The Audi e-tron all-electric SUV is here, and it may have just eaten Tesla's lunch

Audi

Audi e-tron

• Audi e-tron, the first electric SUV from the German automaker, debuted in San Francisco on Monday night.
• Two electric motors will power the all-wheel-drive e-tron. A 95 kWh battery gives it an estimated 248-mile range on a full charge.
• The e-tron seats five passengers and its battery can be charged up to 80% capacity in about 30 minutes using publicly available 150 kWh DC fast-chargers.
• By all appearances, the e-tron is instantly recognizable as a modern Audi four-wheeler: stout, muscular, and well-proportioned. Nearly all of its functions are controlled from two interior touchscreen. It's also the first new Audi to come equipped with Amazon Alexa built in.
• Audi is already taking preorders for the e-tron. Deliveries are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2019.

Audi e-tron, the German automaker's first all-electric SUV is officially here, in the metal.

The company pulled the covers off the five-passenger, all-wheel-drive e-tron on Monday night in San Francisco. It marks the latest evolution in the Audi brand, and also in the fledgling luxury electric SUV market.

Two electric motors power the e-tron. A 95 kWh battery gives it an estimated 248-mile range on a full charge based on European testing. Audi says numbers for the US market are pending, but anecdotal data, acquired from a handful of US road trips in the e-tron produced ranges as high roughly 270 miles on a full charge, according to Audi.

Its battery can be charged up to 80% capacity in about 30 minutes using publicly available 150 kWh DC fast-chargers.

The range is on par with the e-tron's closest competitor, the Tesla Model X, which promises as many as 295 miles of range on a full charge.

Jaguar's I-Pace electric crossover boasts a 220-mile range.

As with all electric vehicles, the battery range is partially assisted by regenerative braking. When the driver lifts their foot off of the accelerator pedal, energy that would have gone toward slowing down the vehicle instead charges the battery.

Audi says the e-tron can recapture energy from most types of braking applications - 90% by Audi's estimation. The automaker says a third of the e-tron's battery range will come from regeneration.

By all appearances, the e-tron is instantly recognizable as a modern Audi four-wheeler: stout, muscular, and well-proportioned. Nearly all of its functions are controlled via two interior touchscreens. It's also the first new Audi to come equipped with Amazon Alexa built in.

The e-tron starts at $74,800. A mid-range, "Prestige" model jumps to $81,800. A select few buyers will be able to opt for a limited "Edition One" e-tron, which tops at $86,700. Preorders are already underway. The first deliveries are expected to land in the second quarter of 2019.