New Audi e-tron GT review

If you think the Audi e-tron GT is another Audi electric SUV with "e-tron" in its name, you’re sorely mistaken. Oh no, it's best to see it as an answer to the question: "What would the Audi R8 be like if it was electric?"

In other words, the e-tron GT is an electric performance car. It shares a lot of its tech with the Porsche Taycan and if you go for the RS Performance version and engage launch control, it can accelerate as quickly as an F1 car. Yes, really.

However, in true Audi style, the e-tron GT aims to be more than just a seriously fast and great-handling electric car. Its mission is to combine that excitement with comfort and practicality, and it's been facelifted for 2024, with a bigger battery and a few other tweaks to make it even better. So has the update been successful?

Read on to find out how the new Audi e-tron GT performs against the Taycan and other rivals, and whether it earns a place among the best performance cars...

Even the entry-level S version of the Audi e-tron GT is exceedingly fast. It has two electric motors, giving it four-wheel drive and a total of 584bhp in normal driving – and even more power if you engage launch control.

Do that and you'll be able to slingshot yourself from 0-62mph in just 3.4 seconds, which is quicker than a Porsche Taycan 4S.

If you want even faster acceleration, there's the RS e-tron GT, which ups power to 671bhp and drops the 0-62mph time to just 2.8 seconds. That's faster than the Tesla Model 3 Performance.

At the top of the e-tron GT range sits the RS Performance, which packs 738bhp in normal driving and a colossal 912bhp when you engage launch control. It can rocket to 62mph from a standstill in just 2.5 seconds (i.e. F1 car pace).

Less outrageous than the acceleration – though still very respectable – is the e-tron GT's range from a full charge of the 97kWh (usable capacity) battery.

As you might expect, the least powerful version, the S, can travel the furthest, with an official range of up to 375 miles. That's not quite as far as the best versions of the Taycan or Model 3 but it's still very competitive.

The heavier RS and RS Performance versions can't go quite as far, although the reductions in range are not enough to make a difference in the real world.

Right, let’s move on from the bold statistics to the nuances of handling. Here, the e-tron GT and the closely related Taycan feel like two peas from the same pod. The Taycan is tuned for ultimate agility, while the e-tron GT is slightly softer. It’s still a fabulous-handling electric car though – and the margins are small.

Take the steering. It's direct and accurate, allowing you to place the car exactly where you want it on the road and feel some sense of the surface tingling your fingers. Four-wheel steering (an option on the S and standard on the RS) gives the e-tron GT extra agility at slow speeds and greater stability on motorways.

On the road, we've only sampled the S version, which has air suspension and feels much lighter than its 2.4-tonne kerb weight would suggest. There's little body lean even when you're driving hard.

Vorsprung versions of the RS e-tron GT get an Active Air Suspension system, which almost entirely eliminates body lean, and also reduces nosedive under braking. We tried it on a test track and it was very impressive.

The e-tron GT is even remarkably comfortable. The standard air suspension does a fantastic job of keeping the car composed (and you comfortable) when you're cruising at high speeds. Around town, bumps are smothered with an effectiveness that belies the car's staggering performance credentials.

Aside from a small amount of road noise, it's also a quiet motorway cruiser – quieter than a Tesla Model 3 Performance and similarly hushed to an equivalent Porsche Taycan, with little in the way of wind noise.

The regenerative brakes of many electric cars are a bit of a pain. They replenish the battery with energy as you slow down, but also need a normal braking system for harder stops. Getting that combination wrong makes brakes hard to judge and disjointed, but the e-tron GT’s are among the best. Most of the time you almost forget you're driving an electric car.

“My first drive of the new e-tron GT suggests a range of at least 300 miles is achievable in the summer months, as long as you're driving gently.” – Will Nightingale, Reviews editor

Unlike many electric cars, the Audi e-tron GT has a low-slung and sporty driving position. You sit much closer to the road than in, for example, a Mercedes EQS or Tesla Model 3.

The relationship between the pedals, steering wheel and seat are spot-on, and there's loads of adjustment to help you get comfortable. The seats are trimmed in leather as standard, but you can have fabric instead if you prefer.

Either way, the front seats are both super comfy on long motorway journeys and super supportive when you're taking the twistier, more scenic route.

Less impressive is the quality of the interior. Don't get us wrong, the e-tron GT is far from a Dacia Sandero inside and everything feels really well screwed together. It's just that a lot of the materials don't feel any more upmarket than in a £30,000 Audi A3. Indeed, a lot of the switchgear is lifted straight from Audi's popular family hatchback.

At least that means there are physical controls for the air-conditioning. In the Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model 3 you have to use small icons on the infotainment touchscreen, which is far more distracting. That said, the e-tron GT's touch-sensitive steering wheel buttons are annoyingly fiddly to use.

The 12.3in digital driver's display behind the steering wheel, which Audi calls a Virtual Cockpit, is extremely clear and easy to configure. There's even a function that tells you the maximum rate of charging you can expect when you plug in, based on the state of charge of the battery and its temperature.

The e-tron GT’s infotainment system uses a 10.1in touchscreen. Its resolution is perfectly acceptable but the operating system isn’t great compared with what you’ll find in a Taycan or Model 3. Even so, you get plenty of standard features, including Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring. 

Meanwhile, visibility isn’t terrible at the front but the windscreen pillars are quite chunky and the window line is high. The rear screen is very shallow and the tapering roofline stops you seeing very much out of the rear corners. Still, the e-tron GT is easier to see out of than a lot of sports cars – just not compared with a boxier luxury saloon.

"The touch-sensitive steering wheel controls are annoying. I found it easy to accidentally switch on the heated steering wheel when going around corners." – Will Nightingale, Reviews editor

There's lots of head and leg room in the front, and the interior, like the rest of the Audi e-tron GT, is wide. Very wide, actually. So, whether you ate all your greens as a kid or all the pies, you should fit just fine. You’ll find lots of storage space too.

Getting in and out of the front isn't especially easy due to the narrow door apertures. And it's the same at the back: you have to contort your feet past the small gap between the front and rear seats.

It's all relative, though (this is a low-slung performance car not a luxury limo, after all) and once you’re in the back, you'll find enough room for your feet under the front seats and a surprisingly generous amount of knee room. Two six-footers will fit fine – even if head room is a bit tight. 

The 350-litre rear boot is big enough for a buggy or a set of golf clubs, and there's a small amount of underfloor storage for the charging cables. You can even fold down the e-tron GT’s rear seats in a 40/20/40 split for those occasions when you need to carry more. 

What's more, the front boot (under the bonnet) is usefully deep, so you can throw a few more soft bags in there – or alternatively use this area for delicate items of shopping that you don't want sliding around the main boot space.

There's no estate car version, like those of the closely related Taycan, the Taycan Sport Turismo and the Taycan Cross Turismo. They offer slightly more usable boot space along with better access to the load bay.

“I think it's a real shame there's no estate version of the e-tron GT, especially given Audi's glorious history of building fast estate cars.” – Will Nightingale, Reviews editor

The Audi e-tron GT is expensive, that’s for sure – it has a starting price way above that of the closely related Porsche Taycan. Mind you, there are some mitigating factors.

Firstly, in the UK all e-tron GTs get four-wheel drive so there's no "affordable" rear-wheel-drive version like there is with the Taycan. The entry-level e-tron GT S is a close match for a Taycan 4S with the Performance Plus Battery option added, and comes with more standard equipment.

Indeed, given how much kit you get with the S and how fast it is, we wouldn't bother spending extra on the RS. Then again, no version of the e-tron GT is exactly a sensible buy – so if you want the astonishing acceleration the range-topping RS Performance offers, we wouldn't try to talk you out of buying one.

The e-tron GT arguably makes most sense to business users. Like all fully electric cars it attracts a low BIK tax rate – although clearly not everyone will find such a fast and expensive car on their list of company car options.

As for charging, there's a Type 2 port on each front wing for added convenience. The one on the driver's side can also accept a CCS connector and, from a powerful enough charger, can pull in a massive 320kW for short periods. That makes the e-tron GT one of the fastest-charging electric cars on the market. A 10-80% top-up can take just 18 minutes in ideal conditions.

All we have to go on to gauge reliability for the e-tron GT is Audi’s record compared with the other 31 manufacturers in the 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey. The German car maker came in a disappointing 26th place, below Tesla (10th) and Porsche (20th).

In terms of safety, the e-tron GT hasn't been crash-tested by Euro NCAP but the five-star rating awarded to the closely related Porsche Taycan bodes well. Plus, you get loads of standard safety aids to help prevent you having a crash in the first place.

“I'd recommend adding the S Technology Pack Pro because it includes a clever switchable transparency glass roof and rear-wheel steering for improved low-speed manoeuvrability." – Will Nightingale, Reviews editor

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