Audi e-tron GT vs Tesla Model S

What's the difference?

Anyone lamenting the demise of V8 and V10-powered internal combustion sports cars will change their mind after driving the Audi e-tron GT.

It is a phenomenal car and you can feel the engineering expertise that’s gone into making it. 

The e-tron GT feels at home on German roads and autobahns, but a drive on Australian roads could well reveal some flaws. We will wait and see.

Until then, the e-tron GT is one of the most deeply impressive cars I have ever driven. And if you’re fortunate enough to be able to afford a car like this, perhaps it’s your next (very fast) family car?

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

I spoke to a friend who bought a Model S before one had even hit the ground here in Australia. He chuckled when I told him how much this car cost but then said something I'd already suspected. "My mates who own a P100D would never drop that kind of money on a normal car. Buying a Tesla is like buying shares in the company, you're buying into the future."

And that's kind of the point. A $300,000 Audi RS7 (fully-loaded, obviously) is a bit slower in a straight line, looks just as good, is extremely well-built and emits noises that make people like me go as weak at the knees (just as the Model S' acceleration does). And would probably win a 10 lap race with the Tesla around Mount Panorama.

The Tesla is the future of cars. It may still be decades before the internal combustion engine is gone, but Tesla buyers are getting the jump, and today the Model S is the best car in which to make that leap.

You could argue the e-tron GT was already a stunner and didn’t require any visual changes, but Audi has still made a few tweaks. Thankfully, they are relatively subtle.

The 2025 e-tron GT gains refreshed front-end styling with a new front grille, headlights and lower bumper and air intakes. The look is inspired by Audi’s latest design language as seen on the recently revealed A6 Avant e-tron.

The S has more subtle front and rear styling, while the RS and RS performance take on a more aggressive and sporty look with a dramatic rear diffuser and different lower front styling. 

The RS performance further differentiates itself from the RS with an optional matt, darkened carbon roof and optional ‘carbon camouflage’ elements found in the embossed bumper, door trim, parts of the diffuser and side mirrors.

Audi has introduced some rather gorgeous new alloy wheel designs, some standard, some optional.

I had forgotten how stunning the e-tron is in the metal. You can see by its stance that it’s related to the Porsche Taycan - they share the 'J1' platform.

Despite the low-slung sports sedan vibe, they have their own distinct identities. If you’re after elegant clean design, you’ll likely favour the Porsche. But I am increasingly leaning towards the Audi on the design front.

Inside you get redesigned sports seats, a new steering wheel and fresh inlays, including sustainable wood on some grades. I love the new steering wheel, covered in Audi’s version of synthetic suede. BMW take note - you don’t need a big chunky steering wheel in a performance car. This rim is just right.

There’s new readout and graphics for the digital driver display and the carpet and floor mats are made of 100 per cent recycled nylon fibres. Audi’s used synthetic suede and leather throughout, and the non-leather grey cloth trim in the S is a knockout. But you can get real leather if you want.

Some of the grades we drove at the launch event come with Audi Exclusive elements which add unique touches and colours chosen by the customer, from the interior inserts, trim, stitching and more. Audi Australia isn’t saying too much but some of these Exclusive options might end up here eventually.

The Model S is definitely the looker of the three Tesla models on sale (the Model 3 might be some way from release, but you can reserve one and it's... weird-looking). With a slinky, Jaguar XF/Audi A7 roofline and low-slung stance, it looks the business. Like the X, the detailing of the car's surfacing and panel gaps aren't where other $200,000+ cars are, but it has improved a lot over the last couple of years.

The cabin has improved even more than the exterior.

The styling is quite sparse, really. Teslas look like computer renders in real life, especially in white, with little in the way of jewellery or detailed design elements. And that's probably the idea. It's a cleaner design than when first launched, with a simpler, flatter snout that brings out the headlights better.

The cabin has improved even more than the exterior. It's still the same minimalist design, but it fits together much more tightly than it used to. The 17.0-inch portrait screen is still there in its central but skewed-to-the-driver position and is now up to version 8. It's an impressive interface, covering off the vast majority of functions in the car, and is mostly easy to use. The responsiveness is key to its usability. If it was underpowered, you'd quickly start demanding real buttons.

The e-tron GT is a big car, so it has potential for family duties, but it’s also a sports car, and that means some compromises. 

The new front sports seats in any of the various trim options offer incredible levels of comfort, ample support and they’re well cushioned. This is a Grand Tourer so comfort is important and that box is well and truly ticked.

It’s low to the ground which helps with feeling connected to the road, and the multi-adjustable seats and steering wheel mean it’s easy to find your perfect driving position.

With the addition of new air suspension as standard, the e-tron GT has a neat trick. When you touch the door handle, the set-up automatically increases the vehicle’s ride height by up to 77mm to make it easier to get in and out of. \

Don’t expect much visibility out the tiny rear windscreen, but you can rely on the clear surround-view camera display. 

From the driver’s seat, everything comes easily to hand. The multimedia screen isn’t a stretch to reach, nor are the buttons on the stack and console. Thanks for keeping buttons, too, Audi.

Audi’s current multimedia setup is solid. It has big menu icons, logical menu steps and you can swipe across for more.

The ‘Virtual Cockpit’ digital instrument cluster is also excellent and easily customisable. The built-in sat nav shows up in multiple places if you like, such as the head-up display, instrument display or multimedia screen. During our extensive drive from Frankfurt, it didn’t miss a beat.

The optional panoramic glass roof has a cool feature. You can switch from opaque to clear with the touch of a button. And you can even have a mix of the two. Clever.

To maximise space, Audi moved the phone charger to inside the central bin. Given it is hard up against the side, it doesn’t consume that much room.

Elsewhere up front, smaller bottles will only fit in the door pockets if they are lying flat.

In a smart bit of design from Audi, the battery pack is split to accommodate deeper footwells for the rear passengers. So many electric cars, especially sedans, suffer from having the battery pack under the entire length of the vehicle's floor which means your legs sit awkwardly upright. Hello Tesla...  

As a result, you can sit like a normal human in the back of the e-tron GT, and there’s ample legroom behind my six foot-plus driving position. That’s helped by scalloping the rear of the front seats. Headroom is tight but that’s expected given the swoopy roofline. 

There’s no bottle storage in the rear doors, only enough room for a phone. You get lower air vents, seat heating controls and a central fold-down armrest with cupholders. 

The boot is long and the 60/40 split seats fold flat which is handy for loading long items. There are a number of nooks and a handy cargo net, too. Luggage space ranges from 405 litres for the S e-tron GT to 350L for the RS performance. There’s a sizeable front trunk for housing charging cables.

The Model S is a rare car in this class in that it has an almost completely flat floor, meaning rear seat passengers don't have to negotiate a transmission tunnel. The two motors run physically independently of each other so there's no crankshaft to get in the way.

The floor is thicker than a normal car, it's like a big skateboard underneath. That means your knees are up higher, which might cause numb bum on a long trip. The rear seats are comfortable enough, but middle seat occupants might feel like the outboard passengers are falling into them.

With all that torque, when you do load it up, the extra kilos barely make a dent on the performance.

The view out isn't too bad given the rising window line, and if you've got the big two piece sunroof (without cover, irritatingly... ), it's quite airy out back. And hot (with the sunroof), but you do get rear air-con vents.

The boot is an eminently sensible 744 litres with the seats up and 1795 with the seats down, although the floor doesn't fold flat. While it's a big boot, it's relatively shallow so your suitcases go in on their sides. Up in the front boot (or froot) there's another 150 litres, so you can pack a lot in to the Model S. And with all that torque, when you do load it up, the extra kilos barely make a dent on the performance.

Tesla is basically a technology company - well, a battery company - that makes cars, so the features and options reflect that. It's a gadget-laden five-door hatch powered exclusively by electricity and seemingly full of things that will drain the batteries quickly.

If you view the car's price purely through its standard features list and the cost of options, you're missing the point. If it had a 3.0-litre turbo six, there's no way you'd pay this kind of money for the Model S. But it doesn't have that, it has a bleeding edge battery pack and propulsion system.

The Model S can be had for as little as $118,652 for the 60 offering 400km range, rear-wheel drive, and 5.8s 0-100km/h (but move quickly, Tesla has just axed this model), or as much as this P100D which starts at $250,582.

Standard are a seven-speaker stereo, leather-like trim, 19-inch alloys, reversing camera, 17.0-inch touchscreen, keyless entry and start, forward collision warning, digital dashboard, electric front seats, sat nav, auto LED headlights, auto wipers, internet connectivity via included SIM card, power mirrors and windows and air suspension.

Our P100D came with 21-inch grey 'Turbine' wheels ($6800), panoramic roof ($2300) multi-coat pearl paint (white, $2300) and carbon-fibre interior trim bits for $1500, as well as a carbon lip spoiler for another $1500.

We also had the 11-speaker audio upgrade (with neodymium magnets, don't you know) for $3800 and the 'Subzero Weather Package' (seat heaters, heated steering wheel, wiper blade defrosters and washer nozzle heaters) and on-board high-power charger (speeds up charging with the 'Tesla Wall Connector', $2300).

There was also 'Enhanced Autopilot' ($7600) and 'Full Self-Driving Capability' ($4600). The former is meant for highway running, and comes with four cameras (up from one) and 12 ultrasonic sensors around the car, as well as upgraded processing power to run it all.

The full self-driving is meant for around town. The idea is you punch in a destination, or speak to the computer or passive-aggressively stay silent, which triggers the car to check your calendar and take you to the address in the appointment. Part of the extra cost of that is yet more cameras (up to eight), more sensors, and more number-crunching power.

A 'Premium Upgrades' package adds the overkill of a 'Bioweapon Defense (sic) Mode' that knocks out 99.97 per cent of exhaust particulates and other contaminants.

We would love to tell you how all that worked, but being Tesla 'Hardware 2', it's not ready yet. While these features are being fleet-tested by 1000 cars in the US, your car will run it all in "shadow mode" for data and behaviour validation. One day you'll go to your car and a software update will be ready to download and install the functionality.

Unusually, you can retrofit both of these features for about $1500 more (each) than if you order them up-front. That's very cool and Tesla is probably the only car company in the world that will let you do it.

The 17.0-inch screen's software is regularly updated, like a mobile phone's. Also like a mobile is the sometimes less successful update, in this case the slightly bewildering and difficult-to-use music interface that is very keen for you to make a selection with voice commands, but not ones that go through your phone.

A 'Premium Upgrades' package adds the overkill of a 'Bioweapon Defense (sic) Mode' that knocks out 99.97 per cent of exhaust particulates and other contaminants, using two activated carbon air filters for other nasties like NO2 and hydrocarbon exhaust fumes.

LED turning lights and fog lights, real leather on the armrests, steering wheel and lower dashboard (if you also have leather seating), nappa leather and Alcantara on the dashboard, soft LED interior lighting, power tailgate and backlit door handles for $5300. Thankfully, the silly self-opening front doors in the Model X's pack aren't in this little lot.

Grand total? $297,792. On the road in, say, NSW... $313,013. Youch.

The fully electric e-tron GT has two motors - one on each axle, ensuring ‘quattro’ all-wheel drive traction.

For the S e-tron GT, the total system output is 430kW of power (or up to 500kW in launch control mode) and 740Nm of torque. 

That’s more power than the previous RS e-tron GT, and enough to get it from zero to 100km/h in 3.6 seconds.

The RS now pumps out 500kW (630kW in launch control mode, no total torque figure available) and can hit triple digits in 3.1 seconds, while the new RS performance flagship boasts impressive outputs of 550kW/1027Nm (680kW in launch control mode) for a dash time of 2.9 seconds. These 0-100km/h times improve in launch control mode.

A newly developed air suspension is standard across the range, and tech wizardry like active suspension and rear-axle steering are optional.

The P100D ships with two electric motors fed by a huge battery pack which triples as the bulk of the chassis and a super-strong crash structure. It's also shared with the Model X SUV.

Combined power output is 568kW with more of it out the back rather than up front. Torque is quoted at 1000Nm, but it's likely more than that. Claimed 0-100km/h time is a mildly unbelievable 2.7 seconds, with a further two-tenths to be shaved off when you press and hold Ludicrous Mode and accept a warning that you'll wear the car out faster if you use it.

With 'Ludicrous Mode' comes not just software but a higher capacity fuse that allows more power to be drawn from the batteries for longer to provide the searing acceleration.

Audi has reduced the weight of the battery pack by 9.0kg while also increasing energy density.

Audi has also improved the charging rate which now peaks at 320kW, up from 270kW.

The 105kWh lithium-ion battery on all grades can be charged from 10 to 80 per cent in just 18 minutes using a high-power charging station, according to Audi.

AC charging is 11kW and doing that at home will take about 11 hours from depleted to 100 per cent.

The update to the information in the instrument cluster includes details about current operating state of the battery, including temperature, a quick-charging forecast and the pre-conditioning status.

Driving range is impressive and runs from up to 609km on the WLTP cycle for the S e-tron GT, up to 599km for the RS e-tron GT and up to 592km for the RS e-tron GT performance.

Energy consumption ranges from 18 to 19.7kWh/100km for the S, 18.4-21.1 for the RS and 18.7-20.8 for the RS performance.

Zippo. Obviously with the new rules for Tesla Superchargers, it's not as cheap to own and run a Tesla as it was before (from January 2017, all new orders don't get free juice after the first 400kWh), but if you charge it at home (and can get away with it), it'll probably be cheaper than using Tesla's chargers. If you look, there's a company offering $1 per day charging for electric cars.

If I'd charged the car to 100 percent rather than the 80 percent recommended by Tesla for most charges (past that mark, the charge rate drops and the software has to slow to a trickle, doling out the electrons to the different cells), I would have managed just over 400km on the charge.

Having the air suspension increase the ride height to get into the e-tron GT is useful, given how low to the ground it is. Once you’re in, you’ll nestle into the sports seats and feel a real connection with the road.

Audi’s generated EV noise sounds like the low, deep growl of a V8, but dialled down. It’s very cool.

The new RS e-tron GT is quick but it delivers acceleration in a smooth, linear manner. There’s no neck-snapping ‘Ludicrous’ moment here. Just straight line performance that will elicit the word ‘wow’ multiple times.

Picking up pace at speed is a breeze - as we discovered on Germany’s autobahns - thanks in part to a ‘push to pass’ button on the steering wheel that adds 70kW of power for 10 seconds, when you need to overtake quickly.

The steering is sharp, but almost a little too sensitive in the RS, to the point where you need to be conscious of your steering inputs. You don’t want to overdo it, but if you do, the onboard electricals should keep things in check. That beautiful steering wheel adds to the engagement.

Audi’s engineers deserve plaudits because they’ve somehow made a five-metre long, 2.3-tonne electric sports sedan feel light and nimble. 

It is dead flat in corners without a hint of lean or body roll and navigates tight bends with a surefootedness that is astounding. 

Accelerating out of a corner is executed without fuss and will bring a smile to your dial, helped in part to the optional rear-axle steering.

The technical wizardry that is active suspension - it uses cameras and radars to analyse the road surface ahead and moderate the dampers and the like accordingly - is impressive.

The ride quality of this heavy car with 21-inch rims is a surprise. You’ll notice road joins and bigger corrugations but overall it's quite composed.

And that’s part of the beauty of the e-tron GT. Its Porsche Taycan cousin is a more focused sports car. Whereas the Audi e-tron GT is a Grand Tourer or Gran Turismo if you will.

Yes, it’s incredibly powerful and is blisteringly fast, but it’s also a comfortable cruiser, and something you could easily live with every day.

The S e-tron GT could be all the Audi you need. It’s still incredibly quick, but not as powerful as the RS. It is the more subtly styled model which will appeal to an understated buyer.

A brief stint on a makeshift track in the e-tron GT performance grade highlighted how the active suspension, rear-axle steering and other tech gubbins help it hold the road so well.

It’s an extraordinary car to drive and taking a different approach to Porsche has served Audi very well indeed.

The advanced safety gear is well calibrated and not intrusive. While the speed limit alert can be annoying, the speed sign recognition is spot on. Let’s see how it goes with Australian speed signs next year.

The first time I drove a Model S, I enjoyed the acceleration and the silence of the electric motor (this was back in the Dark Ages when even the P90 only had one motor). And that has remained, with the air suspension providing a firm but comfortable ride despite the P100D's 21-inch rims and very low profile tyres. Electric motoring in any electric car is addictive.

Much progress has been made (yes, I'm getting to the acceleration, stay with me) in the way it drives. The earlier cars felt too computer gamey, with little feel through the wheel or the seat of your pants. The steering is better, especially in Sport mode, but not a lot gets through the air suspension, so it takes a while to build confidence in the chassis.

One passenger became quite emotional, almost crying. And not just because they were stuck in a car with me.

On the freeway (look, you can read ahead if you must) it's amazingly quiet, with just a bit of a rustling around the mirrors. Well, of course it's quiet, it's electric. For chassis and NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) squashers, not having the marvellous engine noise means much harder work to dull the other noises you just don't hear when there's an internal combustion engine.

And there's the acceleration. As the driver, you obviously know it's quick. Mash the throttle and the response is instant, the horizon closing in on you like you're attached by a very stretched and immensely strong bungee strap that's just been released. The way cars disappear in your rear vision mirror is hilarious.

It's more fun as a passenger, though. The Model X elicited whooping and laughing, but the P100D's extra 0.6s-worth of acceleration over the P90D, delivered with a truckload more G-force, equals silence. One woman said she was glad I'd caught her before dinner rather than after, before bursting forth with a range of expletives. One passenger became quite emotional, almost crying. And not just because they were stuck in a car with me.

The Model S comes with six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, three ISOFIX points, rollover sensors, emergency power disconnect. Additionally, when the software arrives, you'll have full AEB (ours was limited), self-driving and an ultra-clever active cruise that'll change lanes and overtake if the car you're following falls below your set speed.

The Model S scored five ANCAP stars, the maximum available, in April 2015 via the sharing arrangement with EuroNCAP.

The e-tron GT comes with Audi’s five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty which is fairly standard for the premium segment. The battery warranty is eight years or 160,000km.

Impressively, the outgoing model comes with six years of complimentary servicing by Audi, and the schedules start at every two years or 30,000km. This should carry over for the new model but will be confirmed when the rest of the pricing and specs are locked in.

Tesla offers a four-year/80,000km warranty with a parallel eight year/unlimited kilometre warranty for the battery and drive units. Roadside assist applies for the four year warranty period.

Tesla offers two maintenance plans, three and four years in length. The three year plan costs $2100 and the four year $3175. Paying for the services individually over the same period will cost $2300 and $3425 respectively. That includes a wheel alignment (if needed), but it isn't particularly cheap when compared with 'normal' luxury cars.

Your first 400kW/h of recharging is free using Tesla's supercharger network, so that would be four full charges from empty (which you wouldn't do, obviously), or about 1600km worth. After that, it's 35c per kWh or $35 for a full charge.