2023 Audi E-Tron | Run From Gen 1?

"soulless luxury box"? Fing harsh and really uncalled for. Audi is offering a real lux car with the etron, not some dressed up ipad. Range, likely mostly a function of weight followed by aerodynamic drag. Of course, temp and driving habits, too.

There's only one way to look at an EVs range: "is it adequate to my needs?" Otherwise you're just hauling around dead weight.

I think most people drive less than 15k miles a year. So, thats 289 miles per week or 42 miles a day.

I just bought a used 2019 Prestige for $31k after I had a car totalled in an accident and wasnt prepared to spend in the car market. I love this car and they are a great purchase rn. Same interior and body as the 2023, but the grille is the difference and $30-40k less.

Yeah well now you can get 2021-2023 MY used for $40-50k. For $45k on a low mile prestige seems like a solid buy.

I drive 125 miles per day…. I have 2 3L TDIs that get almost 700 miles each. I commute with both so I have 1400 miles of range at my disposal (A6 & Touareg) an EV and daily charging does not work for me……

You’re still looking at it wrong, Level 2 charger you leave your house full charged all day. Charging infrastructure is stupid. DC charging is pointless for commuters. My wife commutes 120 miles per day in her BMW i3 and it full charges in a level 2 charger every night and she never leaves the house without a full tank.

If you don’t have a garage and a level 2 charger at home, don’t buy an EV, it makes no financial sense. DC charging is an economic boondoggle for the infrastructure

These are depreciating very well. The range is the major issue but could be partially mitigated with decent charging infrastructure.
EA appears to be limiting charging rate on many fast chargers and its not unusual to have road trip charging issues as a result. (maybe states mandating a cost per minute rather than kwh rate means EA will lower charge rates to optimize revenue).
At the time of this writing, the top spec Prestige model can be had from a dealer for about $40k with a bit of oem warranty left.
The premium plus base model is as low as $35k with high miles and a few grand more with 20-50k miles.
Note that the steep depreciation will likely continue, so 3 year ownership costs might still be high, even with fuel savings.
I drove a Prestige and a “base” model, the 21” rims on the Prestige have a firmer ride but better turn in. The base model had a very absorbent ride.
I can see grabbing one in the mid to low $30’s, they seem pretty reliable ( I know Audi <> Reliable) and it is a very nice place to sit and travel.
Electricity to run it ( free public chargers steps from my home ) is currently free for me, so $2600 per year savings vs. my 23mpg gas car 12,000 miles, premium fuel (roughly 525 gallons per year @ $4-5 per gallon)

Love the car and after 50k Miles, I would never buy one again. So many issues, my passenger door never works, why are electric doors are thing. Not to mention motor issues.

The range is a joke. Especially if it’s cold. And forget it without the supercharger network.

Glad isolate 3400HPs evs 37uie being glassy cooling charg epect

I'm in my second EV Chevy Bolt. My battery is limited to 80% due to a recall, waiting a new battery. My commute is 156 miles round trip. I'm struggling this winter with this car. Some extreme cold weather days I need some charge to make it home. This year with the proliferation of EVs the charger network is jammed packed.

That being said. I prefer the driving experience of an EV. Especially compared to modern drivetrains with 4cyl engines boosted to the limits and transmissions that are whiny.

That being said, being an early adopter of EVs, the technology is rapidly changing so quickly. I would lease what is affordable, as the tech is changing so fast. Solid state batteries roll be here soon, along with H2 fuel cell electric vehicles. It's a great time to be alive if your a tech guy.

I'm also a big car and motorcycle person. I'm not a tree hugger, but love tech and see the revolution of technology coming.

Kinda strange to be reviewing a 4-year-old vehicle. We love our e-tron, but we don't drive long distances. That's what airplanes are for. The biggest selling points for the e-tron are it isn't a Tesla, doesn't have a cheap Tesla interior, doesn't have a rabid Tesla fan base, and we don't even know who the CEO of Audi is, which is preferable to being associated with Musk and his antics.

Soulless...that's pretty much any SUV in my book. They're all incredibly boring, and poor performers.

Yeah don’t listen to Californian EV pushers. They don’t live in the real world and are the same smug people that previously owner a Prius that was portrayed correctly by South Park.

Excellence in the software and UX, including execution and well-tested updates are (or should be) a differentiator in the EV world. Comfort / usability and audio system quality carry weight, as well. If you have charging at your home / apartment, live in a suburban / urban setting and work remotely, these days, an EV with a 220mile range is perfectly fine. Charging at your workplace will also make a difference.

If VAG / Audi has good trip planning (I don't know if Waze can be integrated into a vehicle's charging needs / planning), charging throughout the East Coast should not be an issue, when traveling.

Had this car for 3 months… went from Seattle to Portland and almost got stranded thanks to Electrify America… most of their chargers were down on our way to Oregon… Range is the biggest issue when it comes to this car.

I would like to hear you guys concerning tire use and wear. I am hearing whispers that the EV market is hiding the fact that tires for these vehicles will wear very fast, due to weight, and limited tire selection, also due to weight. Thanks for great videos

Thank you for making that statement about comments from Californians. I'm born and raised in Orange County, Ca and yes EVs are the future but the rest of the country doesn't have the infrastructure. Green pro EV drivers need to stop being so egocentric because the rest of the country is still gonna take a while to catch up

Lol I love hearing people talk down on evs and the future… in 10-20 years range and charging rate will exponentially increase. You understand how fast EV technology has increased in the past 5 years alone? Fucking clowns

I am a bit confused. You kept saying this car has been out for three years and tghis is your first time reviewing it. So did you show and drive the original version, or the 2023 (which I did not think was available yet as I have seen no other test drive videos)?

Well it wasn't called a pile even once, so I think that counts as an overwhelmingly positive review

What about their Q8 eTron version? Does it has high mileage?

E-Tron has been plagued with problems.

I live in Southern Cali and more specifically in LA county. I frequently travel from LA to OC county all the time. I can tell you the infrastructure here is still not up to par where it is “convenient” to travel more than 200 miles in a day and find a suitable charging station that is either not it already taken or broken.

An Etron? Haha I'll pass.

Is this the existing e-tron or the new Q8 e-tron with a larger battery pack?

They talk as if the combustion cars of Audi are so different from the combustion cars of BMW or Mercedes. Such BS. Most people buy cars for the brand, the looks and price. Not because of subtle differences in engine or suspension.

Don’t let them fool you California does not have any sort of charging infrastructure. If you live in an apartment you are screwed. Cause they have 1 charger for 400 residents. And if you have a Tesla you are waiting to use those chargers in the sketchiest places you’ve ever visited. If you get in EV you gotta plan every trip even to the grocery store cause that charger is taken !

The World's First EV was made in 1830s

California doesn't have a charging system, we cant keep all the lights on without charging thousands of xtra cars..

$80k to save $100 a month on gas? Not to mention a small mortgage payment for 84 months….. Is it worth it to you?

I am happy to live in a country with High Power Charger nearly every 50 miles, so an e-tron with all its comfort and luxury stand out against the socalled modern cars.

Welcome to NPC life.

99% of people's driving is under 50miles? Really?! what per day? So they want someone to spend $80k on a car that barely gets driven? lol

Itll be fascinating to see what happens when the politicians who force ev adoption to everyone actually have to clean their own mansions cause their low-income maids and cleaning crews cant charge their evs and even show up to work.

220 miles? In Europe the version with shortest range is 306 miles.

little bit outdated review.. new model already on sale. Maybe not in the US?

I do dig the exterior design. Thanks for the review.

non of the 1st owners of this car will drive over 100miles to work. Put more reasonably sized tires on this and it will do 250 all day

Excellent video as always. Mark was hilarious. The whole “we get it EV’s go fast 0-60 there has to be more than this” is dead on

Audi E-Tons is years ahead of Tesla vehicles!😊

Love how you did not edit-out the call near the end of drive

I would love to see you guys do a model s plaid

I’m 67, been an early adopter of many products over the years - except cars. Not only due to cars being a very high value item, but due to me being involved in the auto industry most of my working life.

I’m with Elon on this….. I’m also convinced that electric motors are a good motive force for cars, just not powered by the current or near future battery technology.

we got ours in 2019. fast charging on road trips between FL and GA was kind of a shot in the dark about whether or not a fast charger was going to work, but it has gotten a lot better. 2024's replacment (q8 etron) is supposed to have well over 300 miles. can only hope that whatever they're putting into that to improve the efficiency could be brought over to the original - there are already modders for old EVs like the first gen leaf, with upgraded battery packs. i assume that the q8 etron will be nearly as heavy, so there is probably a lot of inefficiency in the current motors/controllers.

you make a good point about these being overpriced and likely very outdated in 5 years, but i think unlike cell phones cars are generally far more modular, and a community will develop around enhancements and upgrades - if not only for the mechanical pieces, then both mechanical and software

Overall, a lot of fair criticism in this one. Few thoughts: people are hung up on the $82k fully loaded figure, but the $67k base price on these doesn't stand out from the competition quite so badly, and unlike some competitors, there's little or no markup on these since Audi has marketed them with the same level of enthusiasm Mark has brought to this video, really underlining the "compliance car" vibe. These remain a very solid niche option for consistent long-range commuter driving paired with home charging, but are hard to recommend outside of that niche.

I love my e-tron, but I have to say, even living in CA, the big downside to this is still the charging network. Electrify America continues to drop the ball with non-working chargers becoming the norm and slow charging speeds. I haven't seen the 150kW speed at an EA station after the first 2 months of owning the car. Now it is constantly charging at 50-60kW.

I have a Polestar 2, an absolutely amazing EV. Dual Motors, 476 HP (Performance Upgrade), 0 to 60 in 4.1 seconds and 240 mile range. I live in California where charging infrastructure is decent, so traveling across the state is no issue. But in hindsight I wish I had just bought the Model 3 Performance, as Tesla is built on a dedicated EV platform, and it's charging infrastructure is second to none. When I travel I have to use Electrify America's charging network, and it doesn't even come close to Tesla's. There was one time in a heavily travelled area between Northern and Southern Cal 3 out of 4 EA chargers were offline, right across was Tesla's charging area with 15 working Fast chargers. Until all the other automakers get their acts together and build on dedicated platforms and properly invest in Fast charging, just get a Tesla, which are amazing vehicles. IMHO of course

Thanks for reasoning me out of replacing my a-ok F15 X5 diesel with one of these