Audi E-Tron GT First Drive Review

When it’s ready to roll, artificial noises emanate from the E-Tron GT’s speakers to make up for the lack of mechanical sound. On the move, this GT is smooth, undramatic, and progressive. However, when launching the E-Tron off the mark in boost mode, all of the 534 horsepowers is put down to the tarmac and the GT launches into the horizon with an eerie silence, while your internals are courteously rearranged.

Unique to the E-Tron GT is the two-speed transmission for the rear-axle motor – a lower gear for slow speed drives, and a higher gear for higher speeds. And you can feel the transmission shift when hurriedly barreling down a smooth piece of tarmac. Behind the wheel, the GT is sufficiently quick yet comfortable for everyday drivability. Yet it isn’t intimidating or scary when pushed a little. All of the usable power is channelled to the road quite intelligently and though you’d sometimes feel the wheel spin under acceleration, it’s always under control, helped by traction sent to all four wheels, courtesy of e-quattro.

What’s more, when braking, it’s the electric motors that work more than actual brakes to decelerate recuperating energy in the process. Meanwhile, the paddle shifters behind the steering are for brake energy regeneration, which cannot be manually controlled. That said, it is reassuring to know there’s good braking prowess to keep things under control when pushing the E-Tron GT.

Even for quick direction changes, it feels planted and the responsive steering further helps in adding confidence to push its limits. The steering has varying weight (mostly artificial) depending on the mode, but regardless, it remains quick and direct. As for the ride, the air suspensions both fore and aft manage to glide over the gritty concrete surface without sending jolts inside the cabin. Even the sharp-edged creases, broken tarmac, or rutty surfaces are rounded off well with only an occasional thud sent inside; after all, it's riding on 20-inch wheels. That said, behind the wheel of the GT, we’d surely be avoiding broken roads and large speed breakers, owing to its low ground clearance.

Even the sport bucket seats hug you right and tight quite comfortably, so spending long hours here shouldn’t be tiresome. The centre console, though, could have been a bit more aesthetical – it’s quite boring to look at, with two cupholders and a large slot which cannot store anything more useful than a card or a parking slip. There’s a touchscreen tilted towards the driver and an all-digital instrument cluster that’s shared across all the modern-day Audis. Even the steering wheel and its controls are quite familiar with other Four Rings, so the cabin still feels as conventional as it can get.

In the back seats, things are surprisingly better than I initially imagined – it’s best used for two, and taller passengers would struggle with space. However, there’s a good amount of head and knee space for my frame (I am 170cm), and I won’t mind spending four to five hours in the back seats at a stretch. Lastly, at 405litre, the boot is fairly large and more usable than what you’d expect from this road missile that can disappear into the horizon before you can say ‘Vorsprung Durch Technik’.

The 800-volt battery pack has a charging capacity of up to 270kW DC, which can get the charge from five to 80 per cent in just 22 minutes. For conventional charging, the 11kW or 22kW AC charging will take around 9.30 hours for the same amount of charging. There are currently five Audi-owned charging points in and around the Mumbai area. But you can also charge the E-Tron at any other charging station, and use the Audi connected app to find locations for charging points.