Luxury All-Electric Vehicles take the spotlight at Armstrong Prestige in 2019

A few decades down the track, this year and next are going to be looked back upon as the years that saw European automakers embrace electric-car production. And, the Jaguar I-Pace will be seen as one of the first. The shapely electric SUV landed in New Zealand earlier this year, a fully electric car that’s versatile, the right size for maneuverability and parking ease, with a true luxury-vehicle interior.

The I-Pace also does rather well at being just a 'normal' car. With regenerative braking set to high for proper one pedal EV style driving and creep turned off the I-Pace gives you the full EV experience, but set the braking regen low and turn creep on and it feels remarkably like an internal combustion-engined car to drive. The I-Pace features 2x electric motors, 90kWh battery pack, 294kW/696Nm, AWD, Range up to 470km (WLTP)

Mercedes-Benz will have its first electric vehicle, the mid-sized EQC SUV, on sale here by the end of this year. The family-sized SUV is a little longer than the existing Mercedes-Benz GLC SUV, and will have a 400km range. It will accelerate from a standing start to 100km/h in 5.1s. The EQC dashboard features a version of the now-familiar impressive Mercedes digital dashboard, with the addition of a novel feature the company calls a “range cloud”.

The EQC is powered by two 150kW electric motors, one over the front axle and the second over the rear axle.

Hot on the heels of Mercedes-Benz's first fully electric vehicle, the EQC, long-time arch rivals Audi have revealed their challenger to the crown — the highly anticipated e-tron. The SUV comes equipped with a 95kWh battery pack, which supports DC 'fast charging' at a rate of up to 150kW at certain high-speed public charging stations. This is an industry first, and allows the e-tron to be charged to 80 per cent in just 30 minutes.

In true Audi form, power is sent to all four wheels. The e-tron's four-wheel drive system is electric, and promises to be able to react to conditions, throttle input, loss of traction, and the balance of the long list of driving factors in fractions of a second.

The cabin looks much like a lot of Audi's other current (and upcoming) offerings, and is designed to be a true family wagon. Space is supported by the array of swish leathers and gloss plastics that you expect from an Audi these days. 

All three electric vehicles will be available at Armstrong Prestige Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin before the end of the year with the ability to register your interest now, so for more information on Mercedes-Benz, Audi & Jaguar Electric Vehicles please go to www.armstrongmotorgroup.com/ .