To get it out of the way first: I think the 2020 Sportback 55 TFSI e quattro looks great. I think it’s sleek, aggressive and economical, since it’s a hybrid. What I cannot get over, however, is its name.
Say it with me now: The Audi A7 Sportback 55 TFSI e quattro. If you looked away from this page right this instant, would you be able to recite it back to me from memory? Didn’t think so.
Anyway, the wordy nomenclature is here to tell you that the A7 will now have a plug-in hybrid version. Combined with the turbocharged, 2.0-liter, four cylinder engine is an electric motor, which brings total system output to 270 kW (362 horsepower) and 369 lb-ft of torque, according to Audi’s . Acceleration from zero to 62 mph is a claimed 5.7 seconds, and the car can drive in electric-only mode for up to about 25 miles and reach about 84 mph.
Audi says it intends for most customers to do their daily driving without the use of the gasoline engine. So, the A7 starts up in EV mode by default. This is kind of neat, as I can easily imagine many people utilizing that 25-mile, all-electric range for around-town errands.
But the name! Why is the name so long? Couldn’t it simply be “the A7 hybrid”? That’s so much cleaner and more direct. And I know that’s what people will call it. “Yeah, she drives an A7 hybrid.” “Do you have an A7 hybrid on the show floor? I’d like to take a look.” See how much less confusing that is?
Just look at how much writing is on the car’s ass because of that long name. This is far too much reading material to end up on a trunk from the factory. It’s a trunk in desperate need of a de-badging.
As my college fiction professor used to tell me: Clean it up. Be concise. Don’t bore people to death.