► Updated Audi e-Tron GT driven – flat out
► Flagship electric saloon has more go, greater poise
► RS Performance variant is most powerful Audi ever
The Audi e-Tron GT, Ingolstadt’s flagship electric car, has been given a mid-life shake and brush-up, and the result is a revised range that includes the most powerful series-production Audi ever offered to the public. The new e-Tron GT also starts with an entry-level S model that has more power than the out-going RS variant.
You want fast? You’ve certainly got it – the slowest version will now do 0-62mph in just 3.4sec. But a host of other upgrades mean the updated e-Tron GT is also more comfortable, has a longer driving range, and faster charging. That’s a lot of win. Isn’t it?
At a glance
Pros: superb blend of comfort and capability, 300 miles should be easy, exceptionally fast
Cons: not a sportscar, where’s the simulated manual gearbox and all that Ioniq 5N jazz?
What’s new?
Almost everything important – not that you’d immediately know it from appearances. The midlife facelift (known as the e-Tron GT PI by Audi; that’s PI for Product Improvement) does include a visual element, but it’s subtle, and slightly confused by the death of the original basic version. Now the trim choices start with the e-Tron S, the silver car here, there are aggressive scoops and 20-inch wheels throughout.
The trick, therefore, is to look at the headlights, which are narrower. Meaning there’s now a body-coloured strip between them and what we’ll nostalgically refer to as the bumper area. Previously, the lights met the bumper directly.
A new selection of interior finishes includes a sustainability enhancing, part-recycled leather-free option, plus increasingly intricate stitching as you work your way up from S to RS and then onto the RS Performance that now sits at the top of the e-Tron GT tree. A trick glass panel is available in place of the carbon roof, offering switchable opacity in a choice of natty patterns.
A bigger 105kWh battery – 97kWh useable – extends the official WLTP driving range to as much as 378 miles, with 320kW charging providing 10-80 per cent in as little as 18 minutes. Maximum power output starts at 670bhp and goes up to 912bhp, thanks largely to a new rear motor and associated control components.
Every facelifted e-Tron GT also benefits from new two-chamber, two-valve air suspension – with Vorsprung models getting a fully active system. So equipped, the e-Tron GT can lean into corners, stay flatter through hard acceleration and deceleration phases, and rise by as much as 77mm when a door is opened to move the seat closer to your backside.
And if that lot sounds familiar it’s because the revised Porsche Taycan received the exact same upgrades earlier in 2024. A good point to mention that the two cars are essentially the same thing under the surface – though the driving experience is targeted differently.
What are the specs?
This is more complicated than you might immediately think – for each drivetrain has two or three different power outputs.
The Audi S e-Tron GT – to put the name in its official, somewhat tongue-twisting order – peaks at the aforementioned 670bhp. But you only get all that when using launch control. In normal driving it’s pegged at a mere 583bhp. In this guise 0-62mph takes a shockingly long 3.6sec, rather than 3.4. Top speed is electronically limited to 152mph.
The Audi RS e-Tron GT has 849bhp in launch control, when it’s capable of 0-62mph in 2.8sec, but just 670bhp when you’re pottering around – although you also get a Boost button on the steering wheel that instantly uncorks 764bhp, in push-to-pass fashion. Without launch, 0-62mph takes 3.1sec. Top speed is limited to 155mph.
The Audi RS e-Tron GT Performance – the first electric Audi to get the RS Performance moniker – has 912bhp in launch control, 737bhp nominally and 831bhp in Boost. It’s also supposedly limited to 155mph, and will launch control 0-62mph in 2.5sec, claiming a more modest 2.9 in regular driving.
The S records the highest official driving range, with a WLTP max of 378 miles per charge – depending on spec. The RS reckons up to 372 miles is possible, the RS Performance claims as much as 367 miles. All of them will do more than 300 in the real world unless you’re a constant lunatic.
The increased 320kW maximum charging speed is complemented by the same battery management improvements as the Taycan.
The fastest charging speeds are maintained for longer, the battery pack has a wider optimum charging temperature range – starting as low as 15 degrees C – and there’s a new display for the digital instrument cluster than can predict available charging speed in real time so you can plan your stops strategically. A live demo of this showed it to be pessimistic, if anything, with the car charging at a higher rate than anticipated.
How does it drive?
Those acceleration figures look pretty impressive on paper, don’t they. Let me tell you, a full launch control start in the RS Performance is, in fact, a deeply unpleasant experience. I went through it three times on a tiddly test track – just so you don’t have to – and even in the wet the on-board timer recorded 0-62mph in 2.7 (my personal lack of commitment showing a 2.9 when I was behind the wheel).
There was no space to get to 124 – the next benchmark in the timer’s settings – but having done a similar exercise in the Taycan Turbo GT, it’s the sustained thrust that really hammers home how fast these things are. Traction is ridiculous, the motors relentlessly ferocious, both elements artfully managed by the electronics, given the conditions.
When drier, the e-Tron GT requires only very little encouragement to find its limiter on the autobahn. To such an extent that I have to restrain myself from sitting there at an indicated 262km/h (there’s some leeway over the official 250km/h, apparently), because, ffs, that’s just silly really. Unsurprisingly, those kinds of speeds don’t do efficiency a great deal of good, but an hour and a half stint in the RS Performance records 30.7kWh/100km, which is still over 2 miles per kWh. Not bad, in the circumstances.
But you knew it would be quick. What’s more special about these – and the Taycan, frankly – is the extraordinary breadth of talent exhibited by the air-suspension. Even in the most aggressive ‘extra low’ setting the comfort level is just outstanding, while the iron-fisted grasp of body movement during hard cornering is nearly good enough to make you forget you’re piloting over 2.3 tonnes of heavy metal.
The S is a little softer, rolling a little more, and Audi can keep the most extreme active gymnastics. The pitch control under hard acceleration is fun (sit in the back to get a full sense of how much the rear of the car lifts instead of squats), but counter-leaning into turns messes with my spidey senses. To be fair, these tricks are aimed at smooth driving for the benefit of passengers, and are only available in the Comfort driving mode – where they can also be switched off.
Still, out of Comfort there are a lot of calculations going on that the driver isn’t directly party to, managing that weight for progress. In the Porsche, with its more organic-feeling steering, this came across as mildly jarring at times. In the Audi, which filters more of the information your hands receive – meaning, yes, the steering is comparatively numb – that sensation is lessened. The e-Tron GT is calmly unruffled about the business of going (very) fast, if also therefore less involving.
Suspension aside, you can use the Dynamic driving mode to bias the rear axle, if you want to be a bit silly – even driven sensibly you can feel this digging in at the back out of the turns. For what it’s worth, I preferred the RS Performance setting available in that car; intended to make you as fast as possible on track it works superbly on German roads, ditching any theatrics for focus and speed. While still riding remarkably comfortably.
The elephant in the room here – and for any performance EV now – is the Hyundai Ioniq 5N. Suddenly being fast and reasonably adroit isn’t enough when another brand has gone to the no doubt immense trouble of programming in a convincingly authentic synthetic approximation of a soul.
What about the interior?
Revised trimming and the fancy variable-transparency roof aside, the only other major change inside is to the steering wheel. The weird shape is of little consequence when nearly every e-Tron GT comes with rear-wheel steering as standard and you rarely have to leave the 3:15 position. I also like a thin rim. BMW sausage fans may be disgruntled.
The Boost and RS buttons are a touch too games console, though, looking and feeling cheaper than anything in car costing upwards of £107k should. The usual plastic Audi paddles on the back of the wheel control the regen level, which resets as you accelerate again; works for me, because it’s similar to downshifting in a conventional auto and I like engine braking – but others may be disconcerted by the inconsistency.
Quality is otherwise suitably premium, and can be made more so via a selection of Audi Exclusive customisation options. Rear legroom, however, is a joke for a four-door car and the tiny 350-litre boot is hilarious, regardless of the extra 81 litres you get in the front. The infotainment is far from the most polished, but using it is reasonably intuitive and there are still plenty of physical buttons. Hurrah.
Before you buy (trims and rivals)
For UK buyers, the S e-Tron GT comes in standard and Vorsprung guises, while the RS versions are available in standard, Carbon Black and Carbon Vorsprung.
All are well equipped as standard, with even the base S including such fancies as a Bang & Olufsen sound system, three-zone climate, head-up display, Matrix LEDs, remote parking and e-torque vectoring. The step-up to Vorsprung gives you night vision, acoustic glass, ventilated massaging front seats and the Active Suspension on all models, thought S Vorsprung gets a whole host of other stuff that’s also standard on the basic RS variants, including rear-wheel steering, laser headlights and 21-inch alloys.
All RS e-Trons gain a rear diff lock, better brakes and extra-aggressive exterior design, which does vary slightly on Performance models thanks to a honeycomb finish in the bumpers. These also boast carbon-ceramics.
Carbon Black trim adds visible carbon styling elements – conventional gloss twill on the normal RS, new and currently exclusive ‘camouflage carbon’ on the RS Performance; Audi’s first use of the faddy ‘forged carbon’ look pioneered by Lamborghini some years ago.
Rivals are scarce in pure EV terms – really only the Taycan goes as deep (or deeper) into pure electric performance at this relatively affordable level. The Tesla Model S isn’t anywhere nearly as well resolved from a sophisticated driving perspective, and is left-hand drive only now. BMW has some lovely EVs but none are yet this fast and this focused in this form-factor. Mercedes is nowhere, comparatively speaking.
The Kia EV6 GT and the – especially – the Hyundai Ioniq 5N may catch the eye, but they also aren’t quite direct alternatives.
Audi e-Tron GT facelift: the initial verdict
Rather unexpectedly, the updated e-Tron GT is determinedly endearing. It’s good-looking car, with a nice interior that fundamentally works very well for the driver and front passenger – those physical buttons being a rare treat these days. Space in the back is somewhat less impressive, but if you’re stashing sprogs back there they probably won’t mind. Good luck with more than a weekend’s worth of luggage, though.
The new suspension is everything we knew it would be from previously driving the Taycan, and the performance from the updated drivetrain is just crushingly awesome. Got a lengthy commute you want to complete as quickly as possible with zero emissions as well as zero hassle? The e-Tron GT could be the car for you.
The RS Performance gets a strong recommend, if you can afford it, but even the S is like a proverbial rocketship. While the e-Tron GT isn’t as granular or engaging as its platform mate, this seems to suit the newly enhanced all-rounder nature of this particular beast.
Stats below are for the Audi RS e-Tron GT Performance Carbon Vorsprung