Audi e-Tron GT

I’ve been looking forward to this one ever since I saw its release pictures in the press.

I drove the e-Tron Q4 last year and it ticked the boxes but, in some unfathomable way, it missed the mark on the objectives. Yes it was electric, yes it was quiet and yes it was stylish. But it seemed to me to be missing something on the quality side of things.

Perhaps I was expecting too much, in which case the error is mine, but I came away from the test feeling somewhat deflated. This was Audi’s chance to level the score – to hit the mark and deliver on the promise of what an electric Audi should be. And, thankfully, it delivered.

The e-Tron GT looks like a fast Audi. It is a fast Audi, that’s probably why. But on paper, strangely, it’s not. It’s not slow, but with a 0-62 time of a little over eight seconds, it’s no way near a Tesla. But, and I can’t really explain this, it feels faster than a Tesla.

I’ve driven Teslas with a 0-60 time of around the 3.5 second mark, so while this was theoretically half as fast in terms of acceleration, it didn’t feel like it. And that makes no sense. When I first hit a straight bit of road in dynamic mode, I put my foot down and was pinned to the seat. I think I actually let out an involuntary ‘woah’.

Comparable to Musk’s Model S

As a five seat, four door saloon, it is clearly pitched against the Model S from Musk’s stable. And at around the £80k mark, it’s comparable in terms of price and spec. But there’s something about the eTron that felt different. I think I actually prefer it, and I have been a massive fan of Tesla since I first drove one almost eight years ago.

In practical terms, I think the Tesla wins, purely because its regenerative braking is much more effective. In the Audi, you have to ask for it using a complicated pattern on the paddle shifts. I think I got it to work, but you shouldn’t have to think about it.

But that aside, in fact even with that taken into consideration, I loved it. Sleek, powerful and hunkered down with flared wheel arches and plenty of space inside, it ticked so many boxes. Sadly for me, the only box unticked was day-to-day liveability.

The lack of regenerative braking means that, on a good day, the range is around 260ish miles. In fairness, I tested this in very cold weather, which does have an impact, but even then, Teslas are looking at closer to a 400-mile plus range, and that is a much more practical figure.

And yet, I think where Audi wins, is in the style. The Tesla is a beautiful machine, but they haven’t evolved much in terms of style in almost a decade. The e-Tron GT looks fresher, meaner, and more modern.

This makes choosing between them a very hard decision. Thankfully, not one I need to worry about for now, but if I had to pick… I’m not sure I could!