Bringing sporty back
WORDS Anna Scaife PHOTOS Dave Richards
Kiwi fashion designer and Audi Ambassador Juliette Hogan took the fully electric e-tron Sportback for a spin, and Avenues went along for the ride.
Sharp and superbly functional, the Audi e-tron Sportback combines the space and comfort of an SUV with mouth-watering design features, pairing the cutting-edge technology and classic design aesthetic we expect from Audi.
Fashion designer and Audi ambassador, Juliette says the e-tron Sportback works perfectly for her busy family life. “It’s a beautiful car to drive. It’s incredibly trustworthy, and I feel safe and comfortable driving it. I absolutely love it.”
The e-tron Sportback is full-time electric with a top distance of up to 452km. The average New Zealander drives around 40 kilometres per day – no sweat! And the drive to your holiday destination is all in a day’s work for this vehicle. Juliette says she likes to stay organised, so for longer trips, she checks the EV charging app before leaving home.
Exceptionally stylish and fun to drive, the vehicle’s interior features high-comfort features teamed with the classically proportioned Audi design, and it’s just as beautiful as you’d expect. Whether it’s pumping up your road trip playlist or the essential audio storybook for the backseat brigade, the Audi multi-media interface (MMI) has you covered, plus you can customise the interior lighting scheme to match the mood.
Traditional dials are replaced by the Audi Virtual Cockpit screen giving the driver ultimate control over what information they want to see. Simply choose from the expanded range of stats and set it up just the way you like it.
How does it perform? Great question. The e-tron Sportback boasts a powerful all-electric drive system with an electric motor in both the front and rear axles with a total output of up to 300 kW. The car will achieve 0 to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds, with a top speed electronically limited to 200 km/h.
So, the e-tron Sportback is bringing sporty back, but how does it stack up for everyday use for the Kiwi family? In fact, the functionality is more like that of an SUV, with boot space of 655 litres, expanding to 1655 with the rear seats folded back. Juliette says, “The interior has a huge amount of space, which means we are able to fit all the paraphernalia that comes with having a family, and that includes road trips.”
The extensive range of safety features on the e-tron Sportback includes optional virtual mirrors. These cameras feed visuals of the surroundings back to the dashboard display, so you’ll always know what obstacles are around the vehicle. Juliette says, “The car always knows what’s going on around you. It’s very reassuring.”
The verdict? The e-tron Sportback represents compromise-free all-electric driving at its best.