Quiet Comfort

It has become difficult not to like electric cars anymore. Range anxiety might be a thing, but the calculations between power and efficiency can be interesting.

- Debabrata Sarkar

The odd bit is the fact that the gentleman accompanying me, from Audi, has asked me to try and recuperate as much energy, in the e-tron, as I can on the drive downhill. It is almost as baffling as the hill I am driving on, the highest one in Abu Dhabi, which towers over the flat ground, having seemingly risen out of nothing. What should I do? I am thinking to myself, driving slowly on an open mountain road is blasphemy, but if I use a lot of energy, the second lap up the mountain may not be possible, especially with no charging station for another 50km. Oh, the dilemma.

So, I take up the challenge, and I drive as efficiently as I can, without being slow enough to bore myself to death, and set off. Predicted range reads 96km at the top of the hill. The idea is to cycle through the three-stage recuperation settings, using the paddles behind the steering (nope, no 9-speed gearbox here) to not have to ‘waste’ energy using mechanical braking, but instead, let the motor scavenge as much of it as possible. In incredible silence, I drive along, a specially designed app showing me in minute detail what the motors and the battery are doing. Smooth lines through the corners, not too slow, not too fast. It is only at a couple of hairpins that I need to dab the brake pedal, enough to make me cringe.

Nevertheless, at the bottom of the 11.7km drive, I manage to recover a staggering 16km of range.