Audi A2 e-tron: The Most Efficient EV from Audi

Audi just built the most efficient electric car it’s ever made. If you live in the US, you’ll probably only see it in pictures.

The pitch here is pretty simple, and honestly pretty interesting. The A2 e-tron doesn’t come with Audi’s biggest battery. Instead, it’s built around getting as much range as possible out of a smaller one through smart engineering choices.

How Efficient is the Audi A2 e-tron?

It comes down to two things. A genuinely efficient powertrain and a drag coefficient that’s shockingly low. Here’s how that plays out in numbers. On Europe’s WLTP test cycle, the 140 kW version with the optional efficiency package used just 12.8 kWh to cover 62 miles, which works out to 4.85 miles per kWh. Audi is calling it the most efficient car the brand has ever produced.

Then there’s the drag coefficient, sitting at 0.24, the lowest Audi has ever achieved in its compact lineup. Getting there took more than a few tweaks. Engineers added gap reducers inside the wheel arches, switched to flush electric door handles, and built in a controllable cooling intake up front.

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Interestingly, that efficiency-focused 140 kW model isn’t the range champion. That title goes to the 170 kW variant, which can hit 401 miles on a single charge when paired with the larger 84 kWh battery.

Rounding out the lineup are a 125 kW base model and a 240 kW performance version at the top, giving buyers a real choice between efficiency, range, and speed depending on what matters most to them.

Every version uses one electric motor powering the rear wheels, and all four come with four levels of regenerative braking, including a full one-pedal driving mode.

What does Audi A2 e-tron offer?

Charging times shift depending on which battery you pick. The biggest 84kWh pack charges at up to 183kW and goes from 10 to 80% in 29 minutes. The smaller 52kWh and 61kWh packs land in a similar range, taking about 24 to 25 minutes for the same charge. There’s also bidirectional charging built in, so the car can send power out to things like e-bikes.

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If you’re in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland, you can even use it to send electricity back into your house through a compatible wall box.

Step inside and you’ll find an 11.9-inch driver display next to a 12.8-inch touchscreen, with a soft fabric-like material covering the surfaces you actually touch. One detail worth mentioning is Fidlock, a magnetic system that keeps cables and small items organized around the cabin instead of rolling around loose.

Safety-wise, you get features usually reserved for bigger vehicles, like emergency braking, swerve assist, and adaptive cruise control, and all of it comes standard.

Orders start September 10, with deliveries beginning in December. Pricing starts at €38,200, which comes out to roughly $44,300. One catch though: this car is staying in Europe for now, so US buyers won’t have a way to get one.