Taking the family car to the mountains is a very normal activity for many Swedes.
However, the combination of long distances, low temperatures and a lot of packing can mean that such a journey becomes quite challenging for many electric cars.
Even with an electric car with a good range and fast charging, you have to put an extra hour into your planning if, for example, you want to drive from Stockholm to Åre.
Updated electric car and adjusted route
When it was time for this year’s mountain holiday, I decided to see if it was possible to minimize the difference in time between an electric car and a fossil car, without letting maximum range and charging speed completely control the choice of car.
The car I landed in was the updated Audi Q4 45 e-tron quattro, which with a useful battery capacity of 77 kWh boasts a range of a good 508 kilometers.
The Q4 e-tron offers classic Audi qualities – the Audi fits in a snowy landscape – Photo: Gustaf Gripenlöf Karlberg
At the same time, the car offers classic Audi qualities such as stylish design, good build quality and four-wheel drive, and is not at the top of the brand’s model range in terms of price.
The most important adjustment of the trip in order for the electric car to function optimally was that I adjusted the destination. Instead of taking the entire roughly 60-mile stretch to Åre by coach, the choice fell on Fryksås in Dalarna, which is around 33 miles from Stockholm.
An unusually playful Audi
Among the platform siblings Volkswagen ID.4, Skoda Enyaq, Audi Q4, and now the Ford Explorer, the Audi has long been my favorite – closely followed by the Skoda.
Above all, for me, it’s about the car’s unique character, which is a bit more playful than other Audi models. An example of this is that the thin steering wheel is almost square to give a better view of the gauges, reminiscent of the Austin Allegro from the 1970s.
The angular steering wheel is reminiscent of the 70s Austin Allegro – Photo: Audi
If you choose the slightly more aerodynamic Sportback version with a lower roof, the car also has clear features of the Audi A2 – the brand’s high-tech small car from around the turn of the millennium. However, the test car was not a Sportback but had the higher SUV roof.
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Planning of charging stops
Going 33 miles in an electric car that should cover over 50 miles on a single charge should not be an unreasonable ambition – not least with only two people in the car and without a roof box installed.
However, low temperatures are the electric car’s worst enemy, and when we set off from zero-degree Stockholm with a battery charged to 90 percent, the range meter showed around 35 miles.
The Audi fits in a snowy landscape – Photo: Gustaf Gripenlöf Karlberg
I therefore had the car schedule a charging stop along the way. Audi’s integrated planning of charging stops works well and is easy to use – at least as long as you like the charging stops that the car suggests.
However, the charging stops that the car suggested did not rhyme well with when we wanted to have lunch, and I therefore had to manually go in and select my charging stop from a list.
This process could have gone more smoothly. The list only shows the distance to the charger and its street address. It would have been practical to see the place name, to be able to select a charging station along the route on the map, or to be able to sort them by nearby eateries.
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A quick and flexible charging stop
For us, the stop landed at the Recharge station at McDonalds in Falun, where we immediately got a seat and could start charging.
The most important update on the new Audi Q4 e-tron for our purposes is that the maximum charge rate on the all-wheel drive models has gone from 125 to 175 kW. However, we did not see speeds higher than 110 kW, but it proved to be quite sufficient for our purposes.
For a shorter mountain trip, the range is completely sufficient – the Audi fits in a snowy landscape – Photo: Gustaf Gripenlöf Karlberg
When we ordered food, went to the toilet and ate some food – which took around 20 minutes – we had gained 15 miles of extra range. This was enough for us to reach our goal without any problems. The extra time we spent charging was thus almost non-existent.
The critical part of the equation was that there was charging at the hotel, which allowed us to fully charge for the journey home. This meant that the trip back to Stockholm went just as smoothly as the trip up to the mountains, with two charging stops totaling around 20 minutes.
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A nice companion for the mountains
The Audi Q4 e-tron is a very nice car for long journeys. It is not a sensation in terms of driving pleasure, but it runs quietly and stably with good suspension comfort for the type of car. The four-wheel drive also provides extra safety on challenging winter conditions.
However, I can think that you sit a little too low, which means that with my 190 centimetres, I easily become stiff after a few hours behind the wheel.
The car’s systems are also still controlled by too many touch buttons, even though the car has more physical controls than other electric cars on the same platform. Turning off the safety systems that work poorly in snow and slush, for example, still requires eternal tapping on the touch screen.
The Q4 e-tron is a nice companion on the mountain trip – the Audi fits in a snowy landscape – Photo: Gustaf Gripenlöf Karlberg
When it comes to charging, it is definitely a winning concept to choose a ski resort closer to your hometown if you drive an electric car. With a car with a decent range, today’s chargers are so fast that you hardly notice the charging stop in terms of time.
Whether you want to let the range dictate where you choose to ski is another question.
What is still a problem is that the chargers are still in many cases too complicated to use, but I have complained about this in more detail in a previous text.
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Rating for the Audi Q4 e-tron 4/5