Audi E-tron GT long-term test report 3

The car Audi E-tron GT quattro Run by Steve Huntingford, editor

Why it’s here To see if Audi's electric performance car can also be a good everyday car

Needs to Combine the thrilling drive you’d expect with a level of comfort and usability you might not

Mileage 1642 List price £88,555 Best price £72,349 Price as tested £92,700 Test range 318 miles Official range 383 miles

17 January – Sunny demeanour

I realise it's an expensive cure for the winter blues, but over the last couple of months I’ve become convinced that the world would be a happier place if more people drove Audi E-tron GTs.

You see, as much as I like my job, it’s undoubtedly stressful at times. Plus, I have ‘bad days at the office’ just like anyone else. Yet, by the time I’ve made it home, this car has invariably brightened my mood.

Even if the weather is horribly dreary – as it all too often is at this time of year – I soon feel like the sun is shining down on me. And don’t go thinking this is because my commute features epic back roads or goes via Silverstone. On the contrary, I never get above 40mph on these journeys, so can’t make the most of the E-tron GT’s rapid acceleration or poised on-the-limit handling.

But that’s the thing about cars that are great to drive; it’s not just when you’re pushing them hard that they impress.

For example, the E-tron GT’s precise, sweetly weighted steering also makes its presence felt when I’m negotiating the tight turns (and avoiding the high kerbs) of What Car?’s multi-storey car park.

What’s more, the feelsome brake pedal is just as welcome in stop-start traffic as it is when you’re trying to shed big velocities, because it allows you to be smooth without even thinking about it.

What’s perhaps most impressive of all, though, is the way the E-tron GT rides. This is a heavy car that controls its mass brilliantly when you ask it to dart into a corner at speed. Yet, somehow, it’s also able to soak up urban potholes with ease, and to remain settled over road surfaces that resemble a crinkle-cut chip.

I’m a big fan of the driving position, too, which feels surprisingly low-slung and sporty, given that this is an electric car with a sizeable battery pack beneath its floor.

And while such things don’t factor into our verdicts here at What Car?, I personally think the design of the E-tron GT is absolutely stunning. So, as I’m walking away from it to my front door, I’ll often look back one last time to improve my mood still further.

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