A Closer Look at the Audi e-tron Route Planner and What it Has to Offer

Audi has been busy expanding its e-tron range that it first showcased in 2005, at the Frankfurt Motor Show in the form of the e-tron Quattro concept.

They have been producing their first electric SUV since 2018, with more models set to enter production soon, like the Q4 e-tron or e-tron GT.

The German carmaker has also been busy constantly developing and improving anything that can result in a better driving experience of its electric vehicles.

One such improvement tailored exclusively for fully electric models is the e-tron route planner, which comes as standard on all-electric Audi models.

It extends the navigation capabilities of the Audi MMI (Multi Media Interface) by adding possible charging stops to your route in case the set destination is longer than the estimated range.

The useful feature is part of the Audi connect services suite and can be used either from the car’s infotainment screen or from a smartphone, via the myAudi app, which gives you the possibility of comfortably planning the trip from home and sending the route to the car wirelessly.

The route planner calculates the fastest route, runs a live analysis of traffic and road data, includes your driving style into the equation, and integrates charging stops in the overall time of the route, depending on the type of charger that will be used and the duration of the actual charge.

Moreover, the system indicates the dynamic availability of charging stations, whether they are vacant or occupied, fast-charge capable or not, and will prioritize those stations that offer the quickest solution to continue your trip.

For example, one low capacity station is available near your location, but the system finds other two fast-charging points within the vehicle’s available range further along the route, and will suggest this alternative in order to save time.

Some electric Audi vehicles, like the e-tron Sportback 55 quattro, can charge their battery from 5 to 80% in about half an hour under ideal conditions, using a HPC (High Power Charging) station. So, you can rest, drink a coffee and wait for your car to send a push notification to your myAudi app informing you that charging is complete and that you can continue to drive.

This new software was initially integrated into the Modular Infotainment Matrix of the MIB 2+ generation and it is also available on the MIB 3 that was released earlier this year, with ten times more computing power. The route planner has been upgraded with a new algorithm that improves usability and does a much more accurate job of finding available charging stations.

It is available in all of Audi’s sales regions and in Europe, where it benefits from a well-established network of Audi’s own e-tron Charging Service that currently features about 180,000 public charging stations. The nice thing about this service is that you can use it with the same e-tron card in any of the 26 European countries where it is available.