Test bench | Audi e-tron GT: false twins

Despite its kinship with Porsche’s Taycan, Audi’s e-tron GT has a distinct character.

Eric LeFrancois
special cooperation

The choice of reason

We dream of the RS, but some 80% of e-tron GT buyers opt for the entry-level model. Why ? No doubt because this model sticks more to the peaceful driving provided by an electric Grand Touring vehicle.

According to some analysts, Audi’s e-tron GT is just a Porsche Taycan living under an assumed name. An easy shortcut that does not say everything about the work carried out by Ingolstadt, the brand’s cradle in Bavaria. Despite the technical similarities between the two enemy sisters (the Volkswagen group oversees these two manufacturers), the e-tron GT has created its own identity, especially in its basic configuration. The RS, more typical and more expensive (too much, say its detractors), is struggling to find its audience. This one suffers directly from the comparison with its “rival” from Stuttgart, but also with Tesla’s Model S Plaid.

The entry-level model (all the same sold for some $130,000) is doing better. The latter, according to some of the brand’s dealers, recruits its customers among current owners of A8s and other sedans. traditional luxury.

However, the transition from thermal to electric will not be smooth for this clientele. Indeed, the e-tron GT does not really exploit the architectural advantages offered by a battery-powered automobile. Starting with a very beneficial size-habitability ratio. Shouldn’t the reduced size of the motors, housed on each of the axles, and the installation of the accumulators under the floor contribute to freeing up a greater interior volume? Yes, but not in the case that concerns us here. Just like in the Taycan, the rear seats of the e-tron GT prove difficult to reach and cramped. Get out? You have no idea of ​​the effort required. “But don’t forget that this is a GT,” retort its designers.

A model of its kind

The layout of the lines is refined, the shapes are cut with a chalk line, the quality of assembly of the bodywork stands out as a model of its kind. The stretched and low silhouette, the incisive surfaces and the invariable Audi style – strict, powerful, but fluid – impose themselves in all their classicism.

This attribute also applies to the interior presentation which will not disorient fans of the brand with the rings in the least. Tastefully decorated, the interior seeks more to reassure you than to make you believe that you are at the controls of a spaceship or, even worse, in front of a “wall” of televisions.

The ergonomics of the driving position strives to find a compromise between direct access to certain functions (air conditioning, driving mode) and immersion in the tree structures of the touch screen.

Apart from the passenger compartment with curiously narrow dimensions, the disappointment comes from the catalog of accessories and personalization. Of the nine exterior colors offered, only one (white Ibis) does not entail an additional outlay. All others incur a fee of $890. Ditto for the upholstery. To add a little color (brown, red or gray), you have to stretch out $5150. And another expense of $800 for the wood trim (see our photos), plus $1300 for the head-up display. And the list does not end there.

Pleasant

Rather lively, and still well seated on the asphalt, the e-tron GT is not as comfortable as an A8, for example, but more stimulating to drive. And compared to a Taycan? Driving the Audi certainly appears more flexible, but we do not feel at the wheel the feeling of being one with it. The lighter steering maintains a more distant relationship with the front axle and the “Performance” package offered at $3,450, which notably includes four-wheel steering, is not a must for ordinary motorists.

Current and future all-electric enthusiasts will no doubt regret the absence of a braking energy recovery system that does not allow one-pedal driving. The e-tron GT only allows a limited downshift effect when lifting the accelerator pedal.

Like any electric car worth its salt, this Audi produces instantaneous acceleration. It takes just over 4 seconds to go from 0 to 100 km/h, which is roughly a second faster than an RS e-tron GT which, let’s not forget, costs almost $50,000 of more. Compared to the latter again, the e-tron GT promises to offer a slightly greater autonomy (383 km compared to 373 km) and an equivalent time to refuel (see “Technical sheet”). Never mind, the autonomy of this vehicle is no less disappointing for a vehicle of this weight and this price. Several competitors are doing better (see “Competition”). And even much better.

With the acquisition of an e-tron GT, one obtains a “free pass” for a period of four years or 1400 kilowatt-hours to the network – very embryonic in Quebec – of recharge of Electrify Canada.

Technical sheet

Performance

Engine

• 2 permanent magnet synchronous electric motors
• Power: GT 469 hp (522 hp*) RS GT: 590 hp (637 hp*)
• Torque: GT: 465 lb-ft (472 lb-ft*) RS GT: 612 lb-ft

* For a duration of 2.5 s, the boost or “overboost” function allows you to benefit from a larger cavalry.

Battery

• Type: lithium ion
• Capacity: 93.4 kWh (gross) / 85 kWh (useful)

Performance

• Weight: 2295kg — 2331kg
• 0-100km/h: 3.3s* (RS GT) / 4.1s (GT)
• Top speed: 245 km/h (GT)/250 km/h (RS GT)

Consumption and dimensions

Gearbox

• Standard: 2-speed automatic
• Optional: none
• Drive mode: all-wheel drive

Tires

• 245/45 R20 -285/40 R20 (GT)
• 265/35 R21 -305/30 R21 (RS GT)

Charging time

• Level 1: Up to 96 hours depending on initial state of charge
• Level 2: Between 4 and 8 hours depending on the initial state of charge
• Level 3: 22.5 minutes (80% load)

Dimensions

• Wheelbase: 2900mm
• Length: 4989mm
• Height: 1396mm
• Width: 1964 mm (exterior mirrors excluded)

Model in the making

Urban, Sky and Grand. Of the three “sphere” studies presented by Audi, the Grand will certainly experience the joys of mass production. This model will succeed not only the A8, current flagship of the range, but will also introduce the brand new electrical architecture developed as part of the Artemis project. The latter, piloted by Audi, will give birth to a generation of electric platforms equipped with a level 4 autonomous driving system. The final version of the GrandSphere should appear in 2025 or 2026.

A matter of image

Acclaimed by the press at the time of its launch, the RS e-tron GT struggles to justify its price. At nearly $200,000, the RS, as exclusive as it is, faces competition that is sometimes more capable (in every sense of the word) and not necessarily more expensive.