Really interesting just how capable these EVs are offroad, add a lidar to map out the depth of the ruts, height of rocks and distances from the car, and add the tramlines for the wheels into a head up display and you’d have no need for a spotter at all (perhaps add sonar for wading)
Oh yeah, taking EVs off-road is so much fun with instant torque and a near-silent driving experience. Adding those features would mean that literally anyone could off-road a car like this, even with no experience. That would be pretty cool and it would expand the current off-road community exponentially.
Lobo those exterior secuencies with the ‘70 space invaders kind of sound. 👽 Yes, I know, it’s only the AVAS, but it gives it a Coll soundtrack to those exterior takes. 👍
Oh yeah, that sound is pretty cool! As much as I like off-roading in complete silence with an EV, that sound is definitely a futuristic alternative to an “engine sound”.
it goes to Allroad because the ESP is deactivated in Offroad mode and ESP reactivates when the ignition is cycled same as any modern car so it goes back to Allroad.
Haha, they were in complete disbelief. They were seriously impressed that it actually made it to the top though, and I had a nice two-hour conversation with them.
@Red J Oh yeah, I bet they would’ve haha. I cut out a lot of the super stressful parts from the final video, but that last 200’ climb took almost ten minutes to do. I had to get in-and-out of the car so many times.
Haha, I’d imagine that most e-tron owners wouldn’t attempt anything like this, but at least I showed it was possible. The ride down was uneventful, and it was nice to get some regen braking while descending the mountain.
@@gregrivera9079 This is just a regular Sportback, not the S, so it has the same exact drivetrain as the 2019 e-tron (besides slightly more usable battery capacity). With that in mind, it would perform exactly the same as a 2019 model. I’m curious how the tri-motor S version would do; I’m assuming it would do better because it has more torque and better torque vectoring with two motors in the rear.
Great video, I like your style! With all these car reviewers screaming “whuds up RU-vid” in every video and trying and failing to be funny, watching your video was calming and informative! Oh and I’m buying an E-tron :D
Thanks! That’s the style I was going for. I can’t stand it when people are needlessly loud and unnatural in videos. And congrats on your upcoming purchase!
Brilliant video, brilliant driving, I was feeling tense watching that. What an amazing vehicle. A top quality German SUV that can cruise on motorways/highways and can do some serious off roading all in executive comfort, what a machine. Keep the videos coming brilliant!
Glad you enjoyed it! And I completely agree, the car was able to do all the same trails as those purpose-built off-road vehicles, but can also cruise comfortably on the highway for hours on end. Really great all-rounder.
Brandon, Really nice job filming and editing. I agree that the eTron really impressed me. I have a Taycan so not planning any off-road adventures except for the beach. I have done 10 miles on Pismo beach. But love your adventures.
Haha, thanks! I agree that it feels pretty low regardless of the drive mode, especially compared to some other SUVs and trucks. And congrats on the purchase!
Yeah, super impressed with how it performed despite the larger wheels. I definitely slid around a decent amount since I didn’t air down, but it worked out in the end. Glad you enjoyed it!
Good Video, surprised that it made it to the top without any issues! Audi’s are surprisingly strong vehicles, and this is from a previous 15 year Jeep owner that now drives an Audi sedan. Yep, in a few years when I pickup my etron I’ll be out too, just with more aggressive tires on it!!! Once you go to an Audi from years in a Jeep, good lord, there ain’t no going back!!!
Oh yeah, I bet the quality and driving experience are far superior to the Jeep as well. Ideally having both would be nice, but as an all-round vehicle the e-tron is hard to beat.
Frankly, not sure I would have thought to take an etron off road (other than maybe a little firetrail to go to a lake, but a "smooth" type of dirt road, not what you took it in. What type of shielding does it have though? and is there any lag on the cameras? I want to get an etron, but I currently have a hybrid wrangler, and would be sad to loose the off road capability, so I thought getting a rivian, but it would be into 2023 or 24 to get one? Too long. Again, I thought the tron was a road car and would not have thought to off road with it. also, I LOVE the look of the sportback etron with the black optics pack!
Yeah, I bet this isn’t the average use case for an e-tron haha. There are a bunch of plastic pieces under the front bumper which are easy to break, but the battery pack acts as a giant skid plate since it’s well-protected underneath. There’s no lag on the cameras and they’re very high-quality. The Hybrid Wrangler is definitely far better off-road than this car except for where range is concerned. I didn’t realize Rivian’s wait time was that long! I’ve seen a few in my area but not as many as I’d expect considering how many orders there are. And yeah, the Black Optic package makes the car look stunning.
Brandon, greetings from Costa Rica. This is my first time in your channel, as I was looking for off-road capabilities for the e-Tron, as we ordered one recently. In the past, I drove through similar routes as shown in the video with a Nissan Rogue 2014, and I'd like to be at least able to do the same with the e-Tron. Now I know it is perfectly feasible to drive them. Thanks for the great video
Thanks for watching! And congrats on the e-tron order! I’d definitely say that the e-tron could tackle all the same trails you did in your Rogue, plus probably more since it has significantly more torque and doesn’t have a CVT, as those aren’t that great while driving off-road. Definitely let me know how it goes.
So the e tron is most of the time rwd and the front axle engages as soon it senses front wheel slip? And the sensitivity of that is more pronouced in allroad mode?
Yeah, my understanding is that when starting from a stop, it’ll almost always be AWD, but once you get up to maybe 15 mph, it’ll slowly switch to RWD. I think it depends on how much power is requested though. And yeah, the sensitivity is definitely more pronounced in allroad/offroad mode (I can hear when the front motor is engaged or not, and it’s definitely more active in allroad). It’ll also blend in the front motor a bit more (regardless of speed) when going around sharper turns.
The reason why you’d want smaller rims while off-roading is mainly because the tires can be higher profile for a given rim diameter, so you’d have more sidewall to work with and a lower risk of puncturing a tire on a rock.
Thanks for doing this! I have been wondering how my E-Tron would perform off road or in snow... now I know! I'd say a lot of it was good driving though. Nice job! I'd love to know what your consumption was for the round trip...just simple state of charge at the bottom, at the top, and at the bottom again. Was that recorded?
Thanks! Good driving skills are definitely important to avoid damaging the car, but the cameras helped out quite a bit as well. As far as efficiency goes, I averaged around 1.2 mi/kWh over around 20 miles; starting with 59% SoC and ending with 37% SoC. I made the entire 160-mile trip from my house to the off-road park and back without charging, which is pretty impressive.
@@nan11nan Wow, that's fantastic, and congrats on the purchase! I've also been amazed by the impressive deals out there with used e-trons lately - depreciation has finally taken its toll. Neat that you got the standard range car, they don't have that variant in the US. Hope you enjoy it!