Expectations of the Audi E-Tron GT have always been high because if you strip away the bodywork, you’ll find a Porsche underneath. An electric one, but still a Porsche. Like its Taycan sibling, the E-Tron GT was treated to a facelift last year, and like the Taycan, it’s one of those facelifts that you need to be the Sherlock Holmes of cars to identify.
The biggest change is up front, where the older car’s curious black ‘mask’ has been swapped out for a more conventional treatment, but that’s fine. The E-Tron GT’s always been a handsome car, so Audi wisely didn’t muck with the formula.
Audi S E-Tron GT – front, static
What it has done is give the E-Tron GT more power. You can now get four versions, all of which stick to a dual-motor, all-wheel drive setup, and this S E-Tron GT is the second-from-bottom of them. Even so, it packs 583bhp most of the time, and 671bhp if you come to a stop, pop it in Dynamic mode, stand on the brakes and then mash the accelerator to engage Launch Control.
Do this, and the E-Tron GT will hit 62mph in 3.4 seconds. Remember when this sort of number was the preserve of supercars? The same function in the range-topping RS E-Tron GT Performance gives you 912bhp and 0-62mph in 2.5 seconds. You don’t need this much power. Really, you don’t.
Audi S E-Tron GT – side, driving
That’s because even 3.4 seconds to 62 is enough to smack your head against the headrest, and send any unsecured items launching painfully into the knees of anyone in their path. It’s enough to make people feel physical pain and nausea.
We’re so over powerful EVs delivering headline-grabbing acceleration numbers, though, right? Watching the scenery suddenly get much closer for the umpteenth time quickly gets boring. If electric cars are going to capture our imagination, they need to be engaging in other ways, and the E-Tron shares a platform with one of the best in the business in that regard.
Audi S E-Tron GT – rear, driving
It’s not as satisfying to thread down a wiggly road as the Taycan, though. It has oodles of grip and stays nicely flat, and the steering is direct and has a nice, meaty weightiness to it, but you get very little feedback through the wheel. It also weighs a hefty 2.3 tonnes, and it can’t really do much to hide this as it tries to push wide through corners.
This is okay, though – the Porsche’s a Porsche and the Audi is, well, an Audi, and those brands don’t generally do the same thing. If the E-Tron GT can do the typical fast Audi stuff well, then it deserves its spot at the top of the Audi range. And mostly, it does.
Audi S E-Tron GT – front detail
It’s hugely refined, for a start, in the way that only an EV really can be. Obviously, the powertrain is buttery smooth, and it cruises quietly too, Audi largely eliminating any exacerbated EV wind noise. It doesn’t fall into the trap of emphasising its massive grunt with a snappy accelerator either. Instead, the E-Tron has a lovely progressive pedal, allowing you to experience its power in the form of a mighty but steady swell rather than a neck-snapping whomp.
It’s comfy, too. Although our car didn’t have Audi’s swishy new optional Active Suspension setup, the E-Tron GT now gets standard dual-chamber air suspension across the range, and it does a fantastic job of keeping the ride flat and composed while still soaking up bumps and holes so they only register as a distant thunk.
Audi S E-Tron GT – interior
Being an EV will inevitably dent its credentials as a long-legged tourer in some people’s eyes, but in a week of mixed driving, we were getting about 3.0m/kWh from its 97kwh net battery. That works out at about 290 miles of range – nowhere near the official peak figure of 376, but still plenty more than most people are going to need in a single sitting. It’s more than you get out of the faster, more expensive versions – all the more reason not to bother with them.
Interiors haven’t necessarily been the strong suit of the very latest Audis, but the E-Tron GT’s cabin remains a pleasant place to sit. Firstly, unlike cars like the new A6 E-Tron, it has a proper row of physical switches and a separate display for adjusting climate settings. It’s the very same setup, in fact, that you get on a boggo A3 – perhaps unbecoming of a car that costs many times more, but it works so well that you’ll happily forgive it.
Audi S E-Tron GT – interior
It’s also a pleasure to get into an expensive car and find not leather or an eco-friendly imitation, but just really nice, soft-touch fabric. You can get peeled cow, naturally, but we really wouldn’t bother – embrace the cloth. It’s lovely.
It’s not entirely rosy inside, mind. Bits of the interior feel a bit low-rent for a car of this standing, notably the shiny piano black plastic on the dash and the nasty part-haptic, part-clicky steering wheel buttons, which are also too small and fiddly. And though rear legroom is decent, the E-Tron GT’s coupe-ish roofline means headroom’s at a premium back there for adults. The boot is shallow but surprisingly long – good for golf clubs, but not, say, a very tall potted plant.
Audi S E-Tron GT – rear, static
So, this or a Taycan? If you want the utmost driving thrills out of your EV, go for the Porsche. Or, if you’re not a badge snob, save yourself a huge chunk of cash and get a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. The Audi, naturally, is a little cheaper too. The S E-Tron GT kicks off at £108,775 (although ours had some choice options, bringing the price up to £123,876). The closest equivalent Taycan, the GTS, will run you at least £118,200. That’s before you factor in the crushing depreciation the Taycan’s unfortunately gained notoriety for, although a cursory glance at the classifieds shows that the Audi’s far from immune to that.
Perhaps it’s unfair to compare it to the Porsche, though. They may be closely related underneath, but they exist to do slightly different jobs, and as an EV to do the usual fast Audi stuff – pace, comfort, refinement if not outright thrills – the Audi is rather good indeed. Funny, that.
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