Audi E-tron Sportback review

If you’ve ever sat behind the wheel of a standard Audi E-tron, the Sportback will feel very familiar. That’s to say that you’re surrounded by appealing, soft-touch plastics, glitzy trims and a standard of assembly that is second to none. It also uses the same twin display infotainment setup; the lower screen gives you access to the climate controls, while the upper section is used for navigation, media and driving mode selection. 

On the whole, the dual-screen set up works well. It looks sharp, responds promptly to prods, and is easy to use when you're parked up. Plus you get plenty of gadgets, including DAB radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring and wireless phone charging. However, we find that touchscreens can be distracting to use on the move; we'd prefer a physical rotary controller interface like that of BMWs iDrive system, and, indeed, as found in older Audi models.

So far, we’ve tried the Sportback only with optional ‘super sport seats’, and these proved to be firm and supportive. Throw in a steering wheel that has a good range of adjustment and you'll have no problem getting comfortable behind the wheel – and staying that way for several hours. Granted, you don’t sit quite as high as you do in an Audi Q7, but you have a more commanding view of the road than you get in say, a Jaguar I-Pace. Vision at night is aided by bright LED headlights – these can be upgraded to ‘Digital Matrix’ adaptive LED headlights (these are standard on Vorsprung models) that automatically shape their light pattern to avoid dazzling other road users, even when on high-beam.

Rear vision in the Sportback is restricted by the low roof and small rear window, though, and the it’s harder to see out of than the standard E-tron when reversing. Mercifully, rear parking sensors – part Audi’s Parking System Plus, which also includes a 360° display – and a rear-view camera are standard across the range. As we mentioned earlier, you can also specify ‘Virtual’ door mirrors, which replace conventional mirrors with cameras in slim, aerodynamic housings. These display their images on door-mounted screens that are positioned a little lower than is ideal, forcing you to look down and across rather than taking an instinctive glance to your right or left when you want to see behind. This feels a little unnatural and takes quite a long time to get used to.