Audi e-tron owners will be able to access this charger free of cost till March 2024.

Audi has inaugurated what is said to be India’s first ultra-fast charging station in Mumbai. More importantly, it is completely powered by renewable energy.

The Audi ‘e-tron hub’ is located at MMRDA parking, G Block, Next to The Capital, Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). There are 5 charging bays and an integrated lounge with 24x7 access.

Developed in collaboration with ChargeZone, this ultra-fast charger has a total capacity of 450 kW to deliver 360 kW of power. It comes with a 500A liquid-cooled gun that is said to ensure high performance and efficiency.

The peripheral electrical requirements of the charging station, including lighting are met by a solar panel mounted on the roof.

Audi e-tron owners will be able to access this charger free of cost till March 2024. It will be open to all electric vehicles.

Once you're used to the silence, no vibrations and acceleration, there's no going back.

BHPian Pippoosh recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

So its been a year since we got "Mental" home - What else do you call something that can get a high voltage wire plugged into its forehead on both sides! and accelerates like crazy!

Just did the annual service with the odo at 7,200 at the Audi Mumbai South workshop. Usage is low because of a high WFH mode. Service was super efficient, no fuss and most importantly a zero rupee bill - as we had taken the 5 year comprehensive service package upfront. Funniest thing was at the end of the service the car does not really feel different like an ICE car would. Effectively it came back cleaner and nothing else noticeable!

At the end of 1 year, my thoughts:

Positives:

• EV - once you're used to the silence, no vibrations and acceleration, there's no going back!!
• Comfort - large space, can hold 6 people if need be. Rear seat is a great place to be in Mumbai traffic. You wont notice anything outside and can do as many calls / videocalls as you want.
• Practicality - Massive boot space, never had an issue anytime; Sun-shades on rear windows, air suspension to raise the car over the massive road humps.
• Tech and Gizmos - all the funky things one can think of.
• Audi support and service. Always happy to help with a smile!

Negatives:

• No wireless Android Auto.
• No ventilated seats (not really felt the need though!).
• Yet to get the dongle to connect the car to the App. Not a real deal-breaker.
• Public charging infra even in Mumbai sucks. Never been able to do it for one reason or the other
• This one is the funniest. Virat Kohli got one in the same color. Now some fans seem to think this one is his. Hopefully he changes his cars faster than we do.

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It's difficult to put the feeling in words but it's not every day that you look down at the speedometer & realise that you are going over 210 km/h.

BHPian animeshc recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

This is by all means a noob’s perspective of his first track day and should be read from that perspective. You may encounter the word ‘excitement’ in this post more than the number of times you would have heard Alia saying ‘Shiva’ in the movie Brahmastra.

Before proceeding, here is a small personalised teaser of the event shared by the Audi team.

Earlier this year when I was considering my Audi S5, the SA had mentioned about an annual event at BIC organised by Audi where a handful of folks from each state are nominated. Assuming it would be a standard sales pitch, I hadn’t paid much heed to it and almost forgot about it. Cut to Nov 2022, I was pleasantly surprised to see a message about whether I would be interested in attending this year’s event. Hell yeah! (I thought to myself that if I ever say no to such a thing, someone should probably shoot me as I would have lost the joys of life for sure).

The event was on the 18th of Nov and everyone in my circle from family to friends to office colleagues was made aware of it by yours truly (I can be over-enthusiastic at times, to put it mildly). I was all set, except that I didn’t receive any official communication from Audi and all my info was through WhatsApp messages relayed by my SA who kept reassuring me that everything will be taken care of. Till the time I boarded my flight, I didn’t have any official invite and for a moment it felt like one of those dinners where your date doesn’t show up (Not that it has ever happened to me, just heard of such things).

But from the time I landed, I was showered with the highest standards of hospitality. Trust me, working with Google makes one used to generous doses of pampering and it’s not easy to be awed but Audi had done a great job!

There was a dedicated driver waiting for the pick up from Airport who drove me to Crowne Plaza in Greater Noida, a five-star property where the organising team welcomed us with a lavish dinner. A dinner with other driving enthusiasts from different parts of the country was such a welcome change from the monotony of other corporate dinners. The Audi team also joined us and we talked at length about the future of electric cars in India, how Audi was themselves surprised at the relatively overwhelming demand for e-tron and how they are working with different powerhouses to set up charging stations along prominent highways. We were broken into groups of 10 and allotted slots for the next day. I happened to be part of the first group and was supposed to report by 8:30 am.

The excitement of the events to unfold meant I was up at 5 am the next day. At breakfast, I met the other members of my group and there was a palpable sense of thrill. Again to my pleasant surprise, each of us had been allotted a dedicated car which would take us to the event and provide an airport drop post that. Audi was going to great lengths to make us feel elite and sitting alone in the back seat of an Innova while going to the BIC, I was already smiling to myself eagerly waiting for the day to unfold.

After reaching and completing the registration formalities, we made our way to the waiting area which had snacks, some VR games, a photo booth etc to keep us busy while everyone assembled. We could view the track from there and see the cars getting lined up below.

I don’t remember a single person who didn’t gasp at this view from the gallery.

We were then given a quick briefing on what to expect. There were going to be two parts, a slalom course and then the drive on the race track. For the slalom course, we would have the e-tron SB at our disposal and for the track, 4 laps in an RS5 and 2 more in either an S5 or RSQ8.

That’s what I call a great morning buffet!

Some more pics

Can you feel the joy

Before starting, there was a photo session where we posed against the RS e-tron GT. This photo was then framed and shared with us at the end of the event.

So we made our way to the slalom course and were explained about the track. It had a bunch of cones which you had to drive around including an 8 formation, after which there was a straight patch where you could really press the throttle and then you had to brake and stop before the end line. The idea was to get a good sense of handling, acceleration and braking.

They would also time each participant and you would get 3 attempts at improving it.

The instructor did a demo round and timed it around 48 seconds though he mentioned that a great score would be around 40 seconds.

There were few others who went ahead of me and their timings ranged from 65 s to 55 s.

Finally, I got my turn, it was the first time I was driving an electric. I pressed the throttle and the pushback was insane, I could feel the crazy bout of acceleration punch me in my stomach (which actually took me a few mins to fully recover from). The eeriness of silence with which the car picks up speed is unbelievable. My first attempt was timed at 55s. Excited by the results, I went harder the second time and brought it down to 50s. I can still feel goosebumps as I write about that experience.

On my third attempt, in my bid to go even harder, I lost a bit of traction on some of the turns and could actually feel the car electronics coming into play. Alas, it was also timed at 50 s. At the end of our batch, the best someone achieved was 47s, and I ended up being the second.

Overall it was a super fun experience, probably easier than it initially looked and we were grinning imagining that the real event was still awaiting us.

The following videos would help understand the slolam track better.

• Video 1
• Video 2

Now we moved on to the main track and were given some basic instructions about seating/ steering positions and the optimal point to start braking before a turn. It wasn’t a race but a convoy of 5 cars where the first car was driven by the instructor who would give instructions to the rest over a walkie-talkie. The first lap would be a demo lap, then 2 fast laps and then a cool-down lap for the brake pads to cool down. Helmets were handed over and we were all set now. It was a surreal feeling, I could feel my fingers tingling with excitement.

We had time to click a few pics before the laps started.

On the race track, it was difficult to hear the instructions probably due to a mix of the loud exhausts and the distance from the lead car (I was second last in the convoy so a bit away from the first car). The first lap went fine and then we went full throttle from the second one. It's difficult to put the feeling in words but it's not every day that you look down at the speedometer and realise that you are going at 210+ kph. I was so engrossed that I didn’t check it again so not sure what the max speed I actually touched across laps but the max *observed* speed was 212 kph. BIC has just one long straight patch where you can try to max out the car, in the other portions you get to enjoy its curves.

Exhausts singing loud interspersed with screeching sounds of the brakes, one corner to the other, it was unbelievably thrilling. It's moments like these that make you truly feel alive. Though I would admit it was sometimes a bit nervy too as you wondered if you were about to breach the limits of the car but thankfully no untoward incident happened.

Here is a small interview of mine before and after the drive. Need I say more?

Looking back, I think I could have tackled the corners better but I was not braking hard enough before turning in (probably the muscle memory of normal driving preventing me from being as brutal as needed) and had to often brake mid corners thus losing out on some speed.

In the end, I did another lap on the co-passenger seat with the instructor driving and it helped me gain a perspective of what I could have done better. Maybe I would have broken a few more speed barriers had I done this first but nevertheless, it keeps me excited for my next chance. Here is a recording of that lap, fasten your seatbelts!

That was it! Two of the most fascinating hours of my life and I thank Audi India from the bottom of my heart for this experience. Before heading out, they handed me a box of goodies including a box of chocolates that went a long way in pacifying my better half who couldn’t make it to the event.

I made my way to the airport, thinking about how I would need to unlearn all this before the highway drive the next day. Thanks for reading!

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The upcoming e-tron facelift is said to get a number of cosmetic upgrades as well as Audi's new-gen batteries

According to media reports, Audi is working on facelifted versions for the e-tron and e-tron Sportback electric SUVs, both of which are expected to be unveiled by the end of the year.

As part of the update, the upcoming e-tron facelift is said to get a number of cosmetic upgrades as well as Audi's new-gen batteries, which should help improve its range. Reports state that both, the e-tron and e-tron Sportback are expected to get a newly-designed front grille, revised bumpers and restyled headlamp clusters among other updates.

Apart from this, the electric SUVs from Audi are also expected to receive more efficient electric motors and an upgraded electronics system enabling greater energy recuperation. This will allow Audi to offer the e-tron facelift with a range of 373 miles (600 km). In comparison, the 95 kWh battery in the current model offers 400 km of maximum range on a single charge. The Audi e-tron and e-tron Sportback facelift models will continue to be based on the brand's modified MLB architecture.

With Audi selling the current e-tron and e-tron Sportback SUVs in India, we expect the facelifted versions to make it to our shores too. Although, Audi India is yet to reveal an official launch timeline.

Source: Autocar UK

The car has a setting that you can leave it plugged in and it will start charging only at the set time, this works brilliantly.

BHPian Pippoosh recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

So at the 4 month / 2500 km mark (clearly we don't get around much!), all good actually.

It works just fine in the Mumbai rains, high ground clearance / jacking up the car in areas with some water on the road is easy enough and I've not had any worries about water ingress / battery damage at all.

Road presence is of course awesome with those green license plates and we've been stopped many times by people asking about the car, including a couple of cops.

In city range is around 350-360 ish, mainly because you never get to optimal speeds of 60-70 in a city like Mumbai and the AC eats battery if you get stuck in a traffic jam like in Dadar / Sion areas. The 360 camera massively helps and it is a bit of like playing a video game!

Charging is indeed at 22 KW AC - most times we charge at night to take advantage of lower per unit costs (at 5.25 + taxes in Mumbai) between 10 pm and 6 am. The car has a setting that you can leave it plugged in and it will start only at the set time, works brilliantly. We typically recharge whenever we fall below say 100 km of range and stop at 80% charge, which is around 280 km. So effective utilization is 180 km range, which is comfortably enough for a whole week of office / school runs and the last 100 km acts like a buffer if we need to do anything extra.

Only two minor niggles so far. One is the wipers - makes a bit of squeaking noise at low speeds when its say just drizzling. The silence of car otherwise perhaps makes it more noticeable, but it kind of goes away quickly.

The other is really something we knew upfront - Android Auto needs your phone plugged in to do the navigation. If you have a driver, then you either need to ride shotgun or get your driver a smartphone or leave your phone in front while you sit in the rear.

One notable incident we had was we drove under a flyover that was getting painted (we didn't notice it) and then the whole car was covered with fine specks of grey paint all over the body that wouldnt go off with water or gentle scrubbing. Finally we sent it to the friendly Audi Mumbai South service center and after some experiments, they said had to redo the ceramic coating to get it all off - end outcome was that it looks like the event never happened, so all was well. Read Team BHP for guidance on cheaper alternatives to get the paint specks off, but in the end the car was too new for me to want to take chances at this stage.

Adding a couple of pics including one of the charger for reference:

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The e-rickshaws powered by the second-life batteries are scheduled to hit Indian roads as part of a pilot project in early 2023.

A German-Indian startup, Nunam, is bringing three electric rickshaws to India - all of which are powered by used batteries from the Audi e-tron test fleet.

The prototypes have been developed by Nunam, in collaboration with Audi's training team at their Neckarsulm site. This is also the first joint project between Audi AG and Audi Environmental Foundation, in addition to Nunam. The aim of the project is to explore how high-voltage battery modules can be reused after their car lifecycle. The project also aims to create job opportunities, especially for women, in India.

The e-rickshaws powered by the second-life batteries are scheduled to hit Indian roads as part of a pilot project in early 2023. Women in particular will be able to use the electric rickshaw to transport their goods to markets.

Nunam will also provide a solar panel charging system for the e-rickshaws. During the day, the panels will charge a used Audi e-tron battery which will act as a buffer storage unit. In the evening, this stored energy is passed on to the rickshaws, effectively making daily driving carbon-free.

The company also states that once the batteries are past their first and second lifecycle, they can still be used to power stationary applications like LED lighting.

Overall electricity cost would be in the region of Rs 400. As before, tolls are more expensive than the charge costs!

BHPian Pippoosh recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

1000 km Update

Took the E-Tron out to Pune from Mumbai and back for the weekend just for the long ride, and in the process crossed the 1k km mark.

En-route, did a pit-stop at the friendly Audi Pune showroom in Baner for a quick 1-hr juice up (not that we needed it, but thought it would be good to try), a nice cup of coffee and further guidance on some of the E-tron's more advanced settings. The pit-stop was enabled by our ever reliable Audi Mumbai South folks.

Expressway driving is a breeeeze. Its just so easy to overtake anything else on the road and you need the speed warning beeps otherwise its so easy to cross the speed limits all the time!

Real world range on highway is completely amazing, comes out to close to 450-460km on a full charge. We did the Pune-Mumbai run using just 68 km range for a 168 km drive, hypermiling like crazy.

Efficiency on the Pune-Khandala stretch is unbelievable, with the meter showing a real-world distance of 6.6 km/KWh (Yes one needs to change the way we think about mileage....km/KWh is the new "kitna deti hai" !)

Overall electricity cost (not counting the free juice at Audi Pune) would be in the region of Rs 400. As before, tolls are more expensive than the charge costs!

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The ghats do eat up battery fast! So we used 97 km of range for 84 km of real world driving.

BHPian Pippoosh recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

One month update on my Audi e-tron 55 quattro:

So we finally took the e-tron out of the city post junior's exams and all. Being the first time, thought we'd do a simple getaway to Khandala from Mumbai. Distance per google maps door-to-door was 84.2 Km each way.

And boy, what an INSANE experience We had read multiple US/UK reviews and tips and tricks about hypermiling in an EV, and folks, this is real in 2022 in India and not a theoretical concept anymore. Stay between 60 - 100 kmph, light foot on the pedal, auto drive mode, ACs at steady 23 degrees, sunroof shut.

At the start: 366 km range on full battery; Real world range is somewhere between 350 and 400 depending on how you drive. The range is estimated based on the last few km you drive, so this is fairly dynamic:

At Khandala: 269 km range remaining. The ghats do eat up battery fast! So we used 97 km of range for 84 km of real world driving:

At the end: 298 km range!! Yes you saw that right, the battery power went UP via regen on the way back, more than compensating for excess draw uphill:

Took us about 1h 45 min each way, mostly because of traffic at the Mumbai end of things and the tolls.

Fun fact: The electricity bill for this trip nets out to Rs. 100 only, while the tolls we paid added up to Rs. 486. So for anyone thinking about an EV today, go for it!!

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The e-tron is simply one size bigger than the other two. Its more like a "Q6" in terms of size in between the Q5 and the Q7 and has only 2 rows of seats.

BHPian Pippoosh recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

So after a couple of months of R&D including feedback from my friends in other countries where EVs are more mainstream, and a few test drives in real Indian conditions we finally got home an Audi e-tron 55 in Navarra Blue a couple of weeks ago.

We were in the market for a nice upgrade from our 12 year old Honda Civic that has valiantly slogged for 100k Km so far. We started by looking at the new Skoda Superb, but soon enough the desire to upgrade to a luxury brand got us into looking at the Germans. Once you've been spoiled by the space on offer in a Superb, then the X1/GLA/Q3, X3/GLC/Q5 or A4/C/3 Series don't really cut it. With God's grace, budget not being a constraint, we were soon looking at the BMW 6 GT (the rear spoiler is super cool) and Merc E as options.

Having reached that level and given that we tend to own our cars for a long time, we then decided that might as well go electric now itself and enjoy being a pioneer instead of going the ICE route and then looking for a change in 5-6 years time. So that narrowed the scope down to the Audi e-tron, the Jaguar i-Pace and the Merc EQC. The BMW iX was sold out to the select few nobles in India and the dealer shooed us away like beggars without as much as a "let me note your contact details".

Key reasons for finally choosing the e-tron over everything else came down to a few simple things in the end:

• Space: The e-tron is simply one size bigger than the other two. Its more like a "Q6" in terms of size in between the Q5 and the Q7 and has only 2 rows of seats. However, the first two rows actually have more space than the Q7's first two rows. Super comfortable and you can actually seat 4 in the back seat.
• Technology: All the cars have the top end specs for their respective brands. However, the Audi's tech pack with the Digital Matrix lights, the 900 combination ambient lighting are one step above the other two. Standard goodies like 360 camera, air suspension, etc. are essential in this country not to bang your new wheels in our traffic and roads!
• Practicality: The Jag has a fixed glass roof that heats up like crazy in our weather - while in theory the AC can handle it, it eats up your battery fast. This is likely to be a problem for the Teslas too, as an when they come to India. Also, the boot has very little useable space because the spare tire sits in it. So you can pay 1 Cr+ and have as much boot space as a Suzuki Alto. The Merc has super low ground clearance because of the battery pack and with no-air suspension - so you are guaranteed to hit every other road hump in this country. The Audi suffers from none of these issues - it has a fully closeable sun-roof with blinds, boot space is enormous with the spare tire tucked away under the normal boot and with air suspension you get those critical extra 3 cm of ground clearance. Finally the Audi comes with a 22 KW home charger, that is 2x the speed of the other two - then it becomes a no-brainer really.

We've done some 400 km in it so far - ride is brilliant, silent and after a while you get used to the driving mechanics which is somewhat a mix between an automatic and a manual - it doesn't creep forward like an automatic and you have to press the accelerator to make it go, but then there's no gear shifting involved.

Real world range seems to be between 330 and 370 km, haven't done enough running to figure that out accurately yet.

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There were several Audi A4 models at the event. Cars like the Audi e-tron, A5 Sportback, Q8 & A3 Convertible were also present.

BHPian goenkakushal recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I had the opportunity to attend the Audi Experience - Classic Weekend.

Venue - Jio Drive-in Theater showing 007 - No Time To Die

This was my second experience at a drive-in theatre. As a kid, I remember visiting this drive-in theatre near Kalanagar, which was more than 20 years back. That makes Jio the 2nd drive-in theatre in Mumbai.

This theatre is managed by PVR and located on the rooftop of Jio world drive. You can sit in the vehicle and tune your FM to 88.5Mhz or even sit outside the vehicle as they have big speakers in the open.

While you are seated comfortably in your car watching the movie and tuned into the local FM, the biggest irritant is the sound from those big speakers outside which enter the car's cabin in spite of having the windows closed. As the sound from FM has a delay, you end up hearing the outside speakers first and then from your car FM, it feels kind of an echo.

There were many A4s and, of course, most were in our favorite colour, the Navarra Blue. Coincidently, they were standing adjacent to each other. Birds of a feather flock together - 5 Navarra Blue A4s in a single frame. (I know the colour is not clearly visible but you need to trust me)

Those beautiful eyes

A few of the vehicles were owned by Audi itself and were probably lent to the media house for promotions.

There was the Audi e-tron which was being used by Autocar India guys, there was an A5 Sportback, Q8, A3 convertible, etc.

Vehicles were maintaining social distancing.

Audi had organized the event well, they even handed over gift hampers to all the guests and had organised snacks and cola for all. I must say the burger served was really very fresh, crisp and hot.

I definitely had fun at the event. Thanks to the lovely vivid beauties around me, I enjoyed drooling over the cars more than the movie itself. I can visit again for the burger if not for the movie.

Sorry for the late post, the event was on 13th Nov 2021.

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