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Can't afford to upgrade to Audi's fully-electric eTron quattro SUV? Well, don't despair - the German luxury giant is about to launch half-electric plug-in hybrid models of its much more affordable A6, A7, Q5 and A8 models. OK, maybe the A7 and A8 aren't exactly affordable, but still...
The four plug-in hybrids will make their debuts at next week's Geneva motor show, all wearing Audi's new TFSI-e badge, and all will come in either a standard 'comfort' form or a sportier S-Line model. The S-Line's won't just get a bodykit and sporty suspension - they'll also get a bigger boost from their electric motors for more aggressive performance.
All four will be able to go for more than 40km on just battery power, on the new, tougher, WLTP fuel economy cycle. There's a lithium-ion rechargeable battery mounted under the boot, with 14.2kWh of power when it's fully charged. Actually, the A6, A7, and A8 get a pouch-style battery, while the Q5 gets a different, prismatic, battery layout. There's no difference in the power on offer, though.
Each car gets a special regenerative braking system which can operate at up to 80kW and which will be able to brake the car at up to 0.4g without using the mechanical braking system, so you should be able to drive all of them using just the one pedal for much of the time.
The air conditioning system of each car also now includes a heat pump, which scavenges waste heat and which can transfer 3kW of heat into the cabin while draining just 1kW of power from the battery, which should help to preserve electric range on chilly days.
In the A8 TFSI-e, the electric motor is integrated into the eight-speed Steptronic automatic transmission, while for the other three models it's wired into the seven-speed S-Tronic DSG gearbox.
All four models come with a switchable driving mode that changes from 'EV' for pure electric running, 'Auto' for hybrid driving, and 'Hold' which runs the car off the petrol engine while saving or topping up battery power for later electric running. Each car starts up, by default, in EV mode.
They all get Audi's predictive economy system, which encourages you to back off and coast, using the sat-nav data to predict when you're coming up to junctions and roundabouts. In normal mode, the cars all coast when you lift off the accelerator, but in Sport mode, the electric motor remains engaged, which allows snapper response when it's time to speed up again, or gives you more power regeneration when coasting.
Both A6 and A7 models will come with sports suspension as standard, as well as a moody-looking 'Black' exterior package that does away with chrome trim.
Audi will optionally provide customers with a 7kW home charging setup, and in some markets, you'll be able to choose from the Volkswagen Naturstrom energy provision service, which guarantees that the cars are charged from renewable energy sources. Using the MyAudi smartphone app, customers will be able to view and manage the car's charging status remotely, as well as pre-heat or pre-cool the cabin while plugged in.