Audi e-tron GT Review 2024

Think of the Audi e-tron GT - the brand’s range-topping electric car - as the slightly more sensible twin sibling of the brilliant Porsche Taycan. It’s a bit roomier, a bit more comfortable, and a bit cheaper to buy. But while it isn’t quite as pin-sharp as the Porsche, it’s still fantastic to drive and should be a delight to own.

The naming of Audi’s EV flagship might be confusing. At first glance you might think it’s a sporting variant of the e-tron SUV, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Unlike that car, it sits on a fully bespoke electric platform (not one adapted from an existing petrol or diesel car), and the benefits of that are clear. 

The first is the e-tron GT’s low, sleek and striking four-door coupe design, which just wouldn’t be possible without a proper EV architecture. It’s recognisable as an Audi from the off, with the brand’s latest styling cues such as the large front ‘grille’ (it doesn’t actually function as a grille) and a chunky single-piece tail light. But it’s much more futuristic and desirable than, say, an Audi A7, and the focus is on impressive aerodynamics to improve range. Whether you prefer it to the heavily related Porsche Taycan is a matter of personal taste, but it’ll certainly cause a stir on your driveway. 

The inside is a bit more conservative than the outside, and anyone who’s driven a recent Audi will be instantly familiar with the design and switchgear. Passenger space is better than you might think, and four adults will be able to get comfortable on longer journeys once they’ve negotiated the rather narrow door apertures. However it lacks the ultimate space and carrying capacity of the Tesla Model S, and is best considered a GT car rather than a family-friendly large saloon. 

The Audi e-tron GT is really all about the driving experience, as with the Porsche. There is less choice in the lineup than its stablemate, however: the ‘base’ e-tron GT puts out 476PS (or 530PS in boost mode) from two electric motors on each axle, which is sufficient for 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds. It’s certainly no slouch, but if you want neck-snapping acceleration to impress your mates there’s the range-topping RS e-tron GT.

Unlike the Tesla, though, which amazes in a straight line but disappoints when shown a series of bends, the e-tron GT is one of the most agile and fun electric cars on sale. Like the Taycan, it’s super composed, balanced and (thanks to all models getting four-wheel drive) grippy. Sure, an Audi R8 might entertain even more, but for a big, heavy EV the e-tron GT is remarkably good. 

That performance and handling doesn’t come at the expense of range, however. Thanks to that slippery body and a chunky 93kWh battery pack, Audi claims a range of 295 miles for the e-tron GT. While that’s less than the longest-range Model S, it’s certainly enough to ease the anxiety on long journeys. And when you do need to ‘fill up’, the e-tron GT can charge at up to 270kW from a compatible rapid charger: translating to a 0-80% charge in around 23 minutes. Of course a full charge at home will take much longer, but it should only cost you around £12, making this far cheaper to run than an equivalent petrol model. 

The e-tron GT has the same problem as the Taycan, however, in that even the cheapest model is £82,000 before you’ve raided the options list (as you may well want to). It’s no bargain, then, but factor in its talents and its low running costs and it almost seems good value.

Looking for a second opinion? Why not read Heycar's Audi e-tron GT review?  

This is really why you’d buy the Audi e-tron GT over the ever-growing crop of electric SUVs on the market: the driving experience. Alongside the Taycan on which it’s based, it’s as competent in the bends as any sports saloon, changing direction with real verve and agility. 

And that’s despite the sheer weight of the e-tron GT: at around 2.2 tonnes, it’s about as heavy as a large petrol SUV. The steering is great: nicely weighted and accurate, while body lean is well controlled and it all feels impressively tied down. You can thank the low centre of gravity, thanks to the batteries sitting as low as possible in the floor, for that. 

All e-tron GTs are four-wheel drive, meaning monstrous levels of grip. No, you won’t be able to kick the tail out easily (would you want to try on the road?), but it actually feels quite neutral rather than defaulting to understeer in fast cornering. Not only that, but the optional four-wheel steering (standard on the RS e-tron GT) makes it much easier to manouevre around town, and more stable at higher speeds. 

The standard suspension still features adaptive dampers, allowing you to slacken off the body control a bit for a more cushioned ride. Air suspension is optional (standard on the RS), and it gives it a surprisingly pillowy ride for such a sporting model. We suspect the standard suspension should be just fine for most, though. Whichever you go for, it’s slightly more comfortable than the Porsche Taycan, and better to drive in every way than a Tesla Model S.

Unlike the Porsche Taycan, which has a bewildering array of power and battery options, the e-tron GT’s drivetrain comes in two flavours: ‘standard’ and RS. 

If you can’t stretch to the RS model, we highly doubt you’ll feel short-changed with the performance on offer with the standard model. Putting 476PS to all four wheels in normal driving, the e-tron GT can push that up to 530PS for 2.5 seconds when launch control is engaged for maximum off-the-line punch, or in short bursts on the move. Whichever mode you’re in, though, the torque output is 630Nm. 

That’s sufficient for a 0-62mph time of 4.1 seconds - a little way off the very fastest super saloons, but hardly sluggish. Of course, being an EV, that power is delivered instantly but in a linear fashion, so whatever speed and situation you’re in it’ll catapult itself down the road.

The top speed is limited to 152mph, which puts pay to the old beliefs that EVs can’t perform at high speeds. Bear in mind that the vast majority of other German performance metal is limited to 155mph anyway. 

When you’re not trying to lose your licence, the e-tron GT can be run in ‘efficiency’ mode, whereby it sends the majority of its power to the front wheels for maximum miles-per-kWh. If you suddenly stamp on the throttle or fling it into a bend, though, it’ll push power to the rear wheels in a fraction of a second. 

The RS e-tron GT, meanwhile, offers faintly ludicrous performance thanks to a 637PS output. 

All that performance is no good if the car crumples like a crisp packet in an accident. Thankfully, the Audi e-tron GT has been awarded the maximum five star crash safety rating by Euro NCAP - the same as its Porsche Taycan sibling. 

There’s a host of airbags, as you’d expect, while child seats are kept anchored by two Isofix points in the rear. The Audi also comes with a variety of active safety systems to help ensure you don’t crash in the first place, including autonomous emergency braking that can detect cyclist and pedestrians, and a lane assist function.

Having said that, adaptive cruise control is part of an option pack, or standard only on the pricey Vorsprung model, which is a shame if you like to let the systems take the strain on longer journeys. The night vision assist tech on Vorsprung models sounds like a gimmick, but it’s actually really useful to glance at if you’re on unlit country lanes at night, as it sees further ahead and displays pedestrians and wildlife as thermal images.

The Audi e-tron GT is, like its Porsche Taycan sibling, not rated to tow any weight whatsoever. Perhaps that’s no surprise giving its sporting intent.

There are only a handful of EVs that are rated to tow a genuinely useful amount, and the majority of those are large SUVs like the Tesla Model X.

The Audi e-tron GT’s svelte looks do come at a price: it’s more compromised on the inside than the brand’s large saloons. But consider it for what it is - an electric four-door sports car - and it’s actually pretty accommodating. 

For starters, it’s a very wide car (only 20mm narrower than a Range Rover, in fact), and Audi has been very clever with the packaging, adding what it calls ‘foot garages’ - cutouts in the battery for the rear passenger footwells to make sure their knees aren’t round their ears. There’s plenty of space for even the largest adults up front, and legroom is acceptable in the back: those over six foot can’t exactly stretch out, but they shouldn’t complain too much either. 

Headroom is actually a little better than the Porsche Taycan on which it’s based, though the tallest adults will still find their heads brushing the roofline. The e-tron GT’s width means three adults can fit in the back, just, but only for short trips. A Tesla Model S is significantly more spacious, and it’s easier to get in and out of the Tesla because the Audi’s door apertures are quite narrow. 

Still, the e-tron GT gets the same two luggage compartments as the Taycan. There’s 405-litres of space in the main boot, which isn’t huge but will be perfectly sufficient for a weekly shop or suitcases for a long weekend away, while cars that aren’t fitted with the upgraded sound system have space under the boot floor for charging cables. Up front, there’s an 85-litre ‘frunk’, which can take an aircraft carry on bag with ease.  

It’ll come as no surprise for anyone who’s driven a modern Audi that this is an area where the e-tron GT excels. Whereas the materials and fit and finish in something like a Tesla Model S are underwhelming for such an expensive car, the Audi is every bit as granite-hewn inside as its high-end saloon siblings. 

The mixture of materials and the fitment of trim pieces is largely excellent, although there’s a couple of sharp edges on the dash that make it feel slightly less luxurious than its sibling from Porsche. 

The driving position is superb, however: you sit low, while the wheel and pedals are perfectly placed. There’s plenty of adjustment in the wheel, too, but while eight-way electric adjustment for the driver’s seat is standard, you’ll only get adjustable lumbar support as an option. Visibility is decent enough, but the window line is high and the rear windscreen is small, meaning you’ll be reliant on the car’s parking cameras to get out of tight spots. 

We’re happy to report that Audi has resisted the urge to cram every single feature in its central touchscreen, or pepper the dash with fiddly touch-sensitive buttons. Unlike the Taycan, there are real buttons for things like the climate control and drive mode settings, making them a doddle to quickly prod on the move.

Other than the amount of space on offer, this is the only real area where the Audi e-tron GT falls behind something like the Tesla Model S. It’s not that the infotainment is bad, more that Tesla’s system is really dazzling in terms of its screen size and features. 

Every e-tron GT comes with a 10.1-inch landscape-angled touchscreen in the centre of the dash, which is pretty much the same as in any other Audi. It isn’t exceptionally crisp or full of amazing party tricks, but it works well enough and comes with the usual features such as sat-nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity (the Porsche Taycan can’t be had with the latter, while the Tesla Model S gets neither) and wireless phone charging. 

Furthermore, there’s a voice control function to help navigate various functions, which works pretty well. Meanwhile, the standard-fit 12.3-inch digital instrument display is typical Audi: Crisp, easy to read and with impressive navigation mapping. 

There’s also the option of an upgraded 16-speaker B&O stereo for those that love their music - it’s standard on the RS e-tron GT. Top-spec Vorsprung models also get a 360-degree camera and even night vision.

There’s no getting around the face that electric cars almost always command a premium over their petrol-powered counterparts. So it’s no surprise that the Audi e-tron GT is no bargain. 

Prices start from around £82,000 for the ‘entry level’ car. It’s hardly entry level in performance and equipment terms, though: everything you’d reasonably need is standard, while it’s fast enough to scare most sports cars. 

Although that’s £12,000 more than the very cheapest Porsche Taycan, it’s substantially more powerful than that car, and comes better equipped as standard. It remains to be seen whether Audi will, like Porsche, offer a cheaper, less powerful version of the e-tron GT in due course. 

For the standard e-tron GT, the only trim choice is to spec up to range-topping Vorsprung trim, which ticks most of the options boxes for you. It’s an eye-watering £108,000, though, so you might be better off picking and choosing the options you want and saving money. It’s not the most expensive e-tron GT, though: that honour goes to the RS model, which starts at around £111,000. 

By comparison a Tesla Model S starts from £73,000, although step up to the performance models and you’ll pay well into six figures.

The Audi e-tron GT can travel up to 295 miles between charges. Or at least that’s what Audi claims in the very best circumstances. In our experience, that’ll be more like 230-250 miles. The RS e-tron GT sees that claimed figure drop to 280 miles. 

The actual range the car can manage depends, like every EV, on a variety of situations: weather and speed being the most important. Unlike a petrol or diesel car, an EV is actually less economical at motorway speeds because it isn’t regenerating energy via its brakes to charge the batteries. 

There’s also a dilemma when it comes to the cost of charging it up. Plug in the e-tron GT in at home should cost around £12, which works out to roughly 6p per mile. That’s far cheaper than any petrol or diesel car. 

But if you’re juicing up when out and about, you can forget about that figure, as the widely varying price of rapid chargers could more than triple that cost of a full charge. Having said that, the benefit comes if you’re in a hurry - the appropriate 270kW rapid charger could fill the e-tron GT in under 23 minutes. It’s just a shame that the vast majority of public chargers are less than 100kW.

The Audi e-tron GT quattro range kicks off with the standard version of the same name. Standard equipment includes 20in alloy wheels in platinum grey, LED headlights with dynamic indicators and a panoramic sunroof. Inside there is electrically adjustable and heated front sports seats, MMI Navigation Plus with Audi's Virtual Cockpit, an electric tailgate and three-zone climate control. Also standard is adaptive dampers. 

The only other trim level as such is the flagship Vorsprung model. This commands a substantial premium but brings a load of new equipment. The 20in alloys are swapped to a more intricate design, while the headlights are upgraded to Matrix LEDs with Audi laser light and dynamic light sequencing. Inside there is upgraded, perforated Nappa leather sports seats with ventilation and massaging, heated rear seats, carbon trim inlays, upgraded ambient lighting and a Bang & Olufsen premium sound system. Further kit includes multiple driver assistance systems, a head-up display and Night Vision assistant.