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2014 Audi SQ5 Road Test

It may be obvious at this point, but here in the United States, European manufacturers routinely give us the short end of the stick. Now, I'm not talking about models or brands that don't come here, like the Mercedes-Benz A-Class or the entire Renault line. No, instead, I'm referring to cars that are sold right here in the Land of the Free in one bodystyle, while Europe enjoys the same vehicle with a wider variety of configurations. A prime example of this is the Audi S4/S5 line. In America, we can have the supercharged twins in two-door coupe, four-door sedan, and cabriolet body styles. Meanwhile, our Euroland cousins get the same trio of bodystyles, as well as the A5/S5 Sportback, a characterful 'four-door coupe,' and a versatile hauler, the S4 Avant. At first glance, Audi of America lacks a vehicle that can compete with the latter's blend of performance, versatility and subdued looks. So, what's an American with around $60,000 and an obsession with quick, conservative haulers to do? Well, he can buy an SQ5. (Though it bears mentioning, our US-spec SQ5 is vastly different than what's available to our European friends.) The SQ5 has a huge number of things going for it that make it a viable alternative to a proper hot wagon, and foremost among them are its looks – this is a sleeper. Audi has thankfully decided not to molest the clean looks of the standard Q5 when penning the sportier model. The SQ5 gains a unique set of wheels: 20-inchers are standard, but our tester was fitted with a set of 21-inch rollers. Visually, neither make a huge departure from the standard Q5 though. Other standard features of Audi's S models are also found on the SQ5, including a set of quad exhausts, silver mirror caps and mildly different front grille and foglight surrounds. If anything, the Q5 TDI diesel I tested late last year looks sportier than today's tester. Audi has decided not to molest the clean looks of the standard Q5 when penning the sportier model. It's a similar story of minor but purposeful changes in the cabin. Audi has ditched the Q5's standard steering wheel and slotted in the excellent, flat-bottomed unit found in other S models, which in this case is flanked by a set of high-quality "alu-optic" paddles. Upgraded leather seats complement the new wheel, while my SQ5 offered the Carbon Atlas interior trim (a $500 option).

Audi reveals R8 E-Tron Piloted Driving concept at CES Asia

Designed as they are to take the driver out of the equation, you might think that the idea of an autonomous vehicle would seem diametrically opposed to that of a supercar. But Audi disagrees. The German automaker has cooked up a series of "piloted driving" concepts that are increasingly focused on performance, and this could be the ultimate iteration yet. Audi's latest Piloted Driving demonstrator is based on the R8 E-Tron. It's altogether almost identical to the one we saw in Geneva, packing an electric powertrain to deliver 456 horsepower, 679 pound-feet of torque and a 0-62 time of 3.9 seconds. Only in this case, it can do it all on its own, without any driver intervention. To pull that off, Ingolstadt has fitted this show car with an array of sensors, including a new laser scanner, multiple video cameras, ultrasonic sensors and radar transmitters at both ends – all handled by a central "driver assistance control unit." It's the latest in a series of concept cars that has already included a version of the RS7 Sportback designed to lap the racetrack, and the Prologue concept that drove itself to CES. This concept was similarly unveiled at CES Asia, the Eastern counterpart to the tech expo we usually catch in Las Vegas. Just what the point is in engineering (or buying) one of the best-driving cars on the market and then handing over its operation to a computer, we don't quite get. But at least we can rest easy knowing that Audi is not giving up on performance as autonomous tech turns the driver into just another passenger. Related Video: Audi R8 e-tron piloted driving technical concept car 340 kW of power, 0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 3.9 seconds and a driving range of 450 km (279.6 mi) – Audi has extensively developed its all-electrically powered high-performance R8 e-tron sports car further. The technology study is one of the highlights of CES Asia, and it brings together future technologies – which relate to lightweight design, high-performance drive systems and functions for piloted driving. The Audi R8 e-tron piloted driving concept car is based on the multimaterial Space Frame of the new production R8. A rear car body module made of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) integrates the luggage compartment, which extends the frame structure. The walls of the luggage compartment shell are corrugated, so that they can absorb extreme amounts of energy with little material weight in case of a rear-end collision.

Recharge Wrap-up: Nissan "religious" about zero-emissions, Tesla crashes at dealership, Formula E on-board video

Nissan is pretty darn serious about being king of the EV industry. Just see what Chief Planning Officer Andy Palmer has to say at the launch of the e-NV200: "When it comes to zero emissions, we're absolutely religious. We'll be the absolute, No. 1 leader in zero emissions. No doubt. That's our positioning." Bold words, to be sure. Toyota, on the other hand, ended its collaboration with Tesla (whom Nissan mustn't forget about in its quest to reign supreme in the EV world) to build the RAV4 EV, and will focus instead on hybrids and testing the waters with hydrogen cars. Says Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota North America, "I would rather invest my dollars in fuel cell development than in another 2,500 EVs." Read more at Automotive News or Autoweek. To celebrate 25 years of TDI technology, Audi is releasing the A7 Sportback 3.0 TDI Competition special edition in Europe. The Competition uses Audi's biturbocharged, 3.0-liter diesel engine boosted to 326 horsepower, giving the car a 0-62 time of 5.1 seconds. It comes with the S line sport package and is offered in four exterior colors: Daytona Gray, Misano Red, Nardo Gray and Sepang Blue. The interior is black leather, with the option of Misano Red or Agate Gray contrast stitching. The Competition edition will go on sale in August starting at ˆ72,000 (about $97,700). Audi's first Turbocharged Direct Injection engine debuted at the 1989 Frankfurt Motor Show in the Audi 100 2.5 TDI. See the press release down below for more details. There was another Tesla Model S crash recently, this one at the Tesla Store. The driver apparently crashed the freshly purchased car into the Tesla sign before even making it off the lot. According to Reddit user s1lentway, who was at the Tesla Store in Fremont, California when it happened, "We believe this is someone who just got their car. They must have been driving it for less than a minute and lost control, crashing right into the sign missing the showroom glass windows only by a few inches." Wrecked Exotics suggests the driver hit the accelerator instead of the brake pedal. Probably the best comment in the Reddit post: "Edison strikes again." See the original post at Reddit for more corny jokes, speculation and similar stories from other users. Take a lap in a Formula E racecar. The video below offers up the sights and sounds of a hot, wet lap in the open-cockpit, all-electric Spark-Renault SRT_01E.