Audi E-tron Sportback
Mileage 4800 List price £80,675 Target Price £76,677 Price as tested £84,795 Test range 210 miles
LOOK AROUND THE average car park and it has about as much colour as a 1950s TV screen. But why? Why are the most popular car ‘colours’ in the UK grey, black and white?
Well, the fact that many brands seem to offer half a dozen greys and silvers and only one blue doesn’t help, although they’d probably argue that they’re merely responding to customer demand. The desire to protect resale values almost certainly plays a part, too, with monochrome being the automotive equivalent of painting every room magnolia when you’re trying to sell your house. And yet I’d argue that my E-tron Sportback’s distinctive Antigua Blue nish actually adds to its desirability.
No, it’s not for everyone; one friend’s rst reaction was “Please tell me you didn’t choose that god-awful colour”. However, he seems to be very much in the minority; I’ve never before had so many people approach me to praise my choice of motor, and I’m convinced the eye-catching paint plays a big part.
The novelty shows no sign of wearing off, either. In fact, I still like the colour so much that the ambient interior lighting – something I could easily change if I wanted to – remains set to the matching shade of ‘Caribbean’ blue that my daughter selected soon after my car rst arrived.
It lifts what is a very classy, but otherwise largely monochrome, driving environment. And I personally nd cool blue lighting relaxing in a way that orange, yellow or red simply wouldn’t be.
In fact, if I had to sum up the E-tron Sportback in one word, I could do a lot worse than ‘relaxing’. In many electric cars, the absence of engine noise can make you more aware of wind and road roar, but you hear very little of either in my car, even at motorway speeds. Factor in the supportive seats and supple ride and I can safely say that this is a great car in which to cover miles – no shades of grey required.
‘Relaxing and hushed, this is a great car in which to cover miles’