Audi E-Tron vs Lamborghini Urus

What's the difference?

The e-tron S looks mean, feels premium, and blends serious power with surprising grace under pressure. I still can’t shake the feeling I had with the standard e-tron, though, that this car is an Audi sports SUV first and an electric car second, and its weight holds it back from being as fun to drive as I think some rivals are.

If you love Audi and you want to go electric without stepping into something too unfamiliar it’s a great option. If you want an electric car which takes full advantage of what the next generation of technology can offer, keep an eye out, there’s plenty of fresh metal on the way.

Lamborghini has nailed it. The Urus is a super SUV that’s fast, dynamic, and has Lamborghini looks, but just as importantly it’s practical, spacious, comfortable and easy to drive. You’re not going to find those last four attributes in a sentence about an Aventador.

Where the Urus loses marks is in terms of warranty, value for money and fuel consumption.

I didn’t take the Urus on the Corsa nor the Neve, nor Sabbia and Terra, but as I said in my video we know this SUV is capable on the track and that it can go off-road.

What I really wanted to see was how well it handled regular life. Any competent SUV can deal with shopping centre car parks, dropping kids off at school, carrying boxes and bags, and of course fitting and being driven as you would any car.

The Urus is a Lamborghini anybody could drive, pretty much anywhere.

The e-tron S looks properly mean, with its adjustable ride-height suspension and enormous wheels combining nicely with the extra subtle sporty highlights to make for a squat SUV which clearly means business.

The width is especially evident with those accentuated wheelarches and the lines set by the lower wing to draw your eyes out to its edges. In profile it's easy to see its long wheelbase and tapered rear roofline, giving even the SUV a slinkier frame than you may be used to when looking at the comparatively boxy Q5.

The thing that strikes me about Audi’s e-tron range, though, is how little a departure it is. It ambiguously slots somewhere above the Q5 and below the Q7, but sticks very closely to the German brand’s styling script.

Sure, it looks a bit lower to the ground, and a bit meaner than you might expect for an EV, but it’s not as much of a departure as Jaguar’s I-Pace or BMW’s iX.

I suppose the biggest advantage here is nobody is going to say the e-tron’s overall visage is controversial, and certainly, it will appeal to existing fans of Audi’s design.

Inside it follows much the same theme, with all the key touchpoints and styling elements nearly identical to other Audis in the range, if not very similar.

It feels like a sensible, refined place in the cabin, with the only whacky pieces being the extra touchscreen for the climate unit and the strange thumb-operated shifter mounted on a floating piece which looks and feels like it could be the throttle control for a jet engine.

The dash is a bit more integrated and modern than in the conservative Q5 or Q7, with the air vents leading to the digital instrument cluster as part of an aesthetic three-terrace design which runs across the entire dash and into the doors.

The screens which appear in place of wing mirrors take a bit of getting used to. Aside from those notable departures, the interior continues the theme of sticking closely to the Audi formula, providing a more modern space which will still be familiar to existing fans of the brand.

Anything interesting about the Urus? That’s like asking is there anything tasty about that really tasty thing you’re eating there? See, whether you like the look of the Lamborghini Urus or not, you have to admit it doesn’t look like anything you’ve ever seen before, right?

I wasn’t a major fan of it when I first clapped eyes on it in pictures online, but in the metal and in front of me wearing that 'Giallo Augo' yellow paint I found the Urus stunning, like a giant queen bee.

As I’ve mentioned, the Urus is built on the same MLB Evo platform as the Volkswagen Touareg, Porsche Cayenne, Bentley Bentayga and Audi Q8. While that offers a ready-made base with great comfort, dynamics and technology, it would limit shape and styling, but nevertheless I think Lamborghini has done an excellent job of ‘dressing’ the Urus with styling that doesn’t give away its Volkswagen Group bloodline too much.

The Urus looks exactly how a Lamborghini SUV should – from its side profile with the sleek glasshouse and haunches which look spring loaded, to its Y-shaped tail-lights and tailgate lip spoiler.

At the front, as with the Aventador and Huracan, the Lamborghini badge takes pride of place and even that broad flat bonnet which looks just like the lid on its supercar siblings has to skirt around the emblem almost out of respect. Below is the giant grille with its enormous lower air-intake and front splitter.

You can also see a few hat tips to the original LM002 Lamborghini off-roader from the late 1980s in those squared-off wheel arches. Yes, this isn’t Lamborghini’s first SUV.

The optional 23-inch wheels do look a bit too big, but if anything can pull them off, I feel the Urus can because so much else about this SUV is over the top. Even everyday elements are extravagant – the fuel cap on our car was carbon-fibre for example.

But then everyday objects which I think should be there, aren’t – like a rear windscreen wiper.

The Urus’s cockpit is just as special (and Lamborghini) as its exterior. As with the Aventador and Huracan the start button hides beneath a red flip-up cover fighter-jet rocket launcher-style and the front passengers are separated by a floating centre console which is home to more aircraft inspired controls – there are levers for selecting drive modes and there’s a giant one just for selecting reverse.

As we’ve covered above, the interior of our car had been optioned to the hilt, but I have to mention those seats again – the Q-Citura diamond stitching looks and feels beautiful.

It’s not just the seats, though, every touch point in the Urus has a quality feel – actually even places that never come in contact with passenger such as the headlining look and feel plush.

The Urus is large – look at the dimensions: it’s 5112mm long, 2181mm wide (including the mirrors) and 1638mm tall.

But what’s the space like inside? Read on to find out.

As an electric vehicle, the e-tron has certain advantages over its combustion equivalents, and overall makes for an accomplished family-sized SUV. But there are areas where more could be done to take advantage of its high-voltage features and abundant footprint.

Up front in the cabin is a good place, with both occupants treated to lavish seats with plenty of head and legroom, great adjustability, and plenty of width in the cabin.

The finishes are beyond premium with thick chunks of well-padded leather meeting your elbows, hands, and knees at every point. As always the lovely Audi switchgear exists in most places, but the removal of solid toggles and buttons in favour of an extra touch panel feels unnecessary.

There’s still a physical volume knob, and while the climate touchscreen is plenty large enough to have a shortcut button for every function without needing a sub-menu, it feels like you have to move your eyes too far from the road to know you’re going to jab it in the right spot.

Even the main touch panel has an interesting haptic feedback effect for each press, designed to mimic the solidly-sprung button hardware the brand has used in the past.

The screen looks amazing and is fast and sharp, key hallmarks of computer hardware that's up to the task, although the resolution is so high the touch elements when using Apple CarPlay end up being a little small and hard to stab at while you’re trying to keep your eyes on the road.

For storage there’s a big bottle holder and bin in the doors, a large cutaway with a storage tray, dual bottle holders, and power outlets in the centre, with a further smallish storage area under the armrest console.

Unlike some EVs there’s no huge cutaway under what was traditionally considered the transmission tunnel, although there is a small bay with the USB-C ports.

The rear seat feels good for space, with an almost flat floor and decent legroom and width, although headroom could be better.

There are netted pockets on the backs of the front seats and decently-sized bottle holders in the doors, with a further set in the drop-down armrest.

The quad-zone climate with its own touch panel and adjustable centre vents is a nice touch in the rear, as is the set of USB-C ports below. The hard backings to the front seats and built-in sun blinds our car had will even be great for kids.

The boot measures in at 660 litres, which is high for the segment. It fit our three-piece CarsGuide demo luggage set with room to spare, and that's despite the massive battery pack under the floor.

There’s auxiliary storage, too, with a further bay under the boot floor and a second small tray situated under the bonnet, both useful for keeping your charging paraphernalia.

From the outside the Urus’s cabin looks like it could be a cramped place – it is a Lamborghini, after all right? The reality is the interior of the Urus is spacious and storage is great.

Our test car was a five-seater, but the Urus can also be ordered with just four seats. Alas, there is no seven-seater version of the Urus, but Bentley does offer a third row in its Bentayga.

The front seats in our Urus were snug but offered outstanding comfort and support.

Head-, shoulder- and legroom up front is excellent, but it’s the second row which is most impressive. Legroom for me, even at 191cm tall, is outstanding. I can sit behind my driving position with about 100mm to spare – take a look at the video if you don’t believe me. Headroom is good back there, too.

Entry and exit through the rear doors is good, although they could open wider, but the height of the Urus made putting my child into his car seat easy on my back. Also installing the car seat itself was easy – our is a top tether which hooked to the seatback.

The Urus has a 616-litre boot and that was large enough to fit the box for our new child car-seat (have a look at the images) along with several other bags – that’s damned good. Making loading easier is an air suspension system which can lower the rear of the SUV.

The big door pockets were excellent and so was the floating centre console which has storage underneath and two 12-volt power outlets. You’ll also find a USB port up front, too.

The centre console bin is the downfall – it’s only has space for the wireless charging pad.

There are two cupholders up front and another two in the fold down centre armrest in the rear.

The rear climate control system is outstanding and offers separate temperature options for left and right rear riders, with plenty of vents.

Grab handles, 'Jesus handles', call them what you will, but the Urus doesn’t have any. Both the youngest and oldest members of my family pointed this out – my son and my mother. Personally, I’ve never had a use for them, but they both feel it’s a glaring omission.

I’m not going to mark the Urus down for a lack of handles – this is a practical and family friendly SUV.

When it comes to Lamborghinis value-for-money is almost irrelevant because we’re in the realm of the supercar, where the laws of price and features don’t really apply. Yes, the old, if-you-have-to-ask-how-much-it-is-then-you-can’t-afford-it rule is coming into effect here.

Which is why the first question I asked was – how much is it? The five-seater version we tested lists for $390,000, before on-road costs. You can also have your Urus in a four-seat configuration but you'll pay more at $402,750.

The entry Lamborghini Huracan also lists for $390K, while the entry-level Aventador lists for $789,809. So, the Urus in comparison is an affordable Lamborghini. Or an expensive Porsche Cayenne Turbo.

You may know this already, but Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley, Audi and Volkswagen have the same parent company and share technology.

The 'MLB Evo' platform which underpins the Urus is also used by the Porsche Cayenne, but that SUV is almost half the price at $239,000. But it’s not as powerful as the Lamborghini, not as fast as the Lamborghini, and … it’s not a Lamborghini.

Coming standard is a full-leather interior, four-zone climate control, two touch screens, sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, DVD player, surround view camera, proximity unlocking, drive-mode selector, proximity unlocking, leather steering wheel, power and heated front seats, LED adaptive headlights, power tailgate and 21-inch alloy wheels.

Our Urus was fitted with options, lots of options - $67,692 worth. This included the giant 23-inch rims ($10,428) with carbon ceramic brakes ($3535), the leather seats with 'Q-Citura' diamond stitching ($5832) and optional stitching ($1237), the Bang & Olufsen stereo ($11,665) and digital radio ($1414), night vision ($4949) and the ambient light package ($5656).

Our car also had the Lamborghini badge sewn into the headrests which is a $1591 option and the plush floor mats are $1237.

What are the Lamborghini Urus’s rivals? Does it have any other than the Porsche Cayenne Turbo, which isn’t really in the same monetary ballpark?

Well, the Bentley Bentayga SUV also shares the same MLB Evo platform and the five-seat version lists for $334,700. Then there’s the Range Rover SV Autobiography Supercharged LWB at $398,528.

Ferrari’s upcoming SUV will be a true rival to the Urus, but you’ll have to wait until about 2022 for that.

Aston Martin’s DBX will be with us sooner – it’s expected in 2020. But, don’t hold your breath for a McLaren SUV. When I interviewed the company’s global product boss in early 2018 he said one was totally out of the question. I asked him if he wanted to bet on it. He declined. What do you think?

The S-branded e-tron sets itself apart from the rest of the range with a seriously powerful set of three motors. There are two on the rear axle, and one on the front axle.

The total combined output of this collection is 370kW/973Nm, which for a combustion car, would be unprecedented.

To be fair, these figures are under a ‘boost’ mode, with the car generating a still strong 300kW/800Nm in most situations.

The three motor drivetrain allows for an electric version of Audi’s ‘quattro’ all-wheel drive system which the brand says can react to changes in 30 milliseconds and move torque appropriately.

The system is rear-biased, and in the name of efficiency the front motor is only used when required under acceleration or cornering.

The Lamborghini Urus has a 4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 engine making 478kW/850Nm.

Any engine which can make 650 horsepower has my attention, but this unit, which you’ll also find in the Bentley Bentayga, is superb. The power delivery feels almost naturally aspirated in how linear and controllable it feels.

While the Urus doesn’t have the same screaming exhaust note as a V12 Aventador or the V10 found in the Huracan, the deep V8 grumble on idle and crackle on the down shifts let everybody know I’d arrived.

An eight-speed automatic transmission can change its personality from a brutally hard-shifter in Corsa (Track) mode to gelato smooth in Strada (Street).

The e-tron may be electric, but it’s also a performance car. To that end, its energy consumption, relative to the field, is behind the pace.

In fact, at a whopping 27.8kWh/100km, driving the e-tron around feels like the electric equivalent of steering a big V8.

It produced one of the highest consumption numbers I have seen from any EV during my time with it. Considering this number is even below the WLTP consumption number, which is 28.4kWh/100km, that's not great.

For comparison, the Mercedes-Benz EQC's official number is just 20.8kWh/100km, while the Jaguar I-Pace consumes 21.2kWh/100km according to the WLTP procedure.

Yes, they aren’t performance cars in the same sense, but it’s still a big difference.

I made sure to take it out and stretch the e-tron’s legs to assess its performance in its more sporty driving modes, but the majority of my time with the car was spent in a more comfort-oriented setting and with the regenerative braking set to maximum.

Possibly as a result of its real-world consumption, my car was showing about 350km of range on a full charge, a little below the official WLTP number of 364km, although it is worth noting the enormous 21-inch alloys do their part to reduce the range. The car ships with 20-inch wheels in Europe.

The good news is the e-tron is capable of charging fast, with its max DC charging speed set at 150kW (allowing for a 5.0-80 per cent charge time for its 95kWh battery of 30 minutes), and its AC charging speed set at 11kW, which allows a slow-charging time of around seven hours.

If you intend to park on the street or live in a unit where installing charge infrastructure is impossible, I would strongly recommend you consider the 22kW AC charging upgrade which will cut the AC charge time in half.

While there are few public stations currently capable of the full 22kW in Australia, it will future-proof your car for ideal convenience charging for when they're more commonplace. 

A V8 combustion engine that makes 478kW is not going to be frugal when it comes to fuel consumption. Lamborghini says the Urus should use 12.7L/100km after a combination of open and urban roads.

After highways, country roads and urban commutes I recorded 15.7L/100km at the fuel pump, which is close to the serving suggestion and good considering there weren't any motorway kays in there.

That’s thirsty, but not surprising.  

Does the e-tron live up to the promise set by sporty Audis which have come before it? The answer is interesting.

There is no doubt the e-tron S is rapid, at times absurdly so. If you stick it in the required S mode and hunker the suspension down, planting the accelerator makes its claimed 0-100km/h sprint time of 4.5 seconds suddenly very real.

It lurches ahead without so much as a squeak from its enormous tyres, grabbing the road with its front axle as it warps you forward.

So yes, this electric performance car is no doubt quick. It is also heavy. Weighing in at a tare mass of 2830kg, the e-tron S is quite literally massive.

The trouble is, while its powerful electric motors are great at overcoming this gravitational obstacle in a straight line, it’s in the corners and at low speeds where you feel every bit of it.

The e-tron crashes over larger bumps, it’s suspension struggling to deal with the combination of its weight and low-profile tyres, while it can also feel cumbersome in the corners around town.

The suspension is better at levelling things out once you gain a bit of pace, and the tyres work with the all-wheel drive system to put in a Herculean effort when carving up bends at speed, but there’s the ever-present lurch of weight always working against you.

This feeling isn’t helped by the steering tune, which even in its most comfort-oriented setting feels hefty and slow to turn. In the default sport mode, ‘dynamic’, it takes effort to push this car around corners.

Despite the unsettling feeling of it, though, the car holds on for dear life, and I never once felt as though the tyres were remotely in danger of breaking traction when put under pressure.

Is it a performer, then? Absolutely, there’s something mind bending about a vehicle so heavy going so quickly.

Does it feel fun to drive? Less so. I enjoyed the connectivity of the Porsche Taycan offers at speed more than I enjoyed the e-tron S, and its weight and girth demand a nice wide piece of tarmac for you to really wring it.

It’s far from a darty and engaging car like the Q5 can be despite its mammoth power outputs.

Elsewhere, the drive experience feels very Audi, though. The touchpoints and feedback are mostly familiar, as are the software and ergonomics.

The virtual wing mirrors are more of an inconvenience than anything else. This car is already hard to see out of, with big C-pillars and a tall belt line, and the digital exterior mirrors offer what feels like a limited angle of vision and make it extra hard to see out at night.

Some things fall to the wayside a little. The e-tron’s drive system almost hides the regenerative braking setting several menus deep, which, once activated, allows you to set it using the paddle-shifters on the wheel.

Audi says the regen will account for nearly 30 per cent of the car’s range, which is odd because even at the highest setting it feels a bit mild, relying on the user to manually operate the brake for a ‘blended braking’ mode to make up the difference.

It’s a bit of a stretch from the single-pedal driving modes offered on some rival cars.

My theory here, as with this car’s look and feel, is the e-tron is primarily designed to be familiar to an existing Audi customer, or someone coming out of a purely combustion premium rival.

The Lamborghini Urus is a brute, but not brutal, in that it’s big, powerful, quick and dynamic without being hard to drive. Actually, it’s one of the easiest and most comfortable SUVs I’ve ever driven, while also being the fastest I’ve piloted.

The Urus is at its most docile in the Strada (Street) drive mode and for the most part I drove it in this setting which kept the air suspension at its cushiest, the throttle calm and steering light.

The ride quality in Strada even on Sydney’s pot-holed and patchy streets was outstanding. Remarkable, given that our test car rolled on giant 23-inch wheels wrapped in wide, low profile tyres (325/30 Pirelli P Zeros at the rear and 285/35 at the front).

Sport mode does what you’d expect – firms the dampers, adds weight to the steering, makes the throttle more responsive and dials back the traction control. Then there’s 'Neve' which is for snow and probably not hugely useful in Australia.

Our car was fitted with optional extra drive modes – 'Corsa' for the racetrack, 'Terra' for rocks and dirt, and 'Sabbia' for sand.

Alternatively, you can ‘build your own’ mode using the 'Ego' selector which lets you adjust steering, suspension and throttle in light, medium or hard settings.

So, while you still have the Lamborghini supercar looks and colossal grunt, with the ability to head off road you could pilot the Urus all day as you would any large SUV in Strada.

In this mode you’d really have to plant your foot for the Urus’s reaction to be anything other than civilised.

Like any large SUV the Urus gives its occupants a commanding view, but it was a strange feeling looking out over that very Lamborghini bonnet but then pulling up next to the No.461 bus and glancing over almost at head height with the driver.

Then there’s the acceleration – 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds. Combine that with this height and piloting it feels like watching one of those videos of a bullet train shot from the driver’s seat.

Braking is almost as astonishing as the acceleration. The Urus has been equipped with the largest brakes ever for a production car – sombrero-sized 440mm diameter discs at the front with giant 10-piston calipers and 370mm discs at the rear. Our Urus was fitted with carbon ceramic brakes and yellow calipers.

Visibility through the front and side windows was surprisingly good, although seeing through that rear glass was limited as you’d expect. I’m talking about the Urus not the bullet train – bullet train rear visibility is terrible.

The Urus has a 360-degree camera and an excellent reversing camera, too, which makes up for the small rear window.

The Urus hasn’t been assessed by ANCAP,  and as with super high-end cars it’s unlikely to be fired into a wall. Still, the new-gen Touareg which shares the same underpinnings as the Urus scored five stars in its 2018 Euro NCAP test and we’d expect the Lamborghini to achieve the same result.

The Urus is fitted standard with an outstanding array of advanced safety technology including AEB which works at city and highway speeds with pedestrian recognition, there’s also rear collision warning, blind spot alert, lane keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control. It also has emergency assistance which can detect if the driver is not responding and bring the Urus safely to a halt.

Our test car was fitted with night vision which stopped me from running up the back of a ute with its tail-lights out while on a country road in the bush. The system picked up the heat of the ute’s tyres and diff and I spotted it on the night vision screen way before I saw it with my own eyes.

For child seats you’ll find two ISOFIX points and three top tethers across the second row.

There’s a puncture repair kit under the boot floor for a temporary fix until you replace the tyre.

Audi has followed its Volkswagen parent in upgrading its warranty to five years and unlimited kilometres, finally leaving BMW and its three-year warranty behind.

The e-tron’s high-voltage battery components are covered by a separate eight-year and 160,000km warranty, but the big win, especially in this premium segment, is the first six years of servicing (covering three 24 monthly or 30,000km visits) is free.

Oh, and your public charging is largely free for the same period too, as Audi throws in a six-year ChargeFox subscription.

Six years pretty much cost-free? Audi, how far you’ve come.

This is the category which brings the total score down. The three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty on the Urus is falling behind the norm with many carmakers moving to five-year coverage.

You can purchase the fourth year of the warranty for $4772 and the fifth year for $9191.

A three-year maintenance package can be bought for $6009.