This is a slower, cheaper Audi e-tron

Welcome, everyone, to a slightly worse Audi e-tron. Set to arrive in the UK early next year, the e-tron ‘50’ quattro will be cheaper than the existing e-tron ’55’ quattro (Audi hasn’t yet said by how much), but come with a smaller battery, meaning less range and less performance.

The existing e-tron 55 starts at a little over £70K. For that you get 402bhp and 490lb ft. The 50, which like the 55 is all-wheel drive, has to make do with 308bhp and 398lb ft. 0-62mph takes 7 seconds and the top speed is capped at 118mph, making it 1.3 seconds and 6mph slower than the 55. No big deal – the e-tron is a family SUV and does not need to be fast.

Range is a big deal, though. The 55 gets a whopping 95kWh battery pack, enough for a claimed 248 miles of driving range. In the real world you’re looking at about 200 miles of usable range – at least that’s what we got when we took one to Exmoor to test against the Tesla Model X and Jaguar I-Pace.

The e-tron 50 has a lowly 71kWh battery, meaning it can only travel a claimed 186 miles between recharges. This could well translate to 150 miles or so of usable range. This thing better be a fair bit cheaper than the 55...

Thoughts? Read our full review of the Audi e-tron by clicking here.