Audi e-tron Sportback: My First-ever Drive In An All-electric Car!

Being a car aficionado, if anyone ever asked me what are the top two cars that I want to take for a spin, the answer would be swift and pretty simple: a BMW 5 Series and the other an all-electric vehicle. From the title, it’s been established which way this one went ;) and I got to tick the second one off the list, here in the form of an Audi e-tron Sportback. 

There were two main reasons why I was over the moon. One, it was my first time driving an EV and two, it wasn’t any ordinary electric car, but an Audi. Can you believe it? My first time ever driving an electric car and the ride was in what should be among the best executions of EV technology.

My ride in the electric SUV-coupe started in the back seat. The drive to the shoot location from my office was about an hour long, which was on fairly straight patches of tarmac and a bunch of twisties. 

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This gave me the perfect opportunity to experience the comfort of this SUV and boy, does it deliver! There were four of us in the car on the way to the shoot and almost all (except for the driver) were dozing. That’s how cosseting the ride was almost throughout the trip, thanks to the e-tron’s comfortable suspension.

With up to 408 horses in reserve, the SUV-coupe prances from the get-go while allowing you to do absolutely anything you desire. It’s only when the first speed alert goes off that you realise how fast the electric SUV picks up pace once you put your foot down.

The best part are the supportive seats (finished in a tan upholstery) which keep you snuggled. They, of course, work in tandem with the soft suspension setup of the Audi EV. That is especially commendable when you factor in all the technical data of the e-tron Sportback: a dual-motor AWD setup, up to 664Nm of torque and a 95kWh battery pack.

Now to the interesting part- the range. Audi claims a WLTP-certified range of 484km. In our case, the e-tron Sportback first made a journey from Mumbai to Pune. Once the car was at our office on the day of our shoot, we had a 270km-odd range left. Even after driving for the entire day and putting it through its paces during shoots, the EV managed to end the day with around 150km still doable.

My joyride thankfully wasn’t limited just to the rear seats, as I even got to feel it from behind the wheel, even if for an hour or so. Even though it is a heavy car, it doesn’t feel challenging to manoeuvre around corners and even driving on broken patches of roads or high bumps feels like a breeze, thanks to its air suspension setup.

And then there is its design. There are three bits that I absolutely loved about the e-tron Sportback. Firstly, it will totally help you grab all the eyeballs on the road as it doesn’t look anything like other electric SUVs, thanks to its sloping roofline. Then, there are the orangish-yellow brake calipers, which surely add to the SUV’s side profile. And one of the most impressive features inside the cabin is the crisp and clear fully digital driver display.

Finally, after spending a day all around the Audi EV, I had to bid adieu to it upon reaching back to the office. Given it was my first close encounter with an electric car, I could only take happy memories home from my experience in both the front and back seat of the e-tron Sportback. With the EV space in India gathering more pace, this day’s experience has surely opened up my heart for more pleasant and thrilling rides.