There’s a problem with electric cars in the city as pedestrians can’t hear them coming, and there’s an issue in the country too, this time with live stock.

Audi New Zealand launched the all-electric e-tron 55 in mid 2019 with a price of $150,500 for the quattro and $8,400 for the advanced model, while the sportback version of the e-tron will be available here next month.

The e-tron 55 takes on Mercedes-Benz’s EQC, Jaguar’s I-Pace electric vehicles and the Tesla Model X, where they all sit around the same price.

But Audi NZ also nips at the competition with the e-tron 50, priced from $135,500 for the quattro advanced. It has a range of up to 328km, with peak electrical output of 230kW and electrical torque output of 540Nm.

The e-tron 55 has a range of up to 417kms with 300kW/5664Nm of combined output, including boost.

Audi New Zealand’s managing director, Dean Sheed, said the Model Year 2021 55 vehicles will have an increased range of 447km.

Plus, the first 25 units of the 50 were priced at a nifty $119,900.

Sheed also told AutoMuse that customers aren’t that bothered with range, instead it's how short a time a charge can take now. 

“The other point is that we can talk range but it’s becoming known that the real world customer focus point is about charging speed, not necessarily range per se,” he said. 

“Just look at a charge curve and cars with solid thermal management (aka an A/C system for the battery) take charge quicker and get the owner on the road quicker so single theoretical linear range becomes less of an issue.”

AutoMuse had the e-tron 50 for a four-day test. Our model started at $135,500 but was specced up to $148,900 as it had the addition of a panoramic roof, Bang & Olufsen Premium sound system with 3D sound  and 21” cast alloy wheels in 5-V-spoke star style.

Heading to Parihoa on Auckland’s west coast, I noticed the sheep were in the paddock by Chapman House. So, opening the farm gate I drove down and closed it behind me - without any of the sheep noticing I was there … or moving out of my way.

Instead, as I drove down the drive I was greeted by multiple stunned sheep with expressions of “how did that get here?” as they stared at the Audi, before leaping away. 

Ah sheep, they aren’t known for being the brightest, so when I finished the photo shoot and returned up the driveway, I had to honk the horn as they didn’t hear me coming. 

While the sheep weren’t impressed with the e-tron, I was appreciative of Audi’s great regenerative braking technology that recuperates energy in more than 90 per cent of brake applications, working alongside an electrohydraulic brake assistance system that activates when braking force exceeds 0.3g. Audi says this “results in short braking distances in all situations”. 

Paddles behind the steering wheel allow you to increase the recuperation through three levels, but activate the auto mode and the system is clever enough to see cars ahead of you, or know a roundabout is approaching, and gently start the slowing for you. 

This is very clever and the recuperative function helps you maintain range so that a journey can see you keep the same kilometres you started with. 

There are selectable driving modes from Off-road to Efficient to Dynamic, but  in battery-saving Efficient the response is sluggish as you pull out of intersections or at traffic lights, while in Dynamic the ride and handling is more intense than you want but bonus for in off-road as the air suspension rises by 35mm to help with ground clearance.

There is a downside to the e-tron and that is weight. It’s 2370kg, an increase of 300kg over the Jaguar I-Pace and 150kg over the Tesla Model X.

This means that there's not a snap of speed you’d find in the likes of some electric cars, instead it acts like an SUV, which technically it is.