China Gets the Electric Fire-Breathing Wagon We Can Only Dream Of
Image Credit: AUDI AG.
Seems Audi has decided the rest of the world isn't quite sophisticated enough for their latest electric brainwave. Nope, this one's just for China. Audi teamed up with local chaps called SAIC and cooked up a whole new brand – wait for it – called AUDI. Yes, all caps. Because subtlety is for losers, apparently.
This new car isn't just a case of slapping a new badge on an old sausage. Oh no. The AUDI E5 Sportback is their firstborn. A five-door wagon, no less. Or a shooting break, as they used to be called back in the day. Because when you think "cutting-edge electric vehicle," your mind immediately leaps to "estate car," doesn't it? It's roughly the same size as the Audi A6 Avant, so about 192 inches long, a smidge over 77 inches wide, and just shy of 58 inches tall. So far, so… predictable.
Image Credit: AUDI AG.
But this is where predictable ends and slightly bonkers begins. They're banging on about this being the "best of both worlds" – German engineering prowess mashed together with the "digital ecosystem and innovation" of China. Which, if I'm reading between the lines correctly, means a shedload of screens and apps that the rest of us haven't even dreamt of yet.
The centerpiece of this digital fandango is the "AUDI OS," powered by a fancy Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. And the screen? A positively gargantuan 27-inch 4K whopper that stretches almost across the entire dashboard. I mean, you could probably watch a football match on the thing while you're supposedly driving. Though with the level of autonomous tech they're boasting about, maybe you're supposed to.
Speaking of which, this E5 Sportback is bristling with LiDAR sensors, all specifically trained to deal with the unique joys of Chinese roads. Apparently, it can even spot tricycles and those delivery blokes on their scooters. Which is nice, I suppose. Our cars mostly just struggle with potholes the size of small countries. They've even got a parking assistant that can memorize routes through multi-story car parks and park itself. Now that is rather clever, especially if you've ever tried navigating one of those concrete mazes after a long day.
Audi, sorry - AUDI - tells me this electric wagon will come in four flavors, ranging from a perfectly adequate 295 horsepower in the rear-wheel-drive base model, all the way up to a frankly ludicrous 776 horsepower in the all-wheel-drive top dog. Just in case you didn't know that already - that's supercar territory.
Image Credit: AUDI AG.
And the acceleration? The top-spec E5 will slingshot you to 62 miles per hour in a blink-and-you-miss-it 3.4 seconds. That's quicker than you can say, "Where did my license go?" It's packing an 800-volt charging system too, which means you can claw back around 230 miles of range in just ten minutes. That's almost as fast as I can make a cup of tea. Almost.
The biggest battery on offer is a hefty 100 kWh, which should give you a theoretical range of around 478 miles. Of course, that's on the Chinese test cycle, which is probably about as realistic as a politician's promise. Still, it sounds promising. And it rides on air suspension, because of course it does. You can even spec it with all-wheel steering, which should make parking that barge of a wagon a tad less terrifying.
The AUDI E5 Sportback - a technological tour-de-force wrapped in a surprisingly sensible wagon body, destined for the teeming streets of China. Will it be any good? I bet it will. Will we ever get to experience its 27-inch screen and tricycle-detecting prowess? Not a chance. A small part of me is a little bit miffed. I mean, 776 horsepower in a wagon? That's just showing off.
