The Activesphere Concept raises interesting questions about the design, capability, and sustainability of luxury off-roaders.
Even if Head of Audi Design Marc Lichte doesn’t think it’s particularly “aggressive,” the Activesphere Concept is a wicked-looking piece of kit. It’s also no poser. Because as Gael Buzyn, manager of the company’s Malibu Design Studio, described when it was revealed, this green machine offers “true off-road capabilities” — just like the potential G-Wagen fighter hinted at last month undoubtedly will.
The big question, however, is would any meaningful number of Audi owners actually take them on anything more treacherous than a trip up to the slopes, or a snowy school run. And as Alexander Edwards, president of automotive research firm Strategic Vision recently told Capital One’s Auto Navigator, the answer is probably not. Now, to be fair, Edwards wasn’t asked about Audi customers specifically. But he did say that group’s research indicated only 2% of SUV owners drive through mud or rocks more than once per year.
The vast majority — meaning 91% — stick to dirt or gravel, or never go off-road at all. For most people, a rugged SUV is more about the potential than the actual:
“The thought process is, if I want to be proud of myself, and part of the way I imagine that is through the ideas of freedom—being able to go anywhere, do anything—and I happen to be someone who is tied to a job or family where I have so much responsibility, I can’t actualize it,” Edwards explains. “By purchasing the SUV and having that capability, that fills that emotional deficit or gap that I’m having. It says, ‘I still am this person, even if I’m not doing it.’”
This is something that Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars.com, has also discovered in his studies. Here’s what he told ABC News when the latest Land Rover Defender was starting to arrive on dealer lots:
“Consumers who buy these vehicles love the ‘what if’ idea. That alone will get them to buy these vehicles. Consumers want flexibility and confidence. But few will make that leap from mall parking lot to off-roading adventuring.”
Of course, there are Audi owners who might exploit the full abilities of a burly off-roader. Gene Pascua modified his 2015 Audi Allroad for overlanding, and two years ago, Matt Farah shot a video with an RS 4 Avant that was given the safari treatment. But I think it’s reasonable to consider the owners of those vehicles outliers. It’s also reasonable to ask what the harm in people having exponentially more capability than they need really is.
But unfortunately, even when a vehicle is electric — like the Activesphere — there’s still a tremendous cost associated with giant, heavy SUVs. Here’s a relevant bit from a new piece in the New Yorker:
The calculations become more complicated when the vehicles are electric, but the same basic math applies. Heavier vehicles require more energy to move around, and so, until the world is operating on zero-carbon electricity, the more an E.V. weighs, the more emissions it will produce. (Indeed, with electric vehicles, the weight problem is compounded: bigger cars need heavier batteries, which adds to their weight.)
It’s also important to note that along with unsexy metrics like tire particulate and pedestrian deaths, the bonkers level of performance offered by electric SUVs could make for some truly gruesome accidents. For example? The Hummer EV will go from zero to 60 in three seconds — and it weighs 9,000 pounds. And you don’t need to have a doctorate in physics to grasp what will happen when one collides with a small vehicle, or like, a large building.
So I think it’s worth asking about what percentage of owners will use an electric off-roader to its abilities, and how that number lines up with the green message automakers — not just Audi — are sending by pivoting from internal combustion engines. If you think I’m wrong, hit me up.
Image Source: Audi
automated driving. That means the interior will be a space that can be transformed from a cockpit into something more akin to a mobile living room than a traditional cabin.