Modern cars are getting more and more complicated and it makes life difficult when things go wrong, reports James Baggott
Life with my long-term electric Audi has just got a little bit easier—and it’s all thanks to some tech that’s started working again.
Let me explain. Modern cars now have a rather annoying speed limit warning system that bongs at you whenever you go even 1mph over the speed limit.
Like lane departure warning systems, this ‘helpful’ piece of new technology cannot be turned off completely; it can only be muted every time you get in the car.
But on some cars – like the Audi SQ8 I’ve been driving – turning it off isn’t as simple as pushing a button. No, in the Audi, it’s buried at least four screens deep in a complicated multimedia system. Navigating your way through this while driving really is inadvisable.
Thankfully, earlier in my tenure with the SQ8, I found the ability to create a shortcut to turn off the speed limit warnings, but about six weeks ago it disappeared.
After a call with Audi UK, it transpired that these ‘favourite’ buttons are linked to my ‘user profile’. Another quirk of modern cars is you can now log into them, like a computer, to set personal preferences – but the SQ8 had forgotten I existed.
Despite driving the car every day it told me that I had not been logged in recently (I had), and decided I was no longer a user of the car. This had rendered all my personal preferences redundant.
After a lengthy call with an Audi engineer, a full factory reset was required of the multimedia system and – hey presto – I was back in action. I had to reset all my favourite buttons, including the one that turns off the speed limit warning, but thankfully it worked.
It did make me think about just how complicated new cars have become. While I love to be able to choose personal seating settings, have my favourite radio station primed and set up my favourite buttons for shortcuts like these, it’s a pain when they stop working.
Sadly, the reset hasn’t fixed my Apple CarPlay problem. That still won’t work, no matter what I do and I know it’s not my phone’s fault as I’ve tried it with other cars recently and it was fine. Annoying.
Anyway, enough about multimedia systems. How am I getting on with my year as an electric car owner? Well, I would say it’s still mixed. While I love the driving characteristics, the swift getaways and the silent driving, I am still borrowing other cars for long journeys.
I’ve tried a few public chargers and, while they are certainly getting better, the unreliability and not knowing whether those at my chosen stop will be occupied, or working, still fills me with dread. It’s added stress to a journey I just don’t need.
This is a huge barrier to EV adoption and I can understand why others are worried. It’s certainly not the car’s fault and for the majority of the time when I am charging at home, and making short journeys, it’s wonderful.
I still stick by my comments that electric cars make great second cars, but having the backup of one available that’s powered by ‘old fashioned’ fuel certainly makes life a lot less stressful.
On a practical level, with a recent third addition to the clan, there really isn’t enough space in the back of the SQ8 for three children. With two child seats plugged into ISOFIX anchor points on either side of the rear bench, my teenage daughter struggles to get comfortable in the middle.
The Audi SQ8 might look huge and there are parts, like the boot, that are pretty gigantic, but the space inside for occupants is at a bit of a premium.
I am impressed, though, with how the grey leather interior has held up over the year. We all know what kids can be like and the leather has been easy to clean and still looks fresh.
Facts at a glance
- Model: Audi SQ8
- Price as tested: £118,105
- Engine: Electric motor with 114kW battery
- Power: 496bhp
- Torque: 973Nm
- 0-60mph: 4.5 seconds
- Top speed: 130mph
- Range: 265 miles (claimed)
- Emissions: 0g/km CO2
- Mileage: 7,452