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Comment by abcd_f | Hacker News Reader

In related news - if you ever wanted the S series, now is the time to pick one up. I went it to look at their e-trons and tfsi-e (hybrids), because that’s what responsible adults do nowadays, and ended up leaving with an S6, because it was just a complete no-brainer of a choice.

Hybrids are basically a joke, something just to make you feel good about yourself. Slow, boring behemoths.

Audi’s electrics are lagging behind Tesla by several years. In the absence of Tesla it could’ve been an option if you were after an e-car, but as it stands now it’s like buying an upscale SVGA card instead of a GPU.

And then you look at what Audi does the best and realize that a fully loaded S6 is cheaper than Tesla AND it comes with a round steering wheel! Bah, I’ll take two.

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I just bought an RS7 recently, had an RS5, and I owned a p85D (years ago). The fit and finish of the Audi is miles ahead of the Tesla. I love what Elon does with them, but when I compare my neighbors Model S and my RS7 which were similarly priced, it's not in the same ball park.

The S Series is the best of them all, practically priced, all the enhanced features, and an enjoyable ride.

All that said, I do look forward to another EV. The best part of Audi / Porsche and other higher end manufactures with experience in building more luxury vehicles, is that it will put pressure on Tesla.

Congrats on the S6! It's a fantastic car.

Cheers, thanks. Not my first Audi, not my first S either, so I know it’s going to be an excellent car (still being fabricated).

IMO you are spot on with the quality remark, especially compared to Teslas. In that aspect Teslas were underwhelming - from the quality of the materials used for the interior, to the infamous door gap issue, to the paint job that causes detailers to charge extra for Teslas, because they require “special handling”.

Apparently they improved the material quality in the 2021 model S, but they then had to shoot themselves in a foot with the yoke and the removal of the gear shifter. These two changes make as much sense as putting driver seat backwards and mounting a TV screen in front of them. Yes, looks dope. Yes, can be done. No, shouldn’t be the default, leave alone the only option.

Imagine in 2021 thinking HN would be positively receptive to someone boasting about choosing a $75k S6 ICE, polluting over the next 20 years at 22mpg, over an EV. Money is not an issue and yet there's no mention of climate change, only that it was a "no-brainer."

60% of US electricity still comes from Coal and Natural Gas [0], which are polluting. So, an EV is nothing more than an increase in mileage - it's not like it's suddenly Zero polluting, unless of course you're charging from at-home Solar.

Now of course I don't know the efficiency, or amount of pollutants (CO2 and other) released compare between gas engines and coal/natural gas power plants, so the actual increase in mileage and environmental benefit might be different, but it is certainly not 100%.

Has anyone come across any study that compares the two?

Public transport, remote working and so on have a much much larger impact IMHO.

[0] https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-...

Of course, and I never meant to imply an EV is a complete reduction of emissions. Even a solar-at-home EV still has tire emissions and all the carbon spent to manufacture and ship it. My condescension comes from this being a simple choice at the dealership, rather than the many harder, but still worthy, decisions to reduce emissions in transportation altogether.

I'd be interested in this as well as the environmental impact and byproduct of Battery build and degradation.

Every car is a decision to pollute and use excess resources, it’s just a matter of scale. Even if you are lucky enough to have a clean source of electricity, you’re still contributing to the problem. Asphalt is made from oil and concrete releases co2, both of which are used to make the roads necessary for you to drive this vehicle around. Then there are the energy and resource inputs into the vehicle itself, the infrastructure built bigger for car driving distances, etc.

The better option is to not own a car at all, and walk/bike/transit your way around.

It’s 7.5 l/100km, which is 32 mpg if my math is correct.

Average city and highway usage is estimated to be 22mpg.[0]

[0]https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=42615

They’re not very fuel efficient are they?

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