• Not a massive departure in design
• Physical climate controls a welcome throwback
• Still amongst the best for quality and build

How is the quality and layout?

If you’ve experienced any top-end Audi launched since the current A8, the interior of the E-Tron is reassuringly familiar, although you don’t get the three-screen layout of the A6, A7 and A8. You get a centrally-mounted screen and Audi’s excellent Virtual Cockpit (below) instead of conventional instruments.

As a trade-off there are physical buttons for the climate control system rather than touchscreen icons. In a way it feels like the perfect balance of the previous-generation Audi interior with its easier to use physical controls and the modern, screen-filled version. The view out is good all round, although the rear window is a porthole, so you’d be smart to select the surround view camera from the options list.

There are Vegan trim options including Dinamica and Cascade, which are supposed to feel like Alcantara and wool. Plus the carpets and mats are made from Econyl, a material made from recycled nylon. It’s all very impressive, although the BMW i7 feels even more opulent.

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Infotainment and tech

The main infotainment touchscreen measures 10.1 inches and is an object lesson in clarity – there is very little reflection and the display is crisp and clear. It features ‘haptic’ feedback – so when you touch the screen it feels like you’re pressing a button. This can be switched off if you prefer a more simple touchscreen.

However, the voice control system is our preferred method because it accepts natural commands like Siri on an Apple device, or Alexa on Amazon. You want to make the cabin warmer? Just say, ‘I’m cold’. Or fancy a bite to eat? Just ask it to, ‘take me to the nearest restaurant’.

Otherwise equipment levels are strong as you’d expect – so there are heated seats, user-configurable interior lighting, and these can be individually set-up for up to six users. There’s an optional head-up display, and you can control all of this via the screens, buttons on the wheel and by Audi’s latest iteration of its voice recognition system. You can also specify it with an autonomous self-parking system.

Comfort

• Seats are big, soft and supportive
• Even the RS model rides surprisingly well
• Quiet on faster roads too

There’s plenty of adjustment available in the E-Tron GT, meaning even the tallest of drivers should be able to get comfortable, with special note for its excellent front legroom. All models’ seats are also very supportive, with a particularly good lumbar setting, but the RS’s are especially impressive for holding you in place.

The seats are big and comfy too, more like armchairs than racing buckets yet with just as much support when you’re driving quickly.

Standard cars get sport seats with integrated head restraints and electric eight-way adjustment, Vorsprung and the RS model we drove get upgraded to the Sport Seats Pro package with 18-way adjustment, ventilation and massage capability. These are excellent.

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