The all-electric SUV is one of the most important cars Audi has ever made

After teasers and tantalising close-up images, Audi has revealed its first all-electric vehicle to the world – the e-tron. It’s a family SUV that propels the brand into the premium electric car game, being safely the biggest name in the business to do so.

DriveTribe has been in San Francisco – a city that is forward-thinking and is well on its way to becoming EV-heavy – for the reveal of the e-tron and we’ve managed to get up close and personal with the car that will see Audi pit itself against Tesla, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz in a space that is only going to get more populated in the next few years.

So what does the e-tron offer that moves the game on for families looking to dive into this new electric age? Here are the highlights of a car that is Audi’s first venture away from internal combustion.

It has redefined wing mirrors to give you more range

Maximising the range of electric cars is a must these days and Audi has done so by making the e-tron as slippery as possible. One of the coolest ways it has managed this is through the use of virtual wing mirrors.

An industry first, normal bulky wing mirrors have been replaced by small stalks with cameras on the end to reduce drag, feeding into OLED screens that sit between the dashboard and the doors.

Here's me testing out the OLED screens. Try not to have nightmares. Here's me testing out the OLED screens. Try not to have nightmares.

Along with active cooling vents at the front end and a flat aluminium underside, the e-tron manages to accomplish a drag coefficient of just 0.27. That is a remarkably small figure for an SUV and contributes towards the car’s 258-mile range, much in thanks to simply minimising drag.

Its regenerative braking is the best in the business

Audi has taken regenerative braking to a new level, with the e-tron sporting one of the most efficient systems in the business. 90% of braking while driving the e-tron occurs via energy rejuvenation, with the electric motors working in reverse and charging the batteries every time you lift off the gas or press the brake pedal.

The electric motors and the normal road brakes can work in-tandem under hard braking, but with the regenerative braking having its own strength settings, you can crank things up to a one-pedal drive to make the most of the top rejuvenation system currently on the market.

Quattro has gone electric

Audi is well-known for its all-wheel drive system and with the e-tron, quattro has gone electric. The great thing about a fully electric system is that it can react much quicker than mechanical all-wheel drive.

The electric quattro system can decide to send torque to a certain wheel in just five milliseconds, much quicker than a ‘normal’ system that has to mess around with mechanical clutches. In terms of control and safety when the going gets tough then, this new electric all-wheel drive should be in a league of its own.

It’s the fastest charger in the west

Using a 150kW charger, the Audi e-tron can charge from 0-80% in less than 30 minutes. That’s much faster than the ‘coffee break’ fast charging times of its rivals which are normally around 45 minutes.

That charging time should make a lot more people confident in taking the e-tron on a long trip, seeing as half an hour in a motorway services is pretty standard and won’t seem like an inconvenience at all. For charging at home, the car comes with an 11kW charging system as well as a double 22kW system as an option. Do you have solar panels? You can integrate them into your e-tron charging system too.

For a family SUV, it can seriously shift

Thanks to an electric motor on each axle powered by a 95kWh battery pack under the cabin, the e-tron produces 355hp which is on tap straight from the lights. The powertrain also has a ‘boost mode’ that sees the power output reach 402hp and 490lb ft of torque if you want to get a bit of a lick on.

That grunt will see the SUV reach 62mph in 5.7 seconds, putting it up there with genuine sportscars while being a bonafide family car. It’s limited to 124mph but considering all of that instant torque available, the e-tron’s speciality will be pace off the line.

The e-tron has been Audi’s first shot at a full EV and it appears to tick all the expected boxes. It has all the baseline tech that we almost take for granted from an Audi while also adding in multiple industry firsts to make the e-tron stick out from even its four-ringed brethren.

Despite the shift to electric and the implications that can have on design, the e-tron absolutely keeps the hallmarks of Audi’s modern design portfolio; although this is its first crack at an EV, there’s no mistaking this car for anything but an Audi.

Deliveries will begin later this year with the car priced at just over £70,000 and we reckon that – like smartphones and laptops in this new tech-obsessed age – the e-tron will be snapped up by those that seek to be ahead of game.

Whoever you think is currently winning the EV game, the biggest player yet has entered the fray with what seems like a seriously well-engineered piece of kit. Who dares stand up to the four rings? We shall see.

WATCH: DriveTribe's exclusive look at the new e-tron's coolest features:

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