Audi Concept C Review: On-Road Drive of the Brand’s Bold New EV Icon

[Source: Autocar]

The Audi Concept C is different from many concept cars in that the Concept C is actually a road legal and drivable car. The question is, just how good is it to drive? Well, we get our first insight into that thanks to the folks at Autocar, who were offered an exclusive road test of the new EV sports car. Does it show promise or does Audi need to return to the drawing board?

The short answer is that the Concept C does show plenty of promise according to Autocar. However, it must be stressed that even with a bit of seat time it was difficult to pass any concrete judgment on the car. Too much remains unknown, and the test drive was done at low speed on a closed section of road.

Hidden Details

Audi CEO Gernot Döllner will still not confirm many details about the car. What platform is it built on? What size are the batteries? How much power will it make? How fast can it go to 60 mph, and what is the top speed? What kind of driving range will it have, and how much does it weigh? Döllner would confirm none of those details.

However, there was some valuable insight gained from the short test drive in the Italian mountains. Döllner got behind the wheel first but that gave Autocar a chance to observe some details about the cabin. The central touchscreen is hidden when you get into the car, but it rotates out from under the dash when the start button is pressed. The seating position is low, and acceleration is brisk but smooth. While attacking some corners, the car remains composed.

Driving Impressions

The controls in the cabin are well laid out with haptic controls built seamlessly into the dash beneath the small central touchscreen. However, the touchscreen has limited functionality at this point as it is largely a demo screen. Outward visibility is good, even with the roof up.

Autocar got a short stint behind the wheel. And it should be noted that the production car is expected to offer a range of drive modes and artificial gears, but the concept offers a single drive mode. But even with that, the car responds quickly to the throttle. The steering is weighty but responsive although Autocar could not attack the corners as aggressively as Döllner due to a pace car leading the way.

The suspension did a decent job of soaking up the bumps in the road. However, it is a stiff, low-riding car so you do feel the impacts. In the concept car plenty of natural electric motor sounds can be heard. For production, more engaging artificial engine noises are expected.

“Given how little has been revealed about the Concept C’s technical details, from my short drive it’s predictably impossible to gain any real conclusions about what the production version will be like when it arrives in 2027. That said, the low-riding concept and compact dimensions gives it a purposeful, dynamic feel lacking from many current performance EVs; with some refinement this could be an intriguing and compelling offering,” says Autocar. It seems like Audi is heading in the right direction. We can’t wait to get behind the wheel of a more production-ready version for ourselves.