Audi e-tron Sportback (2020 - 2023) Electric review

The e-tron Sportback is a big, heavy thing, and will feel similar to running any big luxury SUV in terms of efficiency, insurance and purchase costs. The lowest insurance group is 43 for a base model 50 quattro, rising to the highest group (50) for S the most powerful S models. But because it’s electric, the basic running costs elsewhere are surprisingly low. If you’re running it as a company car you’ll save literally thousands of pounds per year in VED and benefit-in-kind taxes alone, compared to running a petrol-powered Audi Q7, say. You will find, however, that the e-tron Sportback won’t match Audi’s battery range claims in real life. That’s not unusual in for any EV, but the Audi can seem especially keen to drain its battery. There are two battery capacity options, 71kWh and 95kWh, with claimed ranges of between 200- and 260 miles. In the 71kWh we tried, with a 200-mile WLTP range rating, we found 150 miles was a more realistic aim. Thankfully, the battery charges quickly. Newer EVs have faster charging speeds than the e-tron’s 155kW max – a Tesla Model Y can hit 350kW - but in reality that number tends to be academic because most public rapid charging stations tend to run at 50-150kW. It’ll take 75 minutes to get a 71kWh e-tron to full from empty using a common 50kW public rapid charging station.

Electric cars are by nature more reliable than petrol or diesel cars, simply because an electric motor has fewer moving parts than a combustion motor. You should find the e-tron Sportback dependable, although Audi itself doesn’t rate as highly in owner reliability surveys as you might assume, and it’s also fair to say that early (2019) e-trons had a few issues – albeit, nothing beyond what you might expect from a brand new model. As is normal, whenever an issue has been identified, the car has been recalled to correct it, and production of subsequent models amended accordingly.

The e-tron was crash tested by Euro NCAP in 2019 and received a five-star award, with an especially good 91% rating for adult occupant safety. That’s partly because of a strong basic structure, but as standard it’s full of driver assistance tech, including lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, airbags all the way through the cabin, and full 360-degree parking cameras. Four-wheel drive (quattro) as standard means it has plenty of traction – especially reassuring in wet weather. A system called Audi Pre-Sense is standard too, which uses sensors to warn the driver of close objects or a potential collision, then takes active measures like tightening up the seatbelts. It has ISOFIX child seat mounts on the outer rear seats and front passenger seat, as well as anchors in the rear middle seat.

Comfort and refinement are the two areas where the e-tron Sportback totally excels. It feels every inch as dispassionately tranquil as the best large luxury SUVs. A big part of that is the complete lack of engine noise. Strip that away from a top end Audi and you’re left with an almost surreal experience, but one that’s rooted in all the things Audi is great at. The cabin quality is exceptional top-to-bottom, the driving position is perfect, and it’s set high for excellent visibility. The three-screen interior setup looks great, but unlike many screen-based systems it’s super intuitive and easy to use. The car does feel tangibly very heavy, though, which you’ll feel in the way the body moves around. Most of the time of it’s all smoother than young Marlon Brando, but it’s also quite easily unsettled. Hit a crack in the road and there’s an aftershock through the cabin, and on the brakes there’s a significant bobbing motion when you come to a stop. The driving modes make a big difference, too. Everything is adaptable: the accelerator feel, suspension softness, steering weight, and even the ride height – it can hunker down for aerodynamic efficiency. In Normal or Comfort modes this car really feels at its lardiest. The accelerator response is slow and suspension spongy, while Dynamic mode goes to the opposite end of the spectrum. Don’t mistake this for a ‘coupe’ of any sort though. It turns into corners quite sharply and it’s obviously very powerful, but it’s less a graceful figure skater and more a tub of margarine gaffer taped onto a rollerskate.

The basic trim level, called Technik, really is as much Audi e-tron Sportback as you need. Pre-heating for the cabin, triple-zone climate control, heated leather seats, adaptable air suspension – they’re all standard fit. And because this is a super modern Audi EV, a feature called Function On Demand means you can use a phone app to switch features on and off (by subscribing to them) as you see fit. Your LED headlights can be upgraded to full Matrix versions, for example. The cynical among you might ask why, if your car can do a thing, you should have to pay extra for it to work? But, ultimately, this sort of thing will make these options cheaper because when the functionality is built into all the cars, it makes production cheaper - a saving that’ll get passed on. In theory. The digital wing mirrors are worth a mention here. They’re a relatively high-cost option and they’re very cool, giving the car a pair of camera stalks linked to screens in the door cards. You might get on well with them, and they do have safety advantages (and aerodynamic – if that matters in a near-three-tonne EV) because the cameras are wide angle so you see more. The issue is, you’re basically undoing decades of orthodoxy, of learned behaviour, by not looking at a physical object. They take some getting used to. On a more prosaic level, the e-tron Sportback is just a very practical car. The 615-litre boot (10 litres bigger than the standard e-tron’s) is a very useful space. Not only is it basically huge, but the floor is completely flat and the hatchback itself is massive, so it’s easy to place a buggy into it, say. There’s a neat storage space under the bonnet too, good for keeping your mucky charging cable away from said buggy. Rear headroom could be better, however. Anyone over six-foot will be craning their neck in the back seats.

As per every Audi, there are various powertrain options with an e-tron Sportback. All of them are quattro, which in this case means four-wheel drive from two electric motors, one driving the front axle and the other the rear. The 50 quattro model has 313hp, while 55-badged cars have 408hp and a bigger 95kWh battery, meaning 408hp and a 260-mile WLTP-rated range. The top ‘S’ version gets the same battery, but the range drops to 221 miles, largely on account of a power bump, to 503hp. In short, all of them feel quick, and the S model especially so, thanks to a 4.5-second 0-62mph time – but even a 50 quattro will do it in 6.8. It actually feels quicker than that too, because you get all of its 540Nm of torque from the moment you prod the accelerator. Again, though, this is a car much more suited to gentle, relaxed driving. Its turn of pace is useful in terms of overtaking or a feeling of sharp responsiveness at town speed, as opposed to making it ‘fun to drive’.