Audi has been ramping up their production of electric vehicles in recent years. The Audi e-tron is proving to be a phenomenally popular car in the EV world and for good reason. More and more variations of the e-tron are coming in the next year or so, so here we will tell you why now is a great time to consider an Audi e-tron rental from EVision.
A Bit About the Audi E-Tron History
Audi has been playing around with the plug-in concept for longer than many people would believe. In 2009 the German manufacturer started to produce the plug-in hybrid selection of cars as the first step towards electrification. This makes perfect sense. Those were the very early days of the electric vehicle, with only Tesla being the mainstream electric car producer. Going for a hybrid first would allow the manufacturers to play around with the technology and see what actually worked.
The first fully electric Audi e-tron was unveiled as a concept car back in 2015 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The first viewing of this car garnered quite a lot of interest, not least because it was one of the very first electric vehicles that many people would have seen in person.
Production of the Audi e-tron took a little longer to happen though. Slated for production in 2018, it wasn’t until 2019 that delivery of the very first vehicle was made. The wait, though, had been worth it. The Audi e-tron (recently re-named the Audi e-tron Q8) was a roaring success with EV enthusiasts the world over. In fact, the e-tron became the biggest selling car or truck of 2019 in Norway. That is a country that knows their electric vehicles.
Fast Forward a Bit
After Jaguar, Audi became the first of the major luxury legacy car manufacturers to enter the electric car market. The Audi e-tron 55 Quattro proved to be a big hit at EVision. This vehicle is a large SUV that was solidly built and screamed its class from one end to the other. The Audi e-tron showed just why legacy car makers are so good at what they do.
Not only is the original Audi e-tron a solidly built vehicle, winning the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Award for safety in 2019 by the way, it also has an excellent performance that still holds up really well today. The range of 249 miles is just superb and still leads many other well known models. A top speed of 124mph and a 0-60mph time of just 5.7 seconds is still more than enough for car enthusiasts to sit up and take notice. This is a serious car with some serious power.
The name, however, has had people slightly confused. Is e-tron the name of the car or the name of the Audi electric car series? Both? OK. This is a principle reason why the original Audi e-tron has been rebranded as the Q8. It is not, as I first thought, a brand new model that has sneaked out without anyone knowing about it. I am happy with this. It makes sense and clears up any nomenclature confusion.
Even Further Forward
Since the first unveiling, Audi has released several vehicles under the e-tron banner, such as the Sportback, the GT and the RS GT. The one I really want to look at further is the Audi e-tron Q4. This is the second flavour of e-tron that we have available to hire at EVision, so it makes sense to talk about it in more depth..
The Sportback version found at EVision is such an impressive looking car. Again, as an Audi, this is a beautiful and solidly built machine. The curved lines are sublimely designed and make this a joy to behold.
The performance, again, is more than a match for other premium brands. A WLTP range of 290 miles is quoted (real world is around 208 miles). There is a tope speed of 116mph and the 0-60mph time is just 6.2 seconds.
Both of these are fantastic vehicles. Audi is going to continue bringing even more amazing electric cars out in the future too. It is definitely time for an Audi e-tron rental.
