Only 1 Audi EV Is Among the Most Driven 3-Year-Old Electric Vehices
Audi, like many legacy automakers, is leaning heavily into electric vehicle (EV) production. However, while the German automaker has no issue distinguishing itself in the luxury and sports sedan segments, getting traction in a Tesla-dominated market is tricky business. Unfortunately for the interlocking rings, only one of its EV models earned a spot on a recent study of the ‘most driven’ electric cars from the last three years, the Audi e-tron Sportback. So, how did the luxury Audi EV fare against its competitors, like the Tesla Model Y and Model S?
How much do Audi e-tron Sportback EV owners drive their cars?
Despite the Audi e-tron Sportback’s luxurious interior and all-wheel drive (AWD) practicality, the luxury EV’s drivers put far fewer miles on their e-tron models than competitors. The average e-tron Sportback driver puts around 7,210 miles on their vehicles annually, compared to over 10,000 for the most-driven Tesla models.
According to the latest iSeeCars study of “The Most Driven 3-Year-Old Electric Vehicles,” the Audi e-tron Sportback is Audi’s only vehicle that earned a top-10 spot in the study, just behind the popular Chevrolet Bolt EV. Still, owners drove the Audi EV more than a comparable Jaguar I-PACE, which saw an average of 300 fewer miles than the German luxury Sportback.
How many miles is a lot of miles for an electric car?
The average distance EV owners drove in the last three years is about 9,059 miles annually. As a result, owners who want an electric vehicle with fewer than 50,000 or 60,000 miles might want to stick to a model from the last five or six model years.
However, EV owners tend to drive their vehicles less distance than conventional ICE cars. According to iSeeCars data, Americans averaged about 12,758 miles per year in their ICE vehicles over the last three years. That puts average gas-powered vehicle usage at around 29% more use than comparable EVs. Audi’s e-tron Sportback is well behind the EV and ICE vehicle average, at about 1,849 miles shy of the typical electric car.
How far can an Audi e-tron Sportback EV go on a single charge?
Audi says the e-tron Sportback could get as much as 218 miles on a single charge. However, the EPA-estimated range drops with the 496-horsepower e-tron Sportback S, which gets closer to 181 miles of single-charge range.
Still, in a highway test, Car and Driver managed to get 75 MPGe out of a Sportback model, just two off of the vehicle’s 77-MPGe rating. Frankly, that could be one of the reasons that the e-tron model doesn’t get the same road time as comparable Tesla models. For instance, the Model Y has an average EPA range of 316 miles, nearly twice as much as the dual-motor e-tron Sportback S. The Model Y’s range is more convenient, any way you cut it.
Is Audi e-tron better than Tesla Model Y?
The Audi e-tron was five spots behind the Tesla Model Y in the study of the most-driven EVs. The Model Y was the No. 2 most-driven electric vehicle of the last three years, with an annual average of 10,199 miles.
Moreover, the Model Y is cheaper than the e-tron Sportback, with an average starting price of $49,406, $4,194 less than the e-tron model. Further, the Model Y’s average EPA estimated range puts it ahead of the Audi model by around 98 miles.
