2022 Audi E-Tron S review: This is the quick one!

Three motors. Almost 1000Nm. And 4.5-second 0-100km/h performance. In creating its debut sports EV, Ingolstadt has figured that a tri-motor, 370kW/973Nm, mid-four-second proposition is seductive enough to fit conventional S expectations.

As it should. The E-Tron S electric SUV is derived from existing ICE-sourced MLB Evo architecture rather than a dedicated EV platform (a la Q4’s MEB underpinnings) and lobs at $168,400 for the wagon with a $7K premium for the coupe-like Sportback version ($175,400).

Wagon or Sportback, the E-Tron S features list is suitably plump. It’s 46mm wider at the guards than the regular E-Tron, runs 21-inch wheels, height-adaptive sport air suspension, S-specific styling, a panoramic glass roof, a gesture-control tailgate and Matrix LED headlights.

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The Sportback body style adds $7K and prunes rear-seat headroom slightly, but only basketballers would notice

Inside, the E-Tron S fits heated Valcona leather sports seats, a heated paddleshifter wheel, 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit instrumentation with specific content, 10.1-inch MMI navigation plus infotainment with wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto mirroring, and an 8.6-inch haptic control screen.

You'll also find four-zone climate control, a 360-degree camera system, head-up display, multi-colour ambient LED lighting and 705-watt Bang & Olufsen 3D sound.

There are some sweeteners, such as six years of complimentary servicing and six years of free DC fast-charging through the Chargefox network (150kW DC fast charging takes around 45 minutes).

An 11kW AC home charging kit (8.5-hour recharge) is supplied standard, while an optional 22kW AC charging package (4.5-hour recharging) costs an extra $6900.

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The E-Tron S fits two 132kW and 309Nm motors on the rear axle, one per wheel, independent of one another. Slip, lock and torque vectoring are all instant and precise, with no parasitic loss.

Then there’s a single 150kW/355Nm motor on the front axle where torque is apportioned via individual wheel braking. It operates independently from the rear axle, on demand.

It’s more sophisticated, particularly in lean torque distribution, than the more familiar motor-per-axle dual systems. And less convoluted than motor-per-wheel complexity.

But it’s not without a weight trade-off. With the regular 320kW/808Nm outputs that spike to 370kW and 973Nm in ‘boost (Sport) mode’, the hardware required, including the 95kWh lithium-ion pack and related thermal support systems, leaves E-Tron S in either body style nudging 2.7 tonnes.

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Clearly, plying expected performance with acceptable range is a balancing act. Stay out of Sport/boost mode and you end up with a 5.1-second 0-100km/h proposition with a theoretical 413km (wagon) or 418km (Sportback) maximum range using NEDC. Or around 26kWh/100km consumption.

As for real-world range? Likely to be around the 350km mark, depending on conditions.

On the plus side, the big Audi’s response is immediate, progressive and impressively linear. In its tamer drive modes, you flex the right foot and it dials up pace cleanly and quietly, its seemingly effortless thrust propelling its considerable mass easily and without any noticeable fuss.

At a cruise, it does feel like an oversized Q5, with which is shares its core platform, with a tauter and more focused character than Q7’s tamer variations. It feels all the part exactly what it is: an electrified heartbeat in a familiar ICE-derived format.

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And it certainly seems specifically calibrated that way, from the resolved ride and body control balance of the rather excellent S-spec air suspension to the light effect of the three-mode-adjustable regeneration effect, which is unobtrusive and demands normal ICE-style braking technique as a plus, if offering no handy one-pedal engine braking mode as a bit of a markdown.

Attack a succession of corners and the E-Tron S does its best to shrink around you to some degree, mostly through its fluid nature, the impressive amount of grip its 285mm-wide Contis manage to muster, and the innate balance demonstrated, mostly because much of its hefty powertrain hardware is set low, across and between the axles.

In its keener modes, there’s plenty of handling focus in the air suspension, the chassis sitting impressively flat and generating plenty of front-end precision.

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Steering, too, is faithful and accurate, if suffering a little from under assistance and becoming a little leaden when you lean into the nose through certain corners.

Inside, Audi hit a six with its stacked 10.1-inch and 8.6-inch central display screens that, in concert with Virtual Cockpit, manage to anchor a forward-thinking and techy vibe with quite intuitive usability.

Similarly, the rest of the stylised cabin is friendly and logical to use with the usual array of SUV storage and convenience.

Rear room is decent and adult friendly, with a fairly flat floor and little sense that the battery system under the carpet is robbing anything from the accommodation in terms of space.

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Jumping between the wagon and Sportback, any compromise that the latter presents in headroom constriction is comparative nit-picking.

Where you do cop the hit in opting for the Sportback is bootspace: at 615 litres, it loses 45 to the wagon. That said, the coupe’s luggage space is still well-proportioned and highly usable.

Convention is a big part of the E-Tron pitch. This S version very much brings the sort of added on-road indulgence as it has long delivered in petrol and diesel Audis.

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More heat, a sportier swagger, the sense you’ve stepped up to a higher tier. It’s a well-worn and much-loved formula that doesn’t deviate much in concept plied here in EV form.

Do you need three motors and nigh on 1000Nm? Of course not. In wagon form, you’re fast approaching a $20K saving stepping down to the dual-motor 55 quattro that offers a longer 450km claimed range.

But that’s not really the point. Instead, the tri-motor big-torque S option does feel as special as it perhaps needs to be. Once you get a taste for it, it might be tough to settle for a more sensible and sedate EV option.

2022 Audi e-tron S specifications