Rising fuel prices have become a cause of concern for commoners, who are forced to shell out as much as Rs 100 for a litre of petrol. On the top of that, global warming is looming as a genuine threat, with all-time high temperatures recorded in Canada and Antarctica, while floods have been creating havoc across the globe. Given these factors, countries, including India, are pushing for more EVs on the road and offering various subsidies for faster adoption of electric vehicles.
On one hand, luxury car buyers are looking at electric vehicles as a credible option to their everyday running, replacing gas guzzling SUVs. Since taking electric vehicles on a long trip has become a point of concern for many, deemed as Range Anxiety, experts claim that EVs can pick up pace as the second vehicle in a household, or a vehicle driven by chauffeur for daily home-office-home run.
This is the reason we are seeing a lot of excitement among luxury carmakers more than mass players. Right from Mercedes-Benz to Audi, everyone is offering their own iteration of electric cars, mostly with SUV body type. Audi, however, has gone a step ahead to launch more performance oriented version of its electric car Audi e-tron, called the e-tron GT and RS e-tron GT. With these many offerings, here’s a quick refresher for you about the top luxury and performance electric vehicle options in the Indian market right now.
Audi e-tron GT/ RS e-tron GT
Audi, the German luxury car manufacturer, has added two fully electric four-door coupes – the Audi e-tron GT and the Audi RS e-tron GT to its range of electric vehicles in India. While the Audi e-tron GT is priced at INR 1,79,90,000, Audi RS e-tron GT is priced INR 2,04,99,000. Both the GT models join the existing Audi e-tron and e-tron Sportback models in India, making Audi the only brand to offer such wide range of electric cars in India.
The Audi e-tron GT and the Audi RS e-tron GT are the first fully electric sports cars from Audi. The Audi e-tron GT has a power of 390 kW and accelerates from 0 – 100 km/h in a superfast 4.1 seconds, while the 475 kW RS e-tron GT achieves the same feat in mere 3.3 seconds. The Audi RS e-tron GT and Audi e-tron GT feature 83.7/93.4kWh Lithium-ion battery providing the range of 401 – 481 km for Audi RS e-tron GT and 388 – 500 km for Audi e-tron GT (WLTP combined).
Mercedes-Benz EQC
The Mercedes-Benz EQC is the first all-electric luxury SUV to launch in India and has a price tag that starts a little over Rs 1 crore. It gets a big 85kWH battery pack and a single-speed gearbox sending power to the wheels and you also get the Mercedes 4MATIC AWD system. Mercedes claims an NEDC range of 450km. This means the EQC is capable of delivering 400bhp and a whopping 760Nm of torque.
It gets four driving modes namely Eco, Comfort, Sport, and Individual and also comes with four levels of regeneration. With the paddle shifters behind the steering wheel, you can toggle between five settings D Auto, D, D+, D-, and D-. As for the charging process, it takes 10 hours to charge the car using the 7.5 kW charger that Mercedes is providing with the car. If you charge it using the standard 15 A socket, then the car takes 21 hours to charge.
Jaguar I-Pace
The Jaguar i-Pace is the prettiest electric SUV in the list but that is not a surprise since it’s a Jaguar. The pricing of the i-Pace is almost similar as the Mercedes-Benz EQC with prices starting at Rs 1.06 crore. Jaguar claims a range of 470km in a single charge from the 90 kWh, Lithium-Ion battery placed under the floor. The car gets two synchronous motors at each axle combining the output to 394bhp and 696Nm of torque.
Jaguar claims that the battery can be charged up to 100 per cent in 14 hours with a 7.4kW AC charger, in 4 hours with a 25kW DC charger and in just 2 hours with a 50kW DC charger. In addition, Jaguar Land Rover customers will be able to charge their Jaguar I-PACE using Tata Power’s EZ Charge Network with over 200 charging points across the country.
Audi e-tron/ e-tron Sportback
Audi launched the highly anticipated e-Tron electric SUV series in India after much delay due to coronavirus induced lockdowns. Audi launched 3 electric SUVs in India – the Audi e-tron 50 priced at Rs 99,99,000, Audi e-tron 55 priced at Rs 1,16,15,000 and Audi e-tron Sportback 55 priced at Rs 1,17,66,000. Range wise, the e-tron 55 and e-tron 55 Sportback feature a bigger 95kWh lithium-ion battery that enables a 359-484km range (WLTP) while the e-tron 50 features a 71kWh lithium-ion battery with 264-379km range (WLTP).
The Audi e-Tron has two Electric motors at the front and rear to produce a combined power of 300kW on the Audi e-tron 55 and Audi e-tron Sportback 55, and 230kW on the Audi e-tron 50. The power pushes e-tron 55 and e-tron 55 Sportback from 0 to 100 kmph in 5.7 seconds, while the e-tron 50 gets a 6.8 second 0 to 100 kmph time. Interestingly, the cars get Charging flaps uniquely positioned on both sides enable flexibility in parking.
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