As long as consumers who know a little bit about cars talk to them about the four-wheel drive system of the car, many people will definitely blurt out a classic saying: There are two types of four-wheel drive in the world, one is the One is Audi Quattro, and the other is other four-wheel drive.
This sentence can be regarded as an evaluation, or it can be seen that Audi Quattro has a high reputation in the civilian field and is not stingy in praise.
As car fans gain an in-depth understanding of the Audi Quattro four-wheel drive system, they will find that the Audi four-wheel drive system actually has very complex branches. There are very significant algebraic divisions according to different eras, even if In the same era, Audi will also equip models with different positioning and power layouts with very different Quattro systems.
In recent years, the Quattro four-wheel drive system equipped on Audi models has begun to be gradually canceled due to the patent of Torsen differential on the one hand and the advancement of the times on the other. Differentials began to use multi-plate clutch differentials. The naming also changed from Quattro to Quattro Ultra. In the eyes of many conservative consumers, this electronic four-wheel drive system is undoubtedly a reduction in equipment. .
Perhaps from a certain point of view, the electronic four-wheel drive system is indeed a reduction in equipment, but from the perspective of the manufacturer, it is more of a system made in line with the times. A helpless choice.
Among the alternating models between the old and new generations of Audi’s Quattro system, the model that has most aroused enthusiastic responses from consumers is the launch of the Audi Q5L. The full-time four-wheel drive system that was once standard on all series has become Not only did consumers doubt Audi's move, but many media also held a skeptical attitude towards it. I am enthusiastic and reluctant to part with the older generation of mechanical Torsen differential locks, but at the same time I have a very conservative attitude towards the newly launched Quattro?ultra.
Although the Audi Q5, which once dominated the mid-level luxury SUV market, has retired, the new Audi Q5L uses a set of Quattro?ultra active real-time four-wheel drive system, which uses electronic control. The multi-plate clutch differential also has a central differential lock function that the Torsen differential does not have, and can achieve a front-rear axle power distribution of 100:0 to 0:100;
Join With the toothed coupling, the power input to the rear axle can be completely blocked, which can reduce power loss by up to 10% in two-wheel drive mode and reduce average fuel consumption by 0.3 liters per 100 kilometers; and it can actively realize the system by detecting different road conditions. The entire transmission system starts to automatically switch 0.5 seconds before the four-wheel drive mode, ensuring that it switches to four-wheel drive in 0.2 seconds. It can be said that quattro?ultra combines all the advantages of two-wheel drive, timely four-wheel drive, and full-time four-wheel drive. .
To put it bluntly, even if the Quattro?ultra does not have a Torsen differential or a tubular gear differential, this four-wheel drive system can almost crush its peers among all luxury brand models. Compared with its rivals, whether it is on-road handling performance or off-road ability to get out of trouble, the new Q5L is very good, and it is also more fuel-efficient.
Although the Quattro?ultra active real-time four-wheel drive system has such superior performance, it has always been difficult to be accepted by consumers. This may be due to resistance to new technology, or because of such The products of the new era have not won any highly valuable awards in the competition, and they lack a certain degree of persuasiveness.
Perhaps it is because the Torsen differential has an ingenious structure, does not require load, responds quickly, and has stable performance, which has brought too much glory to the Audi Quattro system, and as a latecomer, the Quattro?ultra active The timely four-wheel drive system was born under this background, which really seems a bit humble.
However, in this change of environmental trends, performance has always been defeated by the laws and regulations of bias and economy, and there is a high probability that in addition to the current Q5L, the new A7 and A6 have already Quattro?ultra upper body, when the Q7 and A8 are updated again in the future, there is a high probability that Quattro?ultra will also be used. Even the crown gear Quattro will only appear in the S and S models with high performance as a selling point in the near future. On the high-performance models of the RS series.
If you look at it from Audi's perspective, Audi abandoned the quattro with Tossen differential structure and chose to apply the Quattro?ultra system on a large scale. The electronic transformation of Quattro is also preparing for the Audi e in the electrification era. -tron?Quattro prepares.
In general, in the history of automobile development, Quattro is not the first, nor will it be the last high-performance product to lose to time and the market, just like the JDM that Japanese fans long for. Times have gone forever. As a part of the Audi Quattro system, the Torsen differential is also an era in the history of Audi Quattro. Now with the changes of the times, Audi Quattro will move into a new era with Quattro?ultra. This It is also the end of the past and a new beginning.
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.