4 months ago
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Driving the Q6 e-tron
Let's commencement disconnected with the numbers due to the fact that they are genuinely impressive. At the bosom of the Q6 e-tron are the marque caller electrical motors and a recently developed lithium-ion artillery with a capableness of 100 kWh. This all-new setup produces a whopping 382 BHP.
The Q6 has a maximum velocity of 210 km/h and a 0-100 km/h acceleration clip of 5.9 seconds (just a hint slower than the Q8 e-tron?s 5.7 seconds). The car's WLTP scope is 625 km. Where the Q6 is f-a-s-t, the SQ6 volition beryllium blistering. The maximum motor powerfulness of the SQ6 is rated astatine 509 BHP. Its apical velocity is 230 km/h and the 0?100 km/h (with motorboat control) is claimed to beryllium 4.3 seconds (that?s M340i territory for equivalent reference)! All this, of course, is astatine the outgo of the range, which is inactive an astonishing 598 km (WLTP). This is simply a due show car with an existent usable scope to boot. At the different extremity of the spectrum, determination is besides a ?performance? longer scope variant which volition nutrient 322 BHP and widen the car?s scope to 641 km.
Our thrust was organised implicit a fewer hours dispersed crossed 2 days successful the portion astir Bilbao and San Sebastian. The way offered a premix of creaseless highways arsenic good arsenic immoderate twisty upland roads, allowing america to acquisition the car successful antithetic kinds of roadworthy conditions, albeit each of it connected precise bully prime roads. Since the car was shared betwixt 2 teams with clip besides spent connected tract for photos and method presentations, thrust clip per idiosyncratic totalled to a small implicit a mates of hours. Also, portion we drove the Q6 connected the archetypal day, owed to immoderate mix-up connected the 2nd day, the SQ6 that was expected to beryllium handed to america was inadvertently taken by different team. As a result, unfortunately, our first-hand driving impressions for this study are constricted to the Q6 variant only.
Step connected the A pedal and the car takes disconnected swiftly and smoothly, without the emblematic play associated with an ICE engine. It is highly smooth, precise accelerated (although it did not consciousness ?push backmost successful the seat? accelerated ? that?s thing I?m beauteous definite the SQ6 volition present successful spades) and dynamically sorted. The driving modes see off-road, efficiency, comfort, dynamic and balanced modes. The balanced mode successful peculiar is absorbing ? it learns and adapts to the user?s benignant of driving.
The regen works highly good and I toyed astir generously betwixt the 2 regen modes arsenic good arsenic azygous pedal driving. This takes immoderate getting utilized to if you're not acquainted with it, but it's casual to accommodate to reasonably quickly. I was astir comfy driving with level 2 regen which seemed to springiness maine the champion consciousness of driving with the regen braking benignant of driving. The tech astatine play is idiosyncratic affable and adjacent though extensive, ne'er overwhelming. The navigation, speed, etc. is casual to travel via the bluish arrows successful the head-up show and overall, the full cockpit acquisition is excellent.
Whack the throttle and this car is rewarding successful a emblematic electrical way. The car delivers its powerfulness successful a accelerated but predictable, creaseless and linear mode with seamless acceleration crossed the full velocity scope that we operated astatine connected accelerated highways. The car is amusive to thrust successful the twisties arsenic good but that acquisition is champion reserved for the adjacent section, wherever we sermon its dynamic prowess.
Overall, drivers volition find Q6 show precise sprightly but successful a mature blase way. For those looking astatine that league of show combined with German all-round sophistication, determination is the pricier SQ6 which gives the champion show arsenic good arsenic a respectable range.
Open the bonnet and you are greeted with a cleanable and clutter-free frunk design, acknowledgment to the placement of the artillery astatine the base:
64 litres of frunk storage:
Suspension
I bash not person a batch of acquisition driving Audis, truthful I was not definite what to expect from driving the Q6 from a ride, handling and steering perspective. In a nutshell, I was blown distant by its dynamic prowess.
The caller passive damping strategy FSD (Frequency Selective Damping) operates and adapts successful real-time to guarantee top-notch thrust comfortableness connected truly atrocious roads arsenic good arsenic managing car movement. The adaptive aerial suspension with its controlled damping connected the different manus suitably compensates for load via level control. The operation of the electronics and mechanical setup construe into an fantabulous equilibrium betwixt dynamic handling, show and thrust comfort. All this tech and hardware also, of course, makes for, I imagine, costly repairs oregon attraction successful the agelong term. I?d beryllium funny to recognize the associated outgo of ownership implicit respective years for these precocious tech setups.
All the trial cars were shod with 21" wheels arsenic good arsenic the optional electronically controlled sports aerial suspension which comes with a continuously adaptable adaptive damping system. The resultant thrust was plush with the lone caveat that we truly couldn?t trial it successful conditions that are person to the appalling roads that our state serves up successful spades. I expect the car to beryllium specced with the much applicable 19" oregon 20" wheels successful India fixed our roadworthy conditions.
I spent my just stock of clip successful the backmost spot arsenic good to get immoderate position for the chauffeur driven and it did not disappoint. At the backmost too, the thrust was highly comfortable. Despite being pushed hard from clip to time, the car delivers a truly plush thrust prime for each passengers, whether astatine the beforehand oregon astatine the back. While we did not thrust the SQ6, my knowing is that the full thrust and handling setup is somewhat tweaked for a somewhat sportier bias.
Coming to the steering ? it was perfectly connected point, neither excessively light, nor excessively dense and ever dormant accurate. Select dynamic mode and the car feels bully and taut with a crisp and close steering to constituent and sprout arsenic you please. There is nary vagueness successful centre whatsoever and adjacent successful comfortableness mode, the steering provides superb feedback.
As per Audi, the systems and components making up the chassis are mostly caller developments. It was explained to america that the beforehand axle excessively has a caller design, wherever for the archetypal clip the power arms are arranged successful beforehand of the suspension arms and successful the absorption of travel, for some amended dynamics and besides successful keeping with the presumption of the HV battery. This is claimed to present amended steering feedback arsenic good arsenic agility, with the steering rack being firmly bolted to the subframe. The rear tyres excessively are wider and combined with the cognition of the duplicate artillery setup, the car has a flimsy rear wheel-biased torque distribution.
The braking excessively is superb with the brakes providing fantabulous feedback and integrating seamlessly with the regen. Given the way progressive nationalist roads, I did not privation to hazard simulating immoderate urgent brake trial manoeuvres though.
Adaptive aerial suspension is an optional extra:
The ASM / PSM combo means it's the rear centrifugal which is ever moving successful this Quattro setup. The car has a bully rear instrumentality bias, dissimilar astir Audis:
Drive and Battery system
Audi explained the caller scalable electrical thrust strategy arsenic good arsenic the artillery architecture that are astatine the bosom of the Q6 and the SQ6.
Audi has made sizeable efforts to guarantee that these newer designed drives are much compact than existing designs, truthful requiring little installation space. These person besides been designed to beryllium astir 20% lighter and much efficient. The motors are built successful the company's drivetrain works successful Gyor, Hungary ? said to beryllium the largest powertrain works successful the world.
Audi has besides extracted overmuch superior power-to-weight show from the PPE electrical drives. The ASM thrust connected the beforehand axle lone comes into play erstwhile the operator seeks to extract maximum show ? astatine each different times, it is the compact PSM of the rear axle astatine play, giving the car the saccharine rear instrumentality torque bias that we spoke astir earlier. Audi is leveraging the scalable quality of this powertrain to motorboat the car successful 2 models with all-wheel thrust and 2 antithetic show levels - the Q6 and the SQ6. More models volition travel specified arsenic an entry-level rear-wheel thrust variant focussed connected longer scope and a Sportback mentation too.
Coming to the battery, the recently developed 100 kW precocious voltage artillery is assembled astatine Ingolstadt. The artillery comprises conscionable 12 modules, with 15 cells per module connected successful series. For reference, the Q8 e-tron artillery consists of 36 modules and 432 cells. Audi claims that this provides the champion equilibrium betwixt scope and charging performance. The artillery architecture excessively has accrued vigor density acknowledgment to its accrued nickel contented from the 8:1:1 ratio of nickel, cobalt and manganese. The artillery is lighter, requires little installation abstraction and tin beryllium amended integrated into the vehicle?s clang system. The artillery absorption controller (BMC) manages the existent regulation. The 800V artillery is divided into 2 partial batteries with fractional the nominal voltage each, which are charged successful parallel to let for faster charging.
The Audi Q6 e-tron Quattro charges with 11 kW alternating existent (AC). A 22 kW mentation is to travel astatine a aboriginal point. Maximum charging powerfulness of up to 270 kW for DC charging generates a recharged scope of up to 255 km successful astir 10 minutes; astir 21 minutes is capable to recharge the HV artillery from 10 to 80 percent during HPC charging. One hopes that we volition spot faster charging networks becoming much mainstream to marque the astir of these accelerated charging abilities.
800V architecture with 2x400 slope charging possible:
Uses an ASM (asynchronous motor) connected the beforehand axle and PSM (permanent-magnet synchronous motor) connected the rear axle:
Disclaimer: Audi invited Team-BHP for the Q8 e-tron trial drive. They covered each the question expenses for this driving event.
