Audi e-tron GT is an elegant, electrifying but expensive EV
The last time I saw the Audi e-tron GT, it was being mobbed by members of a panting press at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show with actor Robert Downey Jr. behind the wheel. The GT hasn’t lost its appeal.
With a long, lean Audi figure draped over the same bones that carry the Porsche Taycan EV, the e-tron is a rocket ship with four doors. It’s also a lot more fun with an in-house charger.
EVs are still a niche for customers with deep pockets. If you have the coin for my $115,695 ($108,195 after the federal tax credit!) e-tron tester, it is a sensational metro commuter. Squeeze the pedal and merge effortlessly into traffic. Stomp the pedal out of a Woodward stoplight and leave muscle cars behind. Creep silently into the American Speed Festival parking lot at M1 Concourse’s Checkered Flag Charity event, and heads swiveled to follow the GT’s supermodel-on-wheels figure.
Well, maybe not the face. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the Audi’s black-masked face is not as engaging as the Porsche with its unique teardrop
headlights. Without the e-tron’s four rings, the face could be mistaken for the love child of a Dodge Charger and an Audi A5.
The tapered roof and beautifully sculpted tail — anchored by Audi’s direction-arrow-taillights — is what makes this GT stand out from the masses.
The interior will be familiar to Audi customers — just as the Taycan resembles the Porsche family — an indication of the brand’s determination to make the EV experience comfortable, not a leap into the unknown. The interior sits under a Tesla-like fullcabin sunroof that adapts to sunlight overhead. A nifty chiclet shifter negotiates the two-speed automatic transmission.
Otherwise the instrument and infotainment displays are vintage Audi, with haptic touch commands and striking Google Earth navigation displays. The challenge for Audi buyers is how it stacks up to other vehicles in the showroom. There are a lot of sweets in this candy shop.
My friends downsized to an RS5 from a RS7 Sportback. They are the same size, but e-tron does not have the RS5’s handier hatchback utility. Perhaps Audi had to conform to the Taycan’s trunk design to produce two sedans off the same platform.
The e-tron is a tease to A5 owners until/if EV prices drop in half. Especially since, at 238 miles of range, it is not an easy long-distance car.
Pair the e-tron GT with a gas-powered Audi SQ5 and you have the ideal two-car garage. Just remember to plug your GT into the Juicebox.