Audi vs AUDI: can China make a better German car than Germany?

Unless you live in China, you might not have realised that there are now two different car makers sharing the same name – Audi, and AUDI. The first is the four-ringed German manufacturer famous for the quattro, TT and R8, but the latter is a new joint venture between Audi and the Chinese company SAIC Motor – the same group that’s behind MG.

Why do we need both? Well, the truth is that many car manufacturers have been knocked for six by the Chinese car industry – not just in Europe, but in China as well. Chinese manufacturers can offer more car for less money, and a massive number of buyers in China are flocking to their home-grown cars, leading to plummeting sales elsewhere.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, is Audi’s philosophy – so it’s teamed up with a Chinese manufacturer to produce a range of China-only electric cars under the new AUDI brand.

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But what’s the new AUDI actually like? To find out, I’ve got hold of one, the E7X SUV, and I’m going to compare it to a flagship Audi product from the European market – the Q8. You can watch the video for the full story, or read on for more.

Styling

From a distance, you probably wouldn’t know the new AUDI was related to the European brand. The E7X has pretty cool styling, with nice details such as inlaid LED lighting, big and glitzy alloy wheels and hidden door handles that are actually nice to use. But there’s no denying it’s a little bit anonymous, and you don’t even get the iconic four-ringed Audi badge – the AUDI brand uses a wordmark instead, which you’ll find in all the usual places.

The Q8 isn’t a particularly new design or even a particularly stunning car, but it has a bit more character than the blobby E7X. It’s certainly more traditional too, which could be a good or a bad thing depending on your preference.

Interior design and practicality

It’s a similar story on the inside. The Q8 has an older style of Audi interior, which has a pretty conventional layout – though the secondary infotainment screen for things like the climate control is definitely quite high-tech.

But it looks like a rotary phone next to the E7X’s interior. The Chinese AUDI features a vast, dashboard-wide screen over a minimalist interior. You’d never know it was related to Audi if it wasn’t spelled out on the wheel – the widescreen actually reminds me more of a BMW. Everything materials-wise feels nice, and though there aren’t too many physical controls I like that AUDI has given you a couple of rollers for temperature and fan speed – nice one.

The screen itself is gigantic at 27 inches across, and there’s a 21.4-inch screen that folds down from the roof for rear passengers too. My Mandarin isn’t great, so I couldn’t dive too far down into the software, but it responds really quickly. Plus, you get some neat touches, like the little touchpad in the centre of the dash where you can draw shortcut symbols.

When I showed both cars to a group of engineering students from Oxford Brookes university, they narrowly preferred the Q8 to the E7X – but it was a real close-run thing, at eight votes to seven.

Practicality in the E7X is good – there’s lots of rear legroom, the seats recline and there are even leg rests. But it’s not quite a limousine, even if you engage ‘BOSS’ mode which puts the front passenger seat forwards. Still, it’s just as roomy as the Q8. While the E7X’s boot is larger on paper at 680 litres versus 605 litres in the Q8, when I packed it full of camera operators and video producers I found there really wasn’t much in it.

Driving and performance

No prizes for guessing which one of these cars wins when they’re punted down the Carwow drag strip. With two electric motors, 680hp, and 800Nm of torque, the E7X makes the 286hp/600Nm diesel Q8 look rather anaemic. The E7X managed 0-60mph in just four seconds, and the standing quarter mile in 12 seconds. The Q8 was more than two seconds slower in both.

It would definitely have been a closer race if we’d used the SQ8 or RSQ8, but then the two cars’ price disparity would have been even greater – more on that in a bit…

But what are they both like to drive? Well, the Q8 isn’t the best big SUV to drive – that honor goes to the BMW X5 or the Porsche Cayenne – but it still feels great. It’s stable, satisfying, and feels natural in the corners.

The E7X is much more like driving a computer game. The steering feels remote and weirdly inconsistent at times, and even though you get way more performance from those electric motors you don’t necessarily want to put your foot down all the time. There’s no doubt in my mind which of these two cars I’d rather drive every day, but then I’m a bit of a petrolhead.

Price

But the E7X has a real trump card left to play, and that’s price. Because you see, while Audi charges around £80,000 for the Q8, if you live in China you can pick up an E7X for around £36,000.

That’s less than half the price, for a car with far more performance, high-tech luxury and just as much space and practicality. You can see why Chinese buyers are willing to sacrifice the prestige of the traditional Audi badge when they’re saving that much money.

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