Audi e-tron

[aestetix1]

theboss said:

Which all e-trons do as standard, as far as I can tell...

What happened to their camera replacement system? I know it was crap but they didn't give up that easily did they?

The new Honda e has side view cameras that apparently work great, and of course never need adjusting. Also a rear view camera instead of a mirror, which likewise doesn't need moving.

[SWoll]

aestetix1 said:

The new Honda e has side view cameras that apparently work great, and of course never need adjusting. Also a rear view camera instead of a mirror, which likewise doesn't need moving.

Unfortunately you also have to live with an interior that looks like a cross between a 1980's Atari games console and a traders desk.



Such a mess, and the satnav screen placed in front of the passenger must be a joy to use..

[ZesPak]

SWoll said:

Unfortunately you also have to live with an interior that looks like a cross between a 1980's Atari games console and a traders desk.



Such a mess, and the satnav screen placed in front of the passenger must be a joy to use..

As far as I've seen it's pretty configurable. But, yes, the Honda and e-tron have two completely different target audiences in that aspect. Where the Audi is a lot more traditional and the Honda caters to a younger audience that are used to a gazillion screens.

[theboss]

aestetix1 said:

What happened to their camera replacement system? I know it was crap but they didn't give up that easily did they?

The new Honda e has side view cameras that apparently work great, and of course never need adjusting. Also a rear view camera instead of a mirror, which likewise doesn't need moving.

E-tron comes with either conventional wing mirrors (electric/memory) or - depending on spec - virtual mirrors which have been engineered to reduce drag. I have the virtual ones - I didn’t spec them decisively but took a pre-configured car which had them ticked, on a compelling lease deal.

They work pretty well. Maybe they add 5 miles to range - I’ll never know.

The angle of view is adjustable and I’m glad it is as I prefer a slight adjustment.

I expect a reasonable amount of thought went into the field of view because if they just produced a wide angle which couldn’t be adjusted then objects may appear deceivingly small. There is a “motorway view” option which narrows the field of view at higher speeds for exactly this reason. They can also pan down towards the wheels when reversing, mimicking real mirrors which angle down.

So far so good.

Interesting that so many here can’t stand this vehicle - I think it’s excellent after doing a few hundred miles in one.

[dmsims]

If you thinks it's excellent , enjoy it

I wouldn't have one if you paid me!

[AstonZagato]

dmsims said:

If you thinks it's excellent , enjoy it

I wouldn't have one if you paid me!

I'm curious. Why not?

[RobDickinson]

Weird. I'd quite like a free etron even though its looks bore me haha

[Bobtherallyfan]

SWoll said:

Unfortunately you also have to live with an interior that looks like a cross between a 1980's Atari games console and a traders desk.



Such a mess, and the satnav screen placed in front of the passenger must be a joy to use..

The sat nav is totally switchable, left or right. Reviews seem pretty positive about the tech.

[ZesPak]

AstonZagato said:

I'm curious. Why not?

Yeah, I don't understand that either. I thought the general consensus was that it's a good car and a great Audi, but a tad underwhelming?
I'd have a free etron in an instant, it fixes it's main issue, the price .

[aestetix1]

SWoll said:

Unfortunately you also have to live with an interior that looks like a cross between a 1980's Atari games console and a traders desk.



Such a mess, and the satnav screen placed in front of the passenger must be a joy to use..

It's a fantastic interior, isn't it? Proper next-gen stuff, not a boring monochrome oddly shaped plastic mould that looks like it was stolen from a Ford Mondeo.



When I tried an eTron one of the things that put me off was the extremely boring and oddly cheap looking interior. The materials were nice but it seemed very last decade, random shapes and screens wedged in.

By the way in the Honda e you can swap the screens over at the touch of a button. The idea is you can pass the sat nav to your passenger for programming and then bring it back over to your side, or hand them control of the music etc. Seems like some actual thought went into it rather than "okay throw in the usual infotainment".

[aestetix1]

theboss said:

They work pretty well. Maybe they add 5 miles to range - I’ll never know.

The angle of view is adjustable and I’m glad it is as I prefer a slight adjustment.

I expect a reasonable amount of thought went into the field of view because if they just produced a wide angle which couldn’t be adjusted then objects may appear deceivingly small. There is a “motorway view” option which narrows the field of view at higher speeds for exactly this reason. They can also pan down towards the wheels when reversing, mimicking real mirrors which angle down.

Thanks, that's very interesting. The main issue people seem to have with them is that the screens are a bit low down and out of the way, rather than higher up on the same line as the mirrors and dashboard. It's probably a very personal preference though.

The Honda seems to have basically the same system. You can adjust the FOV, they tilt down automatically when reversing etc. Seems a little redundant as it has 360 cameras anyway (so does the eTron I think) but I suppose it all helps.

[ZesPak]

aestetix1 said:

The Honda seems to have basically the same system. You can adjust the FOV, they tilt down automatically when reversing etc. Seems a little redundant as it has 360 cameras anyway (so does the eTron I think) but I suppose it all helps.

Probably some legislation issues. Lexus tried to push these through about 15 years ago in the eu, Tesla looked into it almost a decade ago and there were probably others. According to the manufacturers the problem was legislation.

I am curious though, aero is important, but the added complexity, weight and energy use?
Although I'd guess with modern camera's and displays the weight could actually go down, and no motorized wing mirrors can actually increase reliability?
Would be interested to see the numbers on that.
A mirror seems simple enough but when you factor in all the motors it needs...

[aestetix1]

ZesPak said:

Probably some legislation issues. Lexus tried to push these through about 15 years ago in the eu, Tesla looked into it almost a decade ago and there were probably others. According to the manufacturers the problem was legislation.

I am curious though, aero is important, but the added complexity, weight and energy use?
Although I'd guess with modern camera's and displays the weight could actually go down, and no motorized wing mirrors can actually increase reliability?
Would be interested to see the numbers on that.
A mirror seems simple enough but when you factor in all the motors it needs...

Well the Audi ones are huge and stick out miles but the Honda ones are small. Maybe it's because of the Honda body shape meaning they don't have to jut out so far, or maybe just better design.

[V6todayEVmanana]

ZesPak said:

Probably some legislation issues. Lexus tried to push these through about 15 years ago in the eu, Tesla looked into it almost a decade ago and there were probably others. According to the manufacturers the problem was legislation.

I am curious though, aero is important, but the added complexity, weight and energy use?
Although I'd guess with modern camera's and displays the weight could actually go down, and no motorized wing mirrors can actually increase reliability?
Would be interested to see the numbers on that.
A mirror seems simple enough but when you factor in all the motors it needs...

Cameras are probably cheaper to produce than a few motors, I wonder if it will be like the FairPhone and the modules could be upgraded as tech improves like night vision.

I recall reading VW put a lot of effort in the wind tunnel to improve air flow over the Golf wing mirrors as became a major source of noise, with EV's being quieter maybe the wind noise is more of an issue.

Broken wing mirrors have always been a big expense, be cool not to have to worry as much or even be able to 3D print of a new little housing and put a camera in it.

[ZesPak]

V6todayEVmanana said:

Cameras are probably cheaper to produce than a few motors, I wonder if it will be like the FairPhone and the modules could be upgraded as tech improves like night vision.

When has an old school car manufacturer ever done anything like this?

V6todayEVmanana said:

Broken wing mirrors have always been a big expense, be cool not to have to worry as much or even be able to 3D print of a new little housing and put a camera in it.

Or, like the honda, they hardly get passed the wheel arches. You'd have to try really hard to hit them.

[theboss]

Good grief guys... they hardly stick out from the Audi.

I drive through a width restriction regularly and my current impression of the e-tron is that I’d be more worried smacking a mirror off my M5.

[jjwilde]

SWoll said:

Unfortunately you also have to live with an interior that looks like a cross between a 1980's Atari games console and a traders desk.



Such a mess, and the satnav screen placed in front of the passenger must be a joy to use..

Remember when people had an issue with the Tesla screen?

[aestetix1]

V6todayEVmanana said:

I recall reading VW put a lot of effort in the wind tunnel to improve air flow over the Golf wing mirrors as became a major source of noise, with EV's being quieter maybe the wind noise is more of an issue.

The reason the original Leaf has those odd shaped headlights is to deflect air away from the wing mirrors because they were noisy. Like many things EV Nissan figured out all this out years ago, real pioneers.

[aestetix1]

ZesPak said:

Or, like the honda, they hardly get passed the wheel arches. You'd have to try really hard to hit them.

The Honda cameras are entirely inside the bounding box of the car body. They are also a bit lower than typical wing mirrors so hopefully won't get hit by them.

[Martyn76]

Bobtherallyfan said:

The sat nav is totally switchable, left or right. Reviews seem pretty positive about the tech.

You can also connect a games console (not sure an Atari would work), help spend the time whilst charging?