Audi, for me, has always been about balance, and what stems from that balance.
For many, it is the sleek forward-thinking design that makes the cars what they are.
For many others, it is the mastery of engine technology that has allowed 10-year runs of International Engine Of The Year Awards that had their 5-cylinders mastery go up against both the power of the sixes and the efficiency of the fours.
For me, it has always been about balance.
And from that balance came consistency, and confidence, and then sheer joy.
The new eTron GT takes that history and builds on it. It takes the technological advances of using lighter motors and battery cells that can be positioned more thoughtfully (no longer hanging the weight on the front and at the back mostly) to create a platform that is more balanced to begin with. It uses the more controllable power delivery of modern electrics to shoot much smoother torque curves (if you so desire) out to all four wheels as needed and demanded.
When I asked the Audi team what other Audi the new eTron GT should be most compared to, I wasn’t expecting the answer. The R8, they said, the mid-engine wonderfully-balances sports GT and racecar. How can this four-door sedan be liked to that?
After driving the car, at speed and in the wet, I have to agree. They are right.
This four-door sedan is as calm as you wish in most everyday drive situations. Steering is easy and precise, though note that the steering wheel won’t move unless you put the car in gear (or rather, choose drive or reverse). Power delivery is smooth and consistent when you press on the accelerator pedal, which sends the impulse out to the two motors that in turn send out the power to the four wheels. You can choose modes for economy, comfort and a more dynamic drive, or customize individually fuels such as power, sound, ride height and such. Most of the time what you end up with is a very quiet relaxed drive that is astonishingly smooth for your four or five passengers including the driver. We were three.
This calmness can be deceiving, because the ability to whoosh forward quickly is always at the ready at your right foot. But it isn’t supersportscar rough, it is never unsettled. There is no thunder and lightning of sound and fury, you just kind of dart forward. Nothing disturbs the calm. Braking is also smooth, predictable, controllable.
So how does this become like the R8? How did the eTron GT, which I have just described as a wonderfully calm luxurious drive, take home the Performance Car of the Year Awards at the World Car Of The Year Awards given in New York? We said it can be calm, it can be relaxed, it can be sedate.
It doesn’t have to be.
When I described the car to someone after a late night in-the-wet drive, they said I sounded like I was talking about a good racehorse.
“When you kick it just right” I said, “it jumps forward.”
“In the wet, surprisingly sure-footed and balanced”
All true. You need to hit the accelerator with just the right timing, and you will be rewarded with what feels like a hard, solid blow right to the chest. And the blow lingers, as you are accelerating. But the eTron GT never loses its surefootedness, it doesn’t rear up or get skittish. All the wheels are planted even while they are putting down so much electric juice in the wet that you can feel the tenuous grip on slick pavement. And we did this going uphill as well. Controllable power.
But then, these are the people that basically invented Quattro as joy.
Our drive for that day included everything from smooth drives up mountain roads in light traffic to four hours of stop and go in pouring rain, from light flooding that reached past lower tire level to bus splashes that sprayed the side of the car hard. There were long empty straights, sweeping curves and sudden very hard stops. All controllable, all very zen.
Range anxiety? There really was none. The prediction of range out down pretty much exactly matched our mileage as it went up.
We started the day with an indicated range of 333 km, but that actually went up for a bit as we started driving (as high as 349) then started slowly moving down. We ended with an indicated range of 216km. We had an indicated distance of 167km driven, which is much higher than if you do the math of the “range remaining” numbers (333 minus 216 equals 117). So I would say everything is conservative.
While four hours of traffic weren’t exactly fun, they did put to the test the daily usability of the electric system. We drove up to Tagaytay for lunch at Antonio’s (always wonderful) and back with ease. The commitment of private enterprise to put AC charging stations in SM Malls all over the country means that there is a way forward for full electric use in some situations. If you purchase an eTron GT, it comes with an AC home charger to be installed in your house for overnight charging, and an AC mobile charging kit that can be used with most plugs in hotels ad restaurants. Forward-thinking restaurants are already looking at installing their own chargers.
That is great to see happening. Because it is quite hard to go back after you daily-drive a car like the eTron GT. And it is even harder to stay home.
