Is This Electric Audi A Land Rover Killer?
This would be the ideal off-roader for David atra David talk to Audi they got you covered man this thing’s Wicked here’s a question for you have you ever wanted a car that can go anywhere do anything conquer any terrain that’s also fully electric nah me neither to be honest but for those
Eco-conscious types out there that do want exactly that Audi might have just the thing and here it is this is the Audi Q8 rron Edition dea it’s based on the standard Q8 rron Road car but inspired by the RS qron concept that competed in the dear rally this one
Won’t be used for competition but it will be offered to customers who won go anywhere off-roading performance in electric form and will come to Market in 2024 costing €120,000 sounds like quite a lot doesn’t it so what exactly do you get for your money well let’s go through the list shall we
You get a slightly raised suspension you get some allterrain tires you get a roof rack with a bag and a wheel on top and that’s about it right thanks for watching don’t forget to like subscribe hit the Bell icon I’m going for a swim okay fine sometimes less is more
And the devil is always in the detail the suspension is raised giving 65 mm more ground clearance as well as improved approach and departure angles of 21 and 28° respectively The General Grabber 83 allterrain tires are designed to provide incredible traction even in demanding environments while still remaining comfortable on the road the
Front grill is body colored rather than contrasted as they are on the standard car the wheel arches are around 5 mm wider for a more aggressive look there are durable rubber mats inside as well as in the boot off-roading graphics on the entertainment system the stickers on
This limited edition car 199 will be created and meticulously applied at Great expense hence why it’ll cost you £10,000 more it includes a roof rack with a bag and spare wheel although 40 kg of extra stuff can be added to complete the look to your personal Taste and speaking of personal tastes I actually really like the way this car looks but it is begging for a few more upgrades particularly on the roof rack it’s crying out for some LED lights to Dazzle other Road users it would have really been cool if it had some bits
Like a traction board or an axe half a camel maybe just bits to help it stand out but honestly the things that really matter in an off-roader are suspension and tires and this thing has some pretty good stuff right here so what better way to test those components
By off-roading here in the middle of Oman what’s great about this place other than it being absolutely stunning is the variety of terrain on offer so you got mount mountains you got beaches you got big old rocks jumps a lot of things that on the surface you think would break an
Ordinary QA e Tron but so far this thing’s coping we’ve got a few interesting Drive modes on the Audi Drive select system we’ve got Auto Comfort Allroad which is for light off-roading and then we’ve got a fullon off-road mode which is what I’m in right now and that is
Pretty damn necessary looking at this terrain normally when you go off-roading you got a big old thirsty diesel or in some cases a V8 that is making a right racket as you pound along some very rough terrain but because this is all electric the power Trin doesn’t really
Make any noise sure you can hear the Rocks flicking up underneath the car you can hear the suspension occasionally this is one of the most subdued and and thereare I say refined off-roading W bit sideways there sessions that I’ve ever Had right we’ve got ourselves a bit of a water hazard never know how fast to go through water fast slow iing out somewhere in the middle that was all right fair play this is a bad idea now it’s a great idea this is the most fun I’ve had in
Electric car in a long time you know people often try to sell us this idea that electric cars aren’t as fun as petrol cars particularly in terms of like performance on the road or on a racetrack and I can understand that to a certain extent because they don’t
Make the same noise and give you that same emotional connection but out here when you’re off-roading I don’t think the lack of an internal combustion engine really makes that big a difference in fact I might go as far as saying that not having an ice motor oh look there’s a
Camel is actually contributing to my enjoyment Offroad because you don’t get the noise you don’t need the noise but you get the talk and the responsiveness and you don’t disturb the nature around you that’s another big Point these guys if I had an engine they’d be running off
But here they are just relaxing watching the eachon all right buddy that’s mad one of Audi’s big intentions with the addition dear was to create a car that connects with Buyers on an emotional level adding life to an eachon range that might be seen as functional rather than fun with this they’re moving
In the right direction and although most of its buyers won’t be off-roading in Oman the addition Dakar might make sense to those who enjoy green laning own farmland or simply those who want to stand out but that’s not to say it isn’t very capable when the going gets really tough
Well this is fun we now find ourselves in a little bit of a Gorge going downhill I’m going to try the hill descent control I expected it to work off the electric motors to slow the car down but it’s actually using the ABS like a normal off-roader to actually slow the
Car down to allow you to descend really smoothly this is annoying though this car comes as standard with prop mirrors but this particular one has got the annoying cameras on the side so I can’t quite see properly what’s going down I’ve got a massive rock down there on my left hand
Side and I can’t really see it cuz of these bloody cameras but all right we’re going to do our best the Ron’s not fuss though is it at all it’s just doing its thing and the other thing that’s impressive are these tires once again because you look around
And you’re surrounded by all these sharp rocks I’ve got so much angle here and the tires are just holding up really well there’s also an inclinometer on the screen which shows you what angle you’re at left and right up and down don’t need that though do you I can
Actually feel that I’m properly leaning over in places but this is really cool you would not bring a normal car down here and yet I’ve got no problem whatsoever annoying though that I don’t have proper mirrors if you’re going to get one of these cars get it with the
Proper mirrors especially if you’re going to go off-road and because these cameras and next to useless as for the subject of range the Q8 rron Edition Daka uses the same battery as the standard car but because of its higher ride height which admittedly reduces by up to 17 mm at
Motorway speed inferior aerodynamics and all terrain tires range drops by around 50 mi from around 330 M to 200 79 the tires alone are responsible for a 50 km drop although standard summer tires are also available but that’s not exactly in the spirit of the car is it especially
Given how much fun you can have throwing it around with the altering rubber oh it’s pretty quick and it goes sideways that is a very pleasant surprise it’s quite playful isn’t it do you know what the standard rron is not the most fun car in the world but out
Here that’s brilliant with a loose surface and the traction control slackened off this is actually a hoot you know what I want to measure the speed let me pull in real quick and uh we’ll do a NAU to 60 test F on brake F on accelerator send it
Bit of wheel spin but we’re moving and quite quickly as well that’s 100 kph it is quite nippy I’ll give it that Audi’s not to 62 mph time on tarmac is 5.9 seconds with boost mode and 6.8 without even on dirt I still managed a very impressive na 62 in
6.8 you’re not supposed to have this much fun in an electric family wagon look at that four wheel drift out the corner get in this goes to show you don’t need a ton of power to have a good time out here on a loose surface but the torque is coming in very
Handy I’ve got 664 new M and that is enough to get me rolling not literally I hope so as well as the off-road and all Road modes this car has a dynamic mode which obviously slackens off that traction control a little bit and delivers maximum application of torque and that’s where it gets
A lot of fun to drive especially out here where you can carry quite a decent amount of speed through these Corners straight or [Applause] sideways I didn’t hold back during my testing and this car proved itself to be shockingly capable on this terrain more importantly it’s also a lot of fun which
Is the first time I’ve said that about any of Audi’s electric SUV offerings the very concept of off-roading in an electric car is also an intriguing one the refinement is a welcome change and the fact you can get up close and personal with nature in a slightly less obnoxious way is
Refreshing it’s still an incredibly Niche offering and A New Concept for Audi but the Q8 rron Edition backup is good old-fashioned Fun H
What happens when Audi re-imagines a Q8 E-Tron as a Mad Max-inspired, go-anywhere off-roader? You get the Q8 E-Tron Edition Dakar, which Rory tested to its limits in Oman.
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