John Kendall reports back on everyday life with our Audi e-tron GT quattro 350kW long-termer.

Audi e-tron GT quattro 350kW

P11d (BiK): £85,185 (2%) Range: 296 miles (claimed) Test consumption (kWh/100km): 20.5 (claimed) Test Range: 235-265 miles

Report 2:

Performance from our Audi has left us far from feeling blue

There was a UK missile project from the 1950s called Blue Streak, which would be an appropriate name for our Audi e-tron GT in Ascari Blue. While Blue Streak never made it into production, our Audi is very much alive and kicking.

This particular electric car is distinctly not at the planet-saving end of the EV spectrum. 350kW (476hp) (peak) is a lot of power, delivered through two electric motors, with all four wheels driven. It shares much of its drivetrain with the Porsche Taycan, except that the Taycan has even more than 350kW to play with. A 93.4kWh battery pack (83.7kWh net) ensures good range, somewhere between 235 and 265 miles so far on test. I have covered trips of more than 200 miles in each direction with minimal time spent plugged in.

The car uses an 800-volt electrical architecture, which means that it can charge quite quickly on a public DC rapid charger. We have seen it charging at 150kW quite comfortably. With around 50 miles remaining on the clock, 40 minutes is enough to top range right up.

Performance, ride and handling are most impressive, with astonishing acceleration matched to precision handling and impressive cornering ability. Ride quality is good too, geared more to comfort than you might expect.

Downsides? Rear seat headroom for taller passengers is not so good because of that sloping rear roofline. Although there is a capacious boot, it’s long and comparatively shallow, which means that loading it may need a bit more planning than you might think.

It’s an impressive car, nonetheless.

John Kendall

Our new Audi e-tron GT quattro 350kW long-termer

Report 1:

There was a momentous week in the Kirk household recently – the arrival of a smart new Audi e-tron GT long termer coincided with the slightly less exciting installation of a home smart meter. I was warned to hide the smart meter away in case I became fixated on watching the pounds notch up every hour – and I was told the arrival of an electric car would only make things worse.

However, the exact opposite is true. Yes, the electric bill surges when the Audi is recharging, but for around £30 I’m getting a full battery that gives me pretty much a week’s worth of driving.

This has led me to reflect on the rate of progress being made in electric vehicles – in February 2022 my previous long-term test Audi e-tron (the SUV one) had a claimed range of 192 miles. Fast forward to today and the newly-delivered e-tron GT has a claimed range of nearly 300 miles.

But it’s not just the claimed figures which are impressive; the real-world returns are equally good. The old e-tron would do around 130 miles on a full charge, whereas early experience with the GT shows a viable range of 250 miles in everyday driving. That’s surely enough to satisfy the nay-sayers who continue to think an EV can’t cut it in regular business motoring.

Early impressions of the car are good. Its looks ensure it stands out in the car park, while the performance on offer is breath-taking (0-62mph acceleration in just over four seconds and instant, surging acceleration whenever you press the accelerator).

Our car is the cheapest way to drive an e-tron GT, although at £85,000 it really isn’t cheap. On top of that price tag, Audi has added a few optional extras – metallic blue paint at £950, a sound generator at £500, heated three spoke steering wheel for £190, a Tour Pack which bundles in technology such as adaptive cruise control and emergency assist for £1,355, and finally upgraded 20-inch alloy wheels at £300.

All-in, that takes the price of this car to just over £90,500… it will be interesting to see if the driving and ownership experience justifies the premium price tag.