Audi eTron 50’s battery range is almost half when compared to the Tesla Model S Long Range. The popular SUV from Audi, the eTron, was launched a few years ago but still struggles to sell in huge numbers.
Part of the reason is its high price. Its starting range is $76,000, which is more than the Tesla Model 3 Performance and the Tesla Model S Long Range. The main competition of the Audi eTron is the Tesla Model X, which has a somewhat higher starting price of $79,690. But on the other hand, the Model X has a lot more range than the Audi eTron 50, at 328 miles.
The Audi eTron 50 range test was performed in a severe Norweigein winter by fellow EV expert, Bjorn Nyland.
Audi eTron 50 Battery Range
After driving for several hours, Bjorn discovered that the battery range of Audi eTron 50 came out to be 270 km. That’s almost half the range of the Tesla Model S Long Range at 592 km or 370 miles. The testing was done in harsh Norweigein winter with an average temperature of -1 degree Celcius.
Audi eTron 50 uses a large 71 kWh battery but only 64.7 kWh of that is usable. The WLTP range of the Audi eTron is 300 km but according to EV-database, the real-world driving range of Audi eTron is 280 km.
This is more or less similar to what Bjorn got while testing the Audi eTron 50. Also, Bjorn ended the test with a 4% charge, which is why the real-world range is less than what the EV-database claims.
Recently, another car journalist tested the real-world range of the Audi eTron. Matt, from Carwow UK, drove a fully charged eTron until its battery ran out completely. Matt drove a total of 206 miles on Britain roads, which is 331 km.
Matt didn’t mention in particular which model of eTron he was driving. However, I believe that he was driving the Audi eTron 55, which has a bigger 95 kWh battery of which only 83.6 kWh is usable.
Why Audi eTron Has Less Range Than A Tesla Model S
There are several reasons why the Tesla Model S has more range than the Audi eTron. The huge battery range of these two cars is due to the battery strategy which the Tesla and the Audi follow.
Tesla allows users to use 100% of the car’s battery without any restriction. This way, users get more range with every full charge. Audi, on the other hand, locks some of the battery capacity in order to prevent battery degradation in the long run.
Audi offers an 8-year battery warranty on its cars and locking up the battery capacity is one method to prevent any battery damage in the long term.
However, that’s not the only reason. Tesla uses different cell chemistry of elements involved in the formation of its battery packs.
Very recently, an 85 kWh battery pack for the Tesla Model S and X has been spotted. Both of these cars still use 18650 cells instead of the 2170 cells that the Model 3 uses.
So if you thought that the Model S and the Model X are efficient now, wait till they get a battery pack upgrade.
