Audi

• The range figure is a laboratory number. WLTP is measured at 23C with unrealistically gentle acceleration. Which? measured a 16% average shortfall across UK market models, and in cold weather What Car? found no car came within 20% of its official figure, with some short by nearly 40%. In mixed UK driving most electric cars return 70 to 80% of the number on the brochure.
• Carbon neutral usually means offset, not reduced. The ASA now bans carbon neutral and net zero claims that rest on offsetting unless the offsets can be shown to work, after a Guardian investigation found more than 90% of offset schemes worthless. The ASA has already ruled against a car maker on air quality claims. Check whether a claim describes emissions actually cut or emissions paid for elsewhere.
• Tailpipe zero is not pollution zero. Non exhaust sources are now around 60% of roadside PM2.5 and 73% of PM10, and tyre wear alone runs over a thousand times the regulated exhaust limit. No maker publishes a tyre wear figure, and Euro 7 is the first rule to touch it.
• Check what is rented rather than owned. Makers have charged a monthly fee for heated seats where the hardware was already fitted and paid for. BMW charged 18 dollars a month for it in 2022 and later called it a mistake, and firmware for the 2024 Model Y pointed to paid front heated seats alongside a range limited in software to 260 miles. Ask what stops working if you stop paying, and whether it passes to the next owner.
• Assume the car is collecting, and check what it sells. Mozilla reviewed 25 car brands and every one failed its privacy standard, the worst result of any product category it has assessed, worse than mental health apps. 84% admit sharing personal data, 19 say they can sell it, and more than half share with government or law enforcement on request. Some policies list sexual activity, health, race and genetic information.
• A car that needs an app is a car with an expiry date. If core functions depend on the maker’s servers, the useful life is set by how long those servers run, not by the mechanicals.

Sources: Which? and What Car? WLTP shortfall testing; ASA guidance on carbon neutral and offsetting claims; Emissions Analytics on tyre wear against exhaust limits; phys.org on vegan leather composition.