I was in Scottsdale, Arizona for a Turtle Wax event recently, and one of the activities was a sundown drive in a bunch of interesting cars. While some of my cohorts went for hot-rod Porsches and a McLaren MP4-12C, I got to drive an Audi e-tron. How was it" One word: weird

I was relatively sanguine about all this. Everyone that drove an EV (there were three Audi e-trons there) seemed upset at having missed out on “the cooler stuff.” I was okay with it. I have driven lots of hot cars over the years, but an e-tron was completely new to me. If you are familiar with the Q8, the e-tron is about that size. So if you are accustomed to Audi crossovers like that, you should have no problem maneuvering the e-tron.

Behind The Wheel of The Audi e-tron
Sliding into the seat, I was confronted by multiple touchscreens. In the airplane business, this is what is known as a glass cockpit. Everything in sight was either leather, piano black trim, brushed aluminum or darkened glass. Very slick and high-tech, but in a bunch of ways, not all that different from any other modern Audi SUV or crossover.

The same went for the exterior. It looks like a typical, modern-day Audi SUV or crossover. Like all modern Audis, the e-tron is covered with sharp creases, festooned with plastic, and liberally-sprinkled with sensors on every end and side. One front fender bender, I thought while I was driving, and there goes five grand worth of cameras and radar emitters.

What wi...