I had an incredible week driving the Audi E-Tron Quattro. My relationship with the Audi e-Tron goes back to its launch in San Francisco. I actually had a chance to meet the former Volkswagen. Group CEO Scott Keough. At the Audi e-Tron launch, it was the first of its kind electrified vehicle by a major brand manufacturer for the luxury market.
It posed a competitor to Tesla on a serious level. I also had a chance to see the Audi GT, which I would love to be able to get a chance to drive. I met a lot of people on the team. And I saw what this vision was. It took me four years to actually get behind the wheel. This is a driving marvel.
Before seeing the launch of the Audi E-Tron Quattro, I had gone to Ingolstadt to see the Audi Museum. I got a look at the heritage and a look at the design heritage. That Audi Museum visit is now an interactive experience in our Metaverse. We train people for the STEAM skills of the future.
They are empowered to be future designers and developers of vehicles like this. Here’s a demo of that video. I digress this has been an exceptional experience. The driving range according to the EPA is 222 miles. I’ve been able to get charges to a range of 225.
I even got a charge all the way up to 240 miles. I made several trips around the Washington DC metropolitan area.
I wanted to be able to experience putting myself behind the wheel as a customer. My thoughts were to explore how convenient it would be to own the Audi E-Tron. There are several places to charge. It is capable of fast charging with the CCS plug or charging on level two.
You have chargers on both sides of the vehicle. The fast charges are on the driver’s side and the level 2 charger is on the passenger side. I was able to charge at Electrify America. I was able to charge it EVgo. I was able to charge at the shell and recharge in Howard county in Maryland.
That was actually interesting. I went to the Howard County Library and they had several shell charging stations there. Those charges are level two and are the most economical.
I was able to charge a lot in Howard County. It has a lot of great infrastructure. They have a lot of free charging at their parks. So going to Howard County Park was great. I was able to charge and walk the pathways. They had a lot of kid’s parks and it was cool to see the joy. We work a lot with children and I was so inspired seeing parents and their kids. Seeing kids playing baseball.
I saw some young girls throwing footballs. It delighted my heart. I then would come back to do some journaling and meditating in the great cabin of the Audi e-Tron. Audi’s ergonomics are always spectacular. Fit and finish are as expected. I just love that e-Tron icon in the dash. The seats are great. You have wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration.
You have a lot of power. The model I drove has a 95-kilowatt battery. It comes standard with 20-inch wheels. You get the Audi power tailgate, you get the Audi Connect plus. You have a panoramic roof and LED lighting. The design. I’m considering getting the e-Tron for myself. I saw the commercial for the Audi Q4 Etron. My birthday is in November and I’m considering that for 2023.
Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to get behind the wheel. My drives also took me all the way west on the I-70 I-495 around the interloop. I drove throughout the city of DC looking at charging infrastructure. I drove all the way west to West Virginia. I was able to charge in Hagerstown Maryland where they also have fast charging capabilities.
I was also able to go to Annapolis Maryland. I was able to walk by the water. It was so calming. Using the Bang and Olufsen sound system I listened to the music I made with the music department at Carnegie Mellon. My song Stop the Bullying is also used in a DEI curriculum. We are able to do the training in our metaverse. Audi has really done an exceptional job with electrification.
They have performance. They have style. I’m looking forward to driving more electrified vehicles. The base price and the Audi e-Tron. Quattro is $65,900. The model I drove had several options that brought the delivered price to $86,505. For more information visit www.Audi.com