AUDI E-TRON HIRE

This understated electric vehicle quietly gets the job done for families craving freedom on the open road.

Audi is making a significant push into electric mobility and autonomous driving, to the tune of €14 billion. The appeal of this Audi is that it looks like any regular Audi. Yet, the electric powertrain of the e-tron, sporting a motor on each axle, is where any similarities with sibling Q7 ends.

Peerlessly practical, this e-tron 55 offers 252 miles of range, with 402bhp - Audi E-Tron 300kW 55 Quattro 95kWh 5dr Auto

The pleasure of driving is not lost

As with other electric models, the headache of gear switching goes away, but that doesn’t mean the pleasure of driving is lost. 

Off-road, Efficient and Dynamic enables car enthusiasts to play around with the throttle response and suspension. Flappy paddles behind the wheel may seem strange to those familiar with sporty manual gear changes. In this instance, they actually enable the driver to control the regenerative braking response.

In Auto mode, this clever Audi e-tron can also ‘see’ the road ahead, so if you want, it can assist with braking on the approach to roundabouts, or as cars in front concertina. The handling of the e-tron is well refined, with a low centre of gravity, gripping the road and switching direction with more agility than you’d expect for a vehicle weighing almost 2,500kg.

Safe but not boring

Top speeds push 120mph to mitigate any significant loss in range and the acceleration, as with many electric vehicles, is punchy—though not as punchy as some other models we have available , the Audi e-tron is particularly family-friendly. Quiet and refined, tech-heads will adore Audi’s Virtual Cockpit. 

The fancy 360 degree camera assists with parking and the e-tron was the first car to feature side cameras where you’d normally find wing mirrors, which notably reduce wind noise. Then there’s the two centre console screens, fashioned with intuitive and easy-to-use menu nesting.