Basically the title. What were the things you considered and why did you chose MachE over the eTron?
Has anyone cross shopped GT it with the Audi eTron?
🛒 Car ShoppingI own both and this comment is exactly how I’d describe the two cars. The Audi’s interior is fantastic and the ride is very comfortable. The Mach-E is faster and has tighter handling. I would also add that the Audi is more of a “nanny,” it seems to turn on safety features I’ve previously deactivated whenever it wants. I also prefer the Sync system to Audi’s MMI. For some reason, the Audi cannot understand that I’d like to use CarPlay for navigation, but listen to the radio. Never had that problem in the Mach-E. It also refuses to connect to my phone for CarPlay half the time. I have to manually do it in the menus.
Should also mention, maintenance costs on the Audi are much higher. For the first 40k miles, services will total into the $2,000s or you can buy a maintenance plan for the first 40k miles for about $1,300. Either way, maintenance for the Mach-E for first 40k miles isn’t even close to that.
Great description. I actually switched from an sportback to a GTPE recently. The Audi is a more luxurious but restrained experience. The GTPE is a blast to drive but the cabin is much noisier and the amenities aren’t able to compete with Audi. Just two very different styles - but both are great cars.
The etron is a lot more money and didnt qualify for any tax credits is why i didnt go etron. Also the audi electronics are funky and seats are harder than most. Still i like how audis look and may buy one in the future if i want to just burn some extra money
Also i like the paddle shift to adjust regen braking but that would annoying and confusing to most i would think
Thank you, I have not test driven a Mach-E, I should have though. I’m almost gonna go buy the eTron, and like you said it was a sporty driving experience. The sound isolation was something that I really fell in love with, but having second thoughts.
Compared to my Mustang, the MachX doesn’t made any noise
What's a MachX?
Isn’t the etron also very inefficient
Not particularly. I mean all that weight from sound dampening and non-plastics will cost some efficiency drops. But an indistinguishable amount.
I wouldn’t say indistinguishable. The EPA efficiency shows that the SQ8 etron is 25% less efficient than a GT.
Comparing the Q8 to the Mach E is very unfair. They aren’t in the same class. The Q4 eTron (previously just called the eTron) is the direct competitor.
If I decide to buy a $$$$$ EV, I will go for the BMW, but I am very happy with my Mache
We cross shopped the e-tron. It was certainly swankier, and more spacious. The GT was just better, though. The interior is great, and there's enough space for us and 3 kids. Biggest thing that sold us was the driver experience, though. The E-Tron doesn't touch the GT in that regard. It's way better to drive. The big difference in range was a bonus for us, but wasn't the reason we went with the GT.
Audi’s naming convention is insane, so I gotta ask Which etron? The q4? The big suv? The car?
The OG eTron SUV. Sorry about not being clear. I thought this compares to that, but I can see it being cross shopped against the Q4.
I did this when looking for mine. I did like the Audi interior better but i preferred the stereo and the acceleration of the GT
Were you comparing the B&O versions on both?
This is a valid question because I think the B&O was in the premium plus and the premium which I looked at didn’t. The premium was at the same (at the time) price point so I kept my investigation to that.
EDIT: Redundancy
So we have both. I hate the audi, the range is complete garbage.
Oh wow; my use case I don’t care about the range though. How does the car compare otherwise?
The interior is nicer, but overall I prefer the Mach-e by a mile.
How has the reliability of both vehicles been? Which MY btw?
My wife has only had the Audi for like 3 months now so its yet to be seen, but the range is garbage and not nearly what is advertised. I have a premium 2022 mach e have had no issues and have put about 25k miles on it already.
I see, good to know. How does the size compare? Is the MachE very much smaller or about the same?
Pretty similar.
For me it was the range.
We did check out the etron a year or so ago, at the time the price they wanted for them was insane. It wouldn't have been a very realistic choice. My impression of Volkswagen cars has historically been that they often have issues with the electronics. That's not good when the whole car is electric. It's not that things don't work on them, but they are glitchy.
I’m Looking at a gently ised one; the depreciation has been huge and I’m sure it’ll continue even after buying a used one. A car with 90k sticker is going for around 55k now after a year and 2/3k miles on it.
I have a 2021 e-tron, my wife has a 2023 Mach-e Premium. Aside from the battery, the e-tron design hasn't changed much over the last 5 years. The Audi has a much smoother ride, and is quieter than the GT, but the Mach-e has a MUCH better interior design. It feels much roomier than the Audi. The Mach-e ride smooths out if you look at the GTPE, which has a better suspension that the other trims. If I had a choice, I'd go for the Mach-e GTPE.
By GT PE, GT premium edition?
Yes, prior to 2024 there was the GT and the GTPE. I think in 2024 they may just have the one GT edition and it now has the air suspension instead of just springs.
The Audi has air suspension I think, so it could be comparable.
It does, and my Audi is smoother than my wife's Mach-e. There is a difference in the UI. The Mach-e has the one main screen, but there was a lot of thought that went in to the UI and design. I don't like the "speedometer" in the Mach-e, it does not provide much info at all, while the one in the Audi is configurable. The big difference is the rest of the interior design. Heck, the cupholders alone!!!!! As for the Audi, the whole center console is a cluster F&*K. Aside from the shifter in the Audi, which I like, there is zero usable storage. The design just sucks. Overall, the Mach-e is 100% better in design!
A couple of other things, depending on the year of the Audi, the range doesn't compare to the Mach-e GT. You can look at a real-world range for the Audi of ~200miles. The Mach-e is more efficient, the Audi is not efficient. The 2021 e-Tron I have has a 90 kwh battery, maybe a bit bigger, but the usable amount is 86khw, and i get the same range as my wife's AWD premium that has a usable 70khw in her battery. I think the suspension in the Audi eats up a lot of energy. That said, the Audi charges faster. The Mach-e has a bad charging curve. It will start at 100kw, then after about 5 minutes drops down to about 80kw until you hit 80%. At 80% it will drop down to 40-50kw. The e-tron will keep a consistent 145 kw until about 90%.
Some pluses, some minuses for both, but having experienced both the Mach-e would be my choice.
Thank you for the detailed answer. I really appreciate that you’ve touch a lot of the points that I wanted to know. I 100% agree with you on the Audi’s interior being a hot mess, the Mach E looks so much cleaner like the BMW i3 I currently have.
I only charge at home and don’t drive much, so the calharging speed, even though it’s a nice to have is not a requirement for my use case. I do tend to lean a little towards the Audi because of the material quality and the sound isolation, but driving that I did not feel like o was in an electric car - which I think is far better in the Mach e. I will try to test drive the Mach e to see how good it is.
Let us know which way you go.
Will do, mostly with the Audi, unless the Mach-e blows me away.
Thanks for all the info; I ended up chosing the Audi.
Performance edition. 2023 and earlier models could get more torque and therefore more HP with the PE trim. For 2024, all GTs are performance capable, it's just a $1000 addon fee to unlock that capability. GT is now top trim and performance or rally are add-ons instead of trims, at least in canada.
I did actually. I’ve always enjoyed Audis. There’s loads of differences and they both have their advantages. To me it boiled down to this
The Mach E is the more driver’s focused car. Fun to drive, sporty. Not just fast acceleration (all EVs have that) but also well-balanced, tight steering, connected. Fun to drive. They definitely kept the Mustang name in mind when designing it.
Conversely the Audi is more luxurious. Nicer materials that you see & touch in the cabin. More sound dampening materials create a quieter cabin.
Which one is better? Really depends on what you value more. They both have their advantages so it’s really down to what you prefer.