Audi unveils the inside of its next EV, the Q4 E-Tron, which mainly serves modern SUV vibes and offers some new technologies in Audi’s vehicles.
At the heart of what Audi debuts on Tuesday is a new driver’s head-up screen, which offers a wider field of vision and more accurate and advanced animations. Some examples that Audi used are:
- the AR system that places a red line across a track marker to let a driver know when they are drifting too far to one side;
- an animation that follows the car forward when using adaptive cruise control;
- turn-by-turn navigation that places a bright blue arrow in the driver’s field of vision.
Audi says this new AR system picks up more than 1,000 “signals” from sensors across the Q4 E-Tron to find out exactly where to place these AR elements – and to keep them in place, even if you driving over a bumpy surface. – which is somewhat reassuring. This is one thing if there is a small head screen that shows relatively static information, such as the current speed of the car. Once the field of view is enlarged and you start messing with dynamic graphics, it becomes very important to make the elements look like they actually fit the real world, otherwise things can become distracting – or worse, disorienting. really fast.
Exactly how well Audi was able to pick it up, however, is unclear. The company has only shown a few simulated animations of the AR show in action. We will have to wait for the full unveiling of the Q4 E-Tron in April, and really until people start driving the SUV, to get an idea of what it really is like.
The Q4 E-Tron also features – as an option – the largest touchscreen Audi has ever placed in one of its vehicles, measuring 11.6 inches diagonally. The standard touchscreen is the most common size of 10.1 inches found in Audi’s recent cars, and behind the steering wheel there is also a 10.25-inch driver screen.
The Q4 E-Tron’s steering wheel is also new, and Audi has swapped physical buttons for touch-sensitive buttons. There is haptic feedback to simulate the feeling of the push of a button, and some of it can be swept to scroll through the lists on the driver screen. Despite all this, the cabin of the Q4 E-Tron is still decorated with physical buttons in a way that some EVs are not.
The German luxury carmaker has also unveiled a camouflaged version of the exterior of the Q4 E-Tron, which will be offered for a full unveiling in April, and revealed some other basic specifications about the SUV.
The Q4 E-Tron is the third in Audi’s new all-electric range of vehicles, but it is the first to be powered by the parent company Volkswagen’s modular “MEB” platform. The same platform is the basis of the VW ID series electric vehicles, as well as the upcoming Sportback version of the Q4 E-Tron SUV.
Audi said on Tuesday that the Q4 E-Tron will be 4,590 mm (15,1 feet) long, 1,865 mm (6,1 feet) wide and 1,613 mm (5,3 feet) long, which according to the company larger compact SUV segment instead. In a more practical sense, it is generally only slightly smaller than the original E-Tron and the Tesla Model Y and is very close to its cousin, the VW ID 4.
Although Audi has not released an estimate of the range since the Q4 E-Tron concept launched in 2019, the smaller size and use of the MEB platform will likely mean that the SUV will not be nearly as heavy than the original E-Tron, which did not weigh. about as much as a Tesla Model X. That could help the Q4 E-Tron beat its predecessor’s serviceable mileage range. (Audi originally promised that the Q4 E-Tron would get about 250 kilometers at full cost, although we will see later this year where the final estimate will end up.)
Despite its stature, Audi says the Q4 E-Tron has a wheelbase that is comparable to medium-sized SUVs and interior space that is more similar to a full-size SUV – which is achieved by moving much of the technology to the MEB platform . which makes up the floor of the SUV.
All this should ensure Audi for relative success with the Q4 E-Tron. It’s a more accessible size and is built on what increasingly looks like a solid Volkswagen platform, though the SUV will still have a lot of its own Audi style and technology. (This is good when we consider the problems that VW had with its own software in the ID 4 and the smaller ID 3 in Europe.) In 2020, Audi will sell approximately 47,000 electric cars with the E-Tron SUV and E-Tron Sportback, who reckons. for nearly 3 percent of the company’s total sales. The Q4 E-Tron will undoubtedly push the numbers higher, although in the next few years it will still be just one of a number of electric vehicles.