Audi e-tron SUV Comes with New Quattro for 79,900 Euros

This is not the first time Audi has used the e-tron name to introduce an emissions-free oriented car. Time and time again, the German brand tried and failed to make a lasting mark with such a line of cars.

Audi has higher hopes for the e-tron SUV, despite giving it the same ill-fated name. The model is but the first of what is envisioned to be a lineup of a dozen electrified vehicles to be launched by 2025.

To kick it all into gear, Audi will begin selling the first e-tron by the end of this year. In Europe, it will be asking a hefty 79,900 Euros. What it offers? Let’s see.

A 95 kW battery mounted low and in a central position. Two electric motors that develop 355 hp and 561 Nm (413.8 lb-ft) of torque. A new generation of the quattro drive system. And integrated toll payment.

Performance wise, at least according to the initial figures released by Audi, the e-tron SUV is somewhat below competitors Tesla Model X and Jaguar I-Pace.

The total range of the e-tron is 248 miles (400 km). By comparison, Tesla’s SUV can keep going for 295 miles (474 km), while the Jaguar for 298 miles (480 km).

The Germans hope the recuperation system used on the e-tron might be good enough to sway more costumers its way. Audi says it is the world’s first carmaker to use in a production vehicle motors and the electrohydraulic brake control system to regenerate energy.

At Pikes Peak, the SUV went downhill for 31 kilometers (19 miles), and fed “so much energy back to the battery that it can cover approximately the same distance again.”

The e-tron SUV is already under production at the facility the brand operates in Brussels, Belgium. As said, deliveries are expected to begin in late 2018.