• Marginally less rear headroom than SUV
• Lots of rear passenger legroom
• Big boot and storage under the bonnet

How much space is there?

There’s not much change here over the E-Tron SUV other than losing 20mm of headroom in the rear – but our 6ft 3in road tester found plenty of space, so you should be fine too. That’s thanks to a near-three metre wheelbase and the location of the battery pack in the car’s floor, so there are no awkward petrol tanks to package around when it comes to placing seats.

There’s ample space for four adults, with ample leg and knee room. For fifth passengers who end up in the rear middle seat, the situation isn’t too bad thanks to the near-lack of a transmission tunnel, and the wide rear bench. There isn’t much space for feet beneath the front seats though.

Boot space and storage

You also get a strong 615-litre boot (or 1,665 litres with the seats down) plus another 60 litres in the front where the engine should be. This doesn’t sound much but it’s enough for all the cables, which means they don’t take up unnecessary space in the back, and is a really nice touch.

The cabin is packed with plenty of storage, with a huge area in between the front seats that you can configure, while big door bins front and back also helps to keep random items in check. 

25

Safety

• Good standard spec…
• …but lots more when you upgrade
• Debut of clever Digital Matrix LED headlights

There’s no Euro NCAP rating specifically for the E-tron Sportback but the SUV version was awarded the full five stars in 2019, and there’s not that much difference between the two. This was available with excellent adaptive headlights – these offer a more precise beam pattern than the existing Matrix LED system, with a few additional eye-catching features.

On that point – this car also features optional cameras to replace the standard glass units. They’re quite neat from a tech point of view but take a bit of getting used to, so make sure you get a long test drive before deciding whether they’re for you.

There was also lots of driver assistance equipment kit, with these items as standard on all models:

• Audi Matrix LED headlights with LED rear lights
• Audi Pre-sense front and basic
• Lane departure warning
• Cruise control with speed limiter
• Parking sensors front and rear
• Rear-view camera