By Jonathan Crouch

Introduction

Audi's e-tron GT quattro was launched here back in 2021 as a desirable four-door Grand Touring flagship model for the Ingolstadt maker's growing e-tron EV range. Though most of the core technology here is shared with this car's Porsche Taycan cousin, it was all delivered with a distinctly Audi feel and character. And, most importantly, it had that 'want one' factor.

Models

4dr Saloon (GT quattro, Vorsprung)

History

The earliest full-EVs from Audi tended to be of the expensive and luxurious kind. First, we had the modestly appealing e-tron big SUV. Then, the rather more desirable e-tron Sportback. Followed in December 2020 by this, the e-tron GT quattro, a four-door Grand Turismo sports saloon which also came in faster RS form. It's the standard GT model though, that we focus on here - in its earlier pre-facelift 2021-2023-era form. You might well know that this car shares a lot of its engineering with its VW Group cousin, the Porsche Taycan. And we mean a lot; the twin electric motors are the same; so is the three chamber air suspension. So is the 800V battery. And so is the J1 platform that everything sits on. Yet Ingolstadt determinedly promised us that this was a distinctly Audi confection. Quite a lot hung on this. By 2020, the automotive industry was rapidly leaving the combustion-engined world. With the previous fossil-fuelled powertrains, it had been relatively easy to differentiate many products which shared the same basic design. There were, after all, so many engineering variables to subtly alter the confection; cylinder count, engine positioning, use (or not) of forced induction and transmission choice could all be combined differently to deliver a distinct driving character. It was very different with EVs. The spiralling cost of development meant that much had to be shared between brands to keep prices accessible - and even without that issue, there was a huge degree more engineering conformity with this sort of powertrain. All EVs have auto transmission, a motor on the front axle and heavy battery positioned low and centrally beneath the floor. Luxury EVs like this one all have at least one motor on the rear axle too. Given this degree of uniformity, the question auto makers were facing back in 2020 was over just how different future brand-engineered EVs could really be, particularly in cases like this where over 40% of the components were shared. At the launch of this e-tron GT, Audi told us not to worry and wheeled out this car as proof that the distinct ingenuity of vorsprung durch technik would continue to break boundaries in the new electric world. It certainly looks stunningly unique - and Ingolstadt promised that it would drive that way too. Here, we look at the earlier 2021-2023-era versions of this e-tron GT - the mainstream GT quattro models - as a used buy. This car was substantially updated in mid-2024 and re-named the S e-tron GT.

What You Get

Back in 2020, we'd never seen an Audi quite like this before - Ingolstadt rather immodestly described the external design of the e-tron GT as 'a work of art'. Whatever your perspective, it was refreshing that for the first time, the brand had brought us an all-electric model that wasn't an SUV. The dimensions are those of a classic Grand Tourer, with a 4.99-metre length and 1.96-metres of width but a height of just 1.41-metres. Plenty to consider then, as you admire what Marc Lichte and his design team achieved here. The elongated bonnet and flat windscreen merge elegantly into a rapidly sloping roofline and the glasshouse extends tautly over the powerful body, drawing in particularly sharply towards the rear, where gently inclined C-pillars blend beautifully with the body's muscular shoulders. Sharp edges give particular definition to the large wheel arches, forming 'quattro blisters', which visually reference the presence of a different generation of electric quattro all wheel drive. We're not sure if the front aesthetics are quite as successful. Some of it's great, like the way the swept-back windscreen flows down into the dramatic bonnet. We're not quite so taken with this car's version of Audi's Singleframe grille, most of which is filled up by a rather ugly 'Hekla Grey' front panel. At the rear, the full-width light strip is a familiar Audi touch, but the e-tron GT is set apart from other models in the brand's portfolio by this visually offset lower diffuser. And inside? Well if you happen to be familiar with the driver-focused 'monoposto'-style cockpit design of the brand's R8 sports car, you'll feel right at home in an e-tron GT, its cosseting low-set driving position placing you right at the centre of the action. Just as you would be in this model's Taycan cousin though, as we were promised, the front-of-cabin experience here is very different - and actually far more interesting. The upper section of this light, lean instrument panel with its pronounced three-dimensional look forms an elegant arc, within which the display of the 12.3-inch Audi 'virtual cockpit' instrument screen stands freely, while the 10.1-inch 'MMI touch' central infotainment monitor with its piano black-finished bezel appears to 'float' in this central space. The wide centre console, which houses the gear selector switch, runs higher between the seats than it does in the Porsche, which makes the cabin feel more cockpit-like. And the dramatic design left no space for the second lower climate screen you'd get in other expensive Audis from this period. But it's certainly very high end inside this car, full of suede, carbon fibre and immaculately stitched leather. The rear seat footwells might look conventional but they're actually hollowed-out sections of the floorplan - Audi calls them 'foot garages' - that allow your feet to be positioned at the same lower height as the battery pack, rather than being placed on top of it. For a GT-style sports saloon, headroom is actually pretty good - slightly better than a Taycan, despite the standard fitment of a vast panoramic glass roof, without which this part of the cabin would feel rather dark and claustrophobic. In theory, the cabin's wide enough to take three adults, but that's discouraged by the sculpting of the two outer seats and the prominence of the central transmission tunnel (the kind of thing you'd think you wouldn't need in an EV). The rear cargo area is accessed via a power-operated boot lid, which can be activated by a swipe of your foot beneath the bumper and which rises to reveal a rather narrow opening and a 366-litre space (that's 39-litres more than you'd get in a Taycan). You can attach a provided net to the usual floor tie-down points and thanks to the flexible 40:20:40-split of the rear seat back, longer items like skis can be pushed forward between two rear-seated passengers. If you need to flatten everything, the space available expands to 1,171-litres. Under the bonnet, there's also an 85-litre 'frunk' for the charging leads.

What You Pay

Please contact us for an exact up-to-date valuation.

What to Look For

You're going to need to be aware of a number of issues if you commit to any Audi e-tron GT, these mainly centring around belt-fastened sensor problems, the potential for liquid entering the battery pack and various small electrical issues. There were various product recalls which you need to make sure have been addressed with the car you're looking at. One referred to a potential overheating risk with the charging cable when the car reaches 100% charge. Another referenced the risk of front brake hose leaks. Another was a software recall, issued to resolve battery-related short-circuit issues. Our original test car wasn't particularly well built; look out for squeaks and rattles and things like rubber trim strips coming unstuck. The www.e-tronforum.com website is a good place to survey potential problems. Check that the car you're looking at doesn't have difficulties when starting a charge session, usually because of connector issues. In some cars, the connector can't make a proper contact, which affects the connection between the car and the charger. You have to make sure the connector is pushed firmly into the charge port, a movement that will create the required connection, which will enable you to start the charging session. Otherwise, it's just the usual things; alloy wheels scuffs, interior child damage and the need for a fully stamped-up service history.

Replacement Parts

(approx based on an e-tron GT quattro 2021) - Ex Vat - autodoc.co.uk) A cabin filter costs in the £16-£85 bracket. Front brake pads sit in the £37-£156 bracket for a set. A set of rear brake pads are in the £42-£78 bracket. A front brake disc sits in the £101-£212 bracket. A rear brake disc is in the £59-£137 bracket. A wiper blade is in the £22-£56 bracket.

On the Road

You can't really blame Audi for wanting to share the engineering of this car with Porsche because it's extremely complex. As this e-tron GT's quattro moniker suggests, it's 4WD, courtesy of motors at front and rear, the back one connected to a 2-speed gearbox, with a lower ratio of which is used only for launch control and some dynamic modes. Total power output (most of which comes from the rear motor) is 476PS, though there's also a boost mode that raises this to 530PS for rapid overtaking. If you're interested, all these figures are pretty much the same as those of a mechanically identical Porsche Taycan 4S. As is arguably the most important one, that for the 298 mile range applicable to this pre-facelift model, which is OK but some way off what you'd get from a rival Tesla Model S. The performance stats are of course very Taycan-like too - which means they're very fast, 62mph from rest, courtesy of that short ratio first gear, occupying just 4.1s on the way to 152mph. We can't really imagine why that wouldn't be quick enough for you but if not, there's also a faster version of this car, the RS e-tron GT, which in its earlier form has a gutsier 456PS rear motor and can therefore offer 598PS in total - or 646PS in boost mode. One of the few dynamic areas in which Ingolstadt could distance the e-tron GT car from its Porsche cousin was the steering, making it lighter than a Taycan and more familiar to customers graduating to this car from another Audi. The ride's a little softer-edged too, especially if you get a version of this car equipped with three-chamber air suspension, in which form this car wafts over pot holes, speed humps and tarmac tears very impressively indeed. The range figure we quoted earlier (which falls by 15 miles with the early RS model) is way off what you'd get in a rival Tesla. Potentially, this Audi can charge up much quicker than its American rival though; theoretically, you can pump in 62 miles of range every five minutes, thanks to this car's more sophisticated 800-volt power supply system. Though only if you're fortunate enough to find an 800 volt public charger which can allow this car to replenish itself at its peak charging capacity of 270kW - which isn't likely with our country's undeveloped national charging infrastructure. You're looking at thirteen and a half hours if you power up this e-tron GT from a conventional garage wallbox.

Overall

Whether you choose this e-tron GT rather than its directly comparable Porsche Taycan cousin will of course be very much down to personal preference. Both cars are probably more appealing than the aging left hand drive-only Tesla Model S direct alternative from this period. That's providing you can put up with the considerably shorter driving range that applied to this pre-facelift e-tron GT. Those for whom this early model's 300 mile figure is sufficient will find an arguably more visually sumptuous cabin than is offered by the Porsche. That cabin isn't particularly spacious for a car 5-metres in length. And you might expect a better quality of ride from a model selling itself as a luxury GT. Still, in this role this standard e-tron GT quattro model makes far more sense than its faster, pricier RS e-tron GT showroom stablemate (which merely offers a rather pointless slug of extra power for an awful lot more money). Overall, you can forgive this e-tron GT much because it's just such a lovely thing to look at. And to some extent at least, it really does feel like an Ingolstadt product to drive, in terms of steering and the excellent quality of ride. Here then, finally, is an Audi EV you might really desire. It gave the brand's sensible e-tron badge some much-needed 'want one' factor.