2023 Audi E-Tron GT review: Australian first drive

In a word where car makers are bidding to out-wow each other with their designs of electric cars, it’s refreshing to see that Audi has taken a more traditional approach to its new flag bearer, the 2023 Audi E-Tron GT.

Yes, it’s a stunner, from any angle: low-slung, sleek and looking like it could go at a million miles an hour. But it is, fundamentally, a car, an electric one, yes, but with all the hallmarks of a regular car.

Make no mistake, the Audi E-Tron GT is a tour-de-force in this new era of electric cars, with super sportscar-like performance and the kerb appeal to match. But it’s also just like any regular Audi, without all the look-at-me bling some, almost all, EV makers are cramming into their offerings.

Underneath, the Audi E-Tron GT shares a lot of its underpinnings with the equally as alluring Porsche Taycan. Built on the same J1 platform as its Volkswagen Group stablemate, the Audi E-Tron is dimensionally near identical to the Taycan.

But, to our eyes at least, the E-Tron offers a far more imposing stance, a more conventionally aggressive cut to its metal where the Taycan plumps for avant garde softness. It’s a point of difference that works well for the E-Tron GT, more so for not straying dramatically for from the concept car first revealed to the world back in 2018.

Now, Audi Australia has launched the E-Tron GT locally with two variants making their way to local dealerships. We attended the launch in NSW, sampling both the regular E-Tron GT and the performance-focussed RS E-Tron GT.

Two variants of the Audi E-Tron GT will be offered in Australia. The entry point is the eponymous E-Tron GT which brings 350kW and 630Nm from its twin electric motors and a claimed driving range of 488km on the WLTP measure. It’s priced at $180,200 plus on-road costs, considerably more affordable than the Porsche Taycan 4S ($197,200) with its similar outputs and twin-motor setup.

The big dog though, is the Audi RS E-Tron GT. Taking its mechanical cues from the Taycan Turbo, the RS E-Tron GT’s two electric motors – one at each axle – combine to pump out 440kW and 830Nm. While slightly down on the Taycan Turbo’s numbers of 500kW and 850Nm, the RS E-Tron GT can still hustle from standstill to 100km/h in a claimed 3.3 seconds. Driving range is rated at between 433km and 472km, according to Audi.

Audi is asking $248,200 plus on-road costs for its new halo, and while a not inconsiderable sum, undercuts its Taycan Turbo ($280,300) twin-under-the-skin by a healthy margin.

Both E-Tron GT and RS E-Tron GT are fitted with an 800-volt electrical system, capable of 270kW DC fast charging. The system can add up to 100km of range in just five minutes while reaching 80 per cent charge takes just 22.5 minutes.

Additionally, all E-Tron GTs delivered in Australia come with a complimentary JetCharge home wallbox installation and a free six-year/unlimited charging subscription to Chargefox’s public network.

The equipment list for the eponymous E-Tron GT is a healthy one, befitting a car that is now the standard bearer for the German brand.

Highlights include 20-inch alloy wheels, Matrix LED headlights, tri-chamber air suspension, a 10.1-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation, and DAB+ digital radio, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, head-up display, leather seats, heated front sports seats, tri-zone climate control, panoramic sunroof, wireless phone charging, and a 16-speaker premium Bang & Olufsen sound system.

Stepping into the RS E-Tron GT adds 21-inch alloys, tungsten carbide brake discs with red calipers, rear-wheel steering, an e-quattro sport differential with torque vectoring, black exterior styling flourishes, Nappa leather upholstery, RS sports seats up front with four-way lumbar support and honeycomb stitching, ventilated (cooled) front seats, carbon-fibre inlays, and heated sports steering wheel with paddle-shifters.

Both variants receive the full suite of Audi’s safety technologies.

The cabin doesn’t try too hard to wow with its EV credentials. That’s not to say it isn’t a well-designed and executed interior. It is. But there’s little of that gadgetry that seem commonplace in the world of electric cars. It looks like any other high-end Audi interior. And that’s no bad thing.

Thanks to the low flat floor, the driving position sits nice and low in the cabin. It feels like a sports car, with seats that hold you nice and snug and offer a commanding view over that long sculpted bonnet.

Rearward visibility isn’t so great, however, the sloping back window looking decidedly small in the rear-view mirror. The reversing camera is your friend here.

The materials throughout ooze quality, whether sitting in the ‘entry-level; E-Tron GT and its leather seats or the performance focussed Nappa leather pews of the RS model.

For those looking to sustainability, Audi offers a vegan package that replaces real leather with Dinamica faux-suede seat trim and headlining. The floor mats and carpets are made from recycled sea waste such as recovered fishing nets.

The second row is comfortable enough, although it does get a bit tight back there. Even behind my own 173cm driving position, I was grateful for the recesses in the front seatbacks that afforded a touch more knee room for second row occupants. Headroom too, is on the scant side. That swooping low profile comes at a cost, it seems.

And while there is seating for three across, the middle pew is a bit of a compromise, sitting both high and firm. Much like the Porsche Taycan with which it shares its architecture, the Audi E-Tron GT really is a 4+1-seater.

Cargo capacity is rated 405 litres for the E-Tron GT and a smaller 366 litres for the RS E-Tron GT. Both have an additional 85 litres capacity up front under the E-Tron’s bonnet. It’s a deep cubby, perfect for a couple of soft overnight bags.

A crisp 10.1-inch touchscreen is integrated into the dash. It runs Audi’s familiar MMI Navigation Plus infotainment setup. Smartphone mirroring is of the wireless variety and works a treat. Additionally, USB Type C plugs inside the central storage bin offer wired connectivity although the positioning of the outlets did require some twisting of back and bending of arms in a not altogether comfortable manner.

The inbuilt satellite navigation is as good as any we’ve seen with the added feature of displaying the current range of the E-Tron GT denoted by a blue circle overlaid on the map.

The 12.3-inch digital driver display is easy to configure, as we’ve come to expect from the brand that gave us Virtual Cockpit and can display a wealth of driving data. The setup offers three different layouts – Classic, Sport and E-Tron.

That’s augmented by a crisp colour head-up display that provides basic telemetry – such as speed – along with route guidance as well as driving assist information. It’s a peach.

Unlike most high-end Audis of the current era, there’s no second screen for the climate controls. Instead, the E-Tron GT is equipped with a traditional setup with toggle-switches for all key functions such as temperature controls and fan speed. Second-row occupants score their own set of climate controls as well as USB Type C charging points.

The Audi E-Tron GT remains untested by safety body ANCAP and its European counterpart Euro NCAP.

A comprehensive suite of active safety systems is found in the Audi E-Tron GT.

The suite includes autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, a 360-degree camera as well as front and rear parking sensors, rear cross-traffic assist, and tyre pressure monitoring.

A complement of seven airbags covers both rows of occupants while those with little ones will be reassured by ISOFIX child seat mounts fitted to the outboard rear seats.

The good news here for buyers is that the Audi E-Tron GT comes with six years’ of complimentary servicing. It’s part of Audi’s ‘666’ package that also includes six years’ of free public charging (via Chargefox), and six years’ roadside assist.

Audi covers the E-Tron GT range with its five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Comprehensive insurance for the E-Tron GT runs to $6471.09 annually while the more expensive RS E-Tron GT will set you back $7767.21 to insure over 12 months.

Those annual estimates are based on a comparative quote from a leading insurer for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

While range claims of 488km (E-Tron GT) and between 433km and 472km (RS E-Tron GT) seem alluring on paper, both variants at launch indicated less than 400km range when fully charged.

Of course, those claimed numbers are based on ideal scenarios while indicated range is based on an accumulation of real-world driving data taking into account ancillary usage (such as climate control) and driving styles.

Still, what we did note was that range usage was accurate, meaning if we drove for 100km, then the range would drop by 100km.

Audi claims the E-Tron GT will use 19.2kWh per 100km. Thanks to exploiting the Audi’s performance chops, we saw an indicated 28.2kWh. It should be noted in mitigation that the bulk of our launch drive was held on rural backroads, affording little opportunity for harvesting energy through regenerative braking.

Unsurprisingly, the RS E-Tron GT claims a slightly higher energy consumption figure of 20.1kWh per 100km. But perhaps surprisingly, and despite the allure of the RS’s unquestionable performance credentials, our time behind the wheel returned an indicated 25.1kWh.

The E-Tron GT’s 93kWh battery can be replenished from 5-80 per cent in under 23 minutes using a 270kW fast-charger while Audi says using the complimentary 11kWh home charger will recharge the E-Tron GT ‘overnight’.

We used the NRMA’s rapid charging network at launch and found that replenishing the electrons from around 60 per cent to 100 took about the same time as ordering and drinking a cup of coffee.

The Audi E-Tron GT’s driving experience is, in a word, impressive. We sampled both the eponymous E-Tron GT and the RS E-Tron GT at launch and both variants left us with a smile on our face.

First up the E-Tron GT and its two electric motors, one at each axle, providing a combined 350kW and 630Nm. A two-speed automatic transmission transfers those numbers to the wheels. It’s important to note that the front electric motor only utilises a single gear and that it's only the rear motor enjoying the benefits of the second gear. The two-step transmission is designed to offer sharper acceleration off the mark. And when you plant your foot on the accelerator, that’s exactly what you get.

We all know by now that electric cars can provide the type of acceleration ICE cars can only dream of. And yet, no matter how many times you sample the breathtaking speed off the line in an EV, it still takes you by surprise.

Acceleration is instant and entirely predictable. And while it’s a neat party trick, focussing on it does a disservice to the rest of the car which is clever, composed, and utterly remarkable.

Drive it sedately around town, and the E-Tron GT is a comfortable and easy-to-drive everyday car. It goes about its business with minimal fuss, cruising the streets in whisper quite fashion that’s hard not to like.

Out on the highway, it’s a similar tale, with an easy lope that just feels like the E-Tron isn’t even trying. Which it isn’t.

But, and here’s the surprise, once the open road beckons with its alluring series of bends and twists, it’s astonishing how deftly the E-Tron GT handles dynamism. Despite tipping the scales at over 2.3 tonnes, the E-Tron GT handles like a much smaller and lighter car, with cornering that is pinpoint accurate while allowing the full potential of that neck-snapping acceleration out of corners.

The grip is prodigious too, with Audi’s all-wheel drive underpinnings working away to keep the E-Tron GT stable and securely tied to the road.

Comfort isn’t compromised either, with the three-chamber adaptive air suspension proving supple, even in its most dynamic setting.

There are three drive modes – Eco, Comfort Dynamic – and yet even in Dynamic, usually the reserve of brittle handling, the E-Tron GT retains its suppleness while offering stability and confidence under wheel.

The E-Tron GT’s low centre of gravity ensures body roll is almost non-existent, instilling a feeling of confidence from behind the wheel.

The steering errs on the side of light, but that does nothing to diminish how razor-sharp and pinpoint accurate it is. Four wheel-steering is optional on the E-Tron GT, a system that sees the rear wheels work in tandem with the fronts in one of two ways – at speeds below 50km/h, the rear wheels tun in tandem with the fronts to offer sharper turn-in, ideal for tighter city streets and ease-of-parking.

At higher speeds – over 80km/h – the rear wheels turn by 2.8-degrees in the same direction as the fronts, enhancing the E-Tron GT’s cornering ability and stability.

That setup is standard on the RS E-Tron GT which is the car to have if you value performance over everything else.

It’s simply breathtaking how rapid this car is while remaining totally within the realms of comfort. A 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.3 seconds doesn’t do the RS E-Tron GT justice. It feels so much quicker, with a neck-snapping turn of speed that leaves you wide-eyed.

But, like with the regular E-Tron GT, to focus on one aspect of the RS’s performance is doing it a disservice.

Yes, it’s quick, super quick, but it’s also supremely easy to drive. Drive it slowly, and there’s no hint of the performance to come, the RS as easy-to-drive around town as your mum’s Corolla. Unleash its full fury, though and it quickly starts to delight with just how good, yet refined this car is.

The standard-fit four-wheel steering plays its part under harder driving conditions, keeping the RS on the right line and allowing for sharp turn-in and an effortless cornering ability.

The adaptive air-suspension irons out nasties and keeps everything nice and smooth under wheel.

The technical wizardry of the RS extends to an electronic torque vectoring function that does a decent impersonation of a mechanical locking differential. When called upon, it happily varies the amount of torque delivered to each of the rear wheels, further enhancing stability and grip in a car, in this sporty RS trim, weighing in excess of 2.4 tonnes.

We didn't sample the standard-issue tungsten brake package in the RS, our test car at launch optioned up with the $12,500 ceramic brakes. Suffice to say, hauling up the RS E-Tron GT from silly speeds is every bit as easy and confidence inspiring as getting it up to speed in the first place.

And while electric cars lack the aural theatre of ICE vehicles, Audi has spent considerable effort in imbuing the RS E-Tron GT with a soundtrack of sorts. It’s fake of course, playing through the car’s internal speakers while also projecting externally. It sounds like a spaceship, intensifying in pitch and volume the harder and longer you accelerate. If that’s not your jam, and I’ll admit it isn’t mine, you can turn it off.

It doesn't undermine what the RS E-Tron GT does though and that’s provide an effortless driving experience, whether around town, out on the highway or, if the gods of motoring are blessed, a deserted stretch of rural backroad.

Audi has done a remarkable job with its first all-electric sedan. Staying true to Audi’s design language, both the E-Tron GT and brawnier RS variant, are accomplished cars in the grand tourer vein. That they’re electric is neither here nor there.

It’s an Audi first and foremost, eschewing the design elements that are dominating the EV conversation almost everywhere you look. Comfortable, refined, and understated, the E-Tron GT looks and feels like a regular Audi. And that’s no bad thing.