Like Brexit, electric cars have become such a hot potato of a topic that they divide opinion in fierce fashion. Don’t whatever you do mention them in the pub for fear of everyone giving you their opinion on them whether you like it or not.
There are those who hate the idea of being ‘forced’ into buying an EV by government mandate and targets, while others are embracing the new world of emissions-free motoring and swear they’ll never go back.
So where, then, after nearly six months of electric car driving, do I sit? Well, I am afraid to say it’s not completely in the positive camp.
While there are many things to love about the Audi SQ8 e-tron including its looks and comfort, there are a few things that I find hard to swallow for a car costing upwards of £120k.
Range is my biggest bugbear – the best I’ve seen on the dash after a full charge at home is 245 miles. The worst, in winter, was 195 miles. That’s a big difference and makes planning longer journeys a struggle.
I avoid public charging wherever I can. In fact, such is my dislike of not being able to plug in every time I turn up at a charger because it’s either busy or broken, I’ve avoided doing it altogether.
That restricts the use of this car to a 100-mile radius from my house – as I want to ensure I can get back without plugging in. There will be many people reading this that will find that utterly baffling, as they have managed to make public charging work for them, but I simply don’t have the time to deal with the added stress on a journey.
I find the roads in the UK are broken enough as it is, without adding in the fear of failure at finding a charging point when I need it most. And, EV fan or not, you have to admit there’s rarely that added stress on a journey when you need to refuel your petrol or diesel car.
To make me swap to an EV for good, I think I’d need a range of 400 miles. I could get to most airports and back again with miles to spare then and not have to worry about a 45-minute recharging stop along the way.
Since I’ve had the SQ8, I’ve made very few long-distance journeys and have mostly used it around town. It’s here where an EV makes sense – short trips where range is not a consideration and improving air quality really is. I find I feel less guilty about popping to the shop in the car when it’s raining, knowing it’s not spluttering out harmful emissions.
I manage to get away with about one full charge a week. Unfortunately, due to my home tariff and switching penalties on a fixed-deal arrangement, those charges cost me about the same as the petrol in my previous RS6, but I know that’s more my problem, not the car’s.
What is an issue with the car, though, is its poor economy. I am lucky if I get two miles per kilowatt hour and often it drops below that. For comparison, colleagues running electric cars have been getting at least double that, while another with a Vauxhall Astra electric is getting nearer five.
I have also somewhat outgrown the SQ8. Well, my family has, at least. We’ve just welcomed a new addition to the clan and with two under two in ISOFIX car seats, the rear has become a very cramped place for my teenage daughter. Quite often, my better half climbs between the two car seats and finds it so cramped it’s hard even putting the seat belt in. For such a large car, I find the space inside is at somewhat of a premium.
The multimedia technology has also had a bit of a hissy fit of late and ‘forgotten’ me as a user. This means all my presets and favourites have been deleted, including the button I set up to turn the speed limit warning bongs off.
I now have to do this manually every single time I start the car up and cannot express quite how infuriating it has become. I honestly do not think the car buying public quite understands how annoying these warning bongs have become on new cars and the comments on my video showing how to turn it off prove many didn’t even realise it was now a mandatory option on new cars.
The media system has also, for some reason, now refused to connect to my mobile phone, rendering CarPlay a much missed old friend. I have no idea why, and whatever I do I can’t fix it.
This report might have come across as a bit of a moan, so in the pursuit of balance, there are many things I can praise about the Audi. I love the way it drives and the instant surge of power – and there’s no gearbox shuffling to worry about when you pull away, just smooth forward momentum.
It also looks fantastic and even after a few months the burnt orange paintwork still catches admiring glances from passers-by. I love that it has a huge boot too that easily manages to swallow pretty much all of the small child paraphernalia I find myself transporting. It’s easily coped with our luggage for a weekend at Centre Parcs and is often put to the test with a trip to the garden centre.
There are lots of luxury touches to enjoy too. The soft close doors, for one, and the powered tailgate another, while I find the seats superbly comfortable.
But is an electric car for me? Well, as it stands, I’d say it’s currently a no from me. While there’s much to love about this Audi, there are also plenty of things that frustrate me in equal measure. So, as my time with it draws to a close I’ll be trying my very best to make my peace with it.
- Model: Audi SQ8
- Price as tested: £118,105
- Engine: Electric motor with 114kW battery
- Power: 496bhp
- Torque: 973Nm
- 0-60mph: 4.5 seconds
- Top speed: 130mph
- Range: 265 miles (claimed)
- Emissions: 0g/km CO2
- Mileage: 5,689
