you to sleep as you drive (not recommended that you actually go to sleep). The center display is large and can be controlled via voice. There’s also a rear-seat tablet for passengers (which strikes me as a bit obsessive, but maybe that’s just me).
How about performance, you ask?
“With a 17 kWh battery, the car is capable of going 34 miles on electric power alone. Overall, it is rated at 166 MPGe with just 50 grams of CO2 emitted per kilometer,” Chris DeMorro notes. (However, let’s remember that’s on the sketchy New European Driving Cycle.)
The technological wizardry baked into the Q7 e-Tron is amazing. Front and rear suspension components have been completely redesigned and weigh 130 lbs less than those found on previous Audi 4X4’s. The disc shaped electric motor is connected to an 8 speed Tiptronic transmission and can be uncoupled completely from the drivetrain.
An electronic management system controls a center differential and other components of the driveline to insure torque goes where it is needed most. It also decides when and how much to use either the electric motor or the 6 cylinder TDI engine to maximize economy, acceleration or regenerative braking. Driver selectable controls tell the computer what driving dynamics the driver prefers. Working together the engine and electric motor pump out enough torque (442 lb-ft) to get the car to 60 mph in under 6 seconds on the way to a top speed of 139 mph.
Not too shabby. I’m sure the price won’t be either.
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