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Does faster charging make you want an Audi Q7 PHEV?

Don't let the image of a heavy diesel-powered plug-in hybrid SUV fool you. The Audi Q7 E-Tron will be a quick thing when it goes on sale in Europe this summer. And the SUV will be able to be recharged at a pretty good clip as well, says Automotive News Europe. A full charge of the Q7 E-Tron can provide a range of as much as 35 miles in all-electric mode, using lenient European specifications. One of the model's bells and whistles will be battery-recharging technology that allows the SUV to be recharged at up to 7.2 kilowatts. That means that the battery can be fully recharged in about two and a half hours. Not exactly Tesla Supercharger territory, but not bad. How much a faster recharging option impacts demand for a plug-in vehicle is open to interpretation. For instance, an Idaho National Laboratory study released late last year estimated that about 85 percent of the recharging activity for the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in and Nissan Leaf EV happened at home, implying that how long it takes your plug-in to fill up may not be a huge factor. So, how much would this option of faster recharging sway your decision in buying a plug-in hybrid? The Q7 E-Tron's V6 diesel engine and electric motor, which operate in a parallel hybrid setup, combine to deliver 373 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. That combination can propel the SUV from 0 to 60 miles per hour in about six seconds. Of course, test that out a few times, and your all-electric range is likely to drop a bit. Audi is expanding its batch of E-Tron plug-in vehicles to better compete with German brethren BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Audi's first E-Tron, the A3, sold almost 12,000 units in Europe last year, about the same as BMW's all-electric and range-extender variants of the i3 in Europe combined, Automotive News says, citing JATO Dynamics. Audi will debut its Q5 E-Tron later this year and the A8 E-Tron in 2017. The Q7 E-Tron will be priced at about $88,000 in Europe. As for US sales of that model, questions remain about whether the SUV will have a diesel or gas-powered engine paired with the electric motor, but Americans should start getting access to it in either 2017 or 2018. Check out our Quick Spin here. Featured Gallery Audi Q7 E-Tron 3.0 TDI Quattro View 40 Photos News Source: Automotive News Europe-sub.req.Image Credit: Copyright 2016 Sebastian Blanco/AOL Green Audi Diesel Vehicles Hybrid PHEV e-tron

The next-generation wearable will be your car

This year's CES has had a heavy emphasis on the class of device known as the "wearable" – think about the Apple Watch, or Fitbit, if that's helpful. These devices usually piggyback off of a smartphone's hardware or some other data connection and utilize various onboard sensors and feedback devices to interact with the wearer. In the case of the Fitbit, it's health tracking through sensors that monitor your pulse and movement; for the Apple Watch and similar devices, it's all that and some more. Manufacturers seem to be developing a consensus that vehicles should be taking on some of a wearable's functionality. As evidenced by Volvo's newly announced tie-up with the Microsoft Band 2 fitness tracking wearable, car manufacturers are starting to explore how wearable devices will help drivers. The On Call app brings voice commands, spoken into the Band 2, into the mix. It'll allow you to pass an address from your smartphone's agenda right to your Volvo's nav system, or to preheat your car. Eventually, Volvo would like your car to learn things about your routines, and communicate back to you – or even, improvise to help you wake up earlier to avoid that traffic that might make you late. Do you need to buy a device, like the $249 Band 2, and always wear it to have these sorts of interactions with your car? Despite the emphasis on wearables, CES 2016 has also given us a glimmer of a vehicle future that cuts out the wearable middleman entirely. Take Audi's new Fit Driver project. The goal is to reduce driver stress levels, prevent driver fatigue, and provide a relaxing interior environment by adjusting cabin elements like seat massage, climate control, and even the interior lighting. While it focuses on a wearable device to monitor heart rate and skin temperature, the Audi itself will use on-board sensors to examine driving style and breathing rate as well as external conditions – the weather, traffic, that sort of thing. Could the seats measure skin temperature? Could the seatbelt measure heart rate? Seems like Audi might not need the wearable at all – the car's already doing most of the work. Whether there's a device on a driver's wrist or not, manufacturers seem to be developing a consensus that vehicles should be taking on some of a wearable's functionality.

The new Audi A8 moves upmarket and gains artificial intelligence

Audi is moving its largest sedan further up the luxury scale with the latest version of the A8. As Audi's flagship, the A8 naturally gets the best and newest technologies that the brand has to offer, including a range of mild-hybrid powertrains, a 48-volt electrical system, standard Quattro all-wheel drive, a lavish lounge-inspired interior, and automated driving systems. Two wheelbase lengths will be offered, the A8L getting a 5.1-inch stretch over the standard A8. The A8 also sets the style direction that the rest of Audi's lineup will emulate. While some of Audi's competitors will likely take umbrage at the claim that the A8 is "the first production automobile in the world to have been developed for highly automated driving," there are some new technologies for self-driving employed by Audi's flagship. At speeds of up to 37.3 miles per hour, the Audi AI traffic jam pilot takes control of starting, accelerating, steering and braking duties, allowing the driver to perform other tasks not related to driving... like watching the on-board TV, says Audi. Audi AI technology brings artificial intelligence to the A8. The AI system will presumably learn the driver's habits, likes, dislikes, and regular routes, and will make recommendations based on all that data. The Audi AI remote parking pilot and the Audi AI remote garage pilot perform exactly what you think based on their names, and the driver doesn't have to be in the car to make them work using a smartphone app. The 48-volt electrical system also exerts control over the A8's suspension. Not only can the system raise and lower each of the car's four wheels independently, it can position the A8 in a way to improve safety in an accident. Four-wheel steering with a variable ratio up front should make the big sedan stable at high speed and maneuverable at low speeds. Five engines will eventually be available in Audi's home market of Germany, and we'd assume some of those will come Stateside as well. Two 3.0-liter V6 engines – one gas and one diesel – will be optional at production time. The gas version puts out 340 horsepower. A gasoline-fed V8 will follow shortly thereafter with 460 horsepower, and a range-topping W12 will eventually be available with 585 horses. A belt alternator starter system is standard across the line. Later, an A8 L e-tron Quattro plug-in hybrid will hit the road with 449 total horsepower, 31.1 miles of electric range and a cool inductive wireless charging system.