A comparison of two luxury coupes with electric drive

Okay, the combination of two sports limousines weighing more than 2.3 tons with a young motorsport vehicle does not seem obvious. But anyone who has been on the handling track with an Audi RS E-Tron GT and Porsche Taycan Turbo may see things differently.

Stories with feuding brothers rarely have a happy ending - not in the Bible and certainly not in Heinrich Heine or John Steinbeck. It shouldn't get that far here, the Audi RS E-Tron GT and Porsche Taycan Turbo are technically largely identical, but differ almost as much as James Dean as Caleb and Richard Davalos as Aron in Elia Kazan's "Jenseits von Eden" film adaptation .

In any case, the Audi designers have managed to dress the E-Tron GT in such a way that it is perceived as an Audi at first glance. It looks like an athletic brother to the S7 and less like a Porsche in disguise. There are good reasons why there are no points for design in comparative tests, and the fact that the Audi is a touch more present and conspicuous is probably due to its rarity. The Taycan is much more common in everyday traffic despite being the more expensive car.

The Taycan Turbo costs at least 153,016 euros, the RS E-Tron GT Quattro is available from 140,000 euros. All the many extras that a car in this price range needs in addition to the standard equipment are more expensive at Porsche. In the case of the test car on these pages, these include dynamic chassis control with roll compensation called PDCC Sport (EUR 3,273), ceramic brakes (EUR 6,783), 21-inch wheels (EUR 3,225) and rear-axle steering (EUR 2,332). The evaluated price of our Taycan adds up to almost 169,000 euros.

Top seats in both e-sports cars

The bottom line is that the Audi is a little cheaper, the RS E-Tron GT costs almost 152,000 euros with the extras relevant to the test. Among other things, ceramic brakes (5,600 euros), the carbon roof (3,750 euros), all-wheel steering (1,390 euros) and the large assistance package for 5,010 euros are listed. What's missing from its optional equipment list is roll compensation, which the E-Tron GT simply doesn't have. Both electric cars have three-chamber air springs as standard. Not bad prerequisites for cultivated driving comfort, especially since the four-door coupés are more of a comfortable touring GT than a sports car with optimized handling.

As is well known, comfort begins with sitting. Those who sit in the front can look forward to very good, multi-adjustable and strong sports seats in both cars, which is hardly better in this class. It is also to be welcomed that Audi and Porsche are already equipped with excellent seats as standard. The RS E-Tron GT on these pages also has the pneumatically adjustable Pro sports seats for 2,000 euros.

The rear passengers are less fortunate, Audi and Porsche differ only slightly there.With the Taycan, getting on is a bit more difficult because of the lower roof line. But the Audi is also more suitable for smaller passengers, because the rear headroom seems to be quite tight in the four-door coupes.

Even the loading compartments are not exactly generously dimensioned with 435 and 450 liters, but can be enlarged by split folding rear backrests. Both seem less suitable for larger transport tasks, mainly because of the very tight loading hatches. Golf bags should fit through, fridges probably not. There is no shortage of payload, the E-Tron GT and Taycan can each handle more than 500 kilos.

When will we finally be able to drive? Just now. The excellent suspension comfort of the two electric twins is already evident in city traffic. Despite the large 21-inch wheels, both e-sportsmen roll comparatively smoothly, manhole covers and similar adversities iron over the air cushions almost limously softly, at least as long as you are driving in the comfort mode of the adaptive chassis. The E-Tron is a bit smoother, an impression that is also confirmed when driving on the freeway and overland.

The Taycan rumbles a little more emphatic on transverse joints, the differences to the E-Tron remain small. This makes it easy to endure, even on longer stretches, which the cars, with their 83.7 kWh battery packs, are quite capable of. According to WLTP, you should be able to travel around 450 km, which tends to be a little further in the Audi than in the Porsche. Finally, the Taycan drive offers slightly higher performance data: 500 instead of 475 kW and 850 instead of 830 Nm maximum torque.

Not as fast as you might think

But that's also a truth of electric mobility: when you're driving one of the two test candidates on the autobahn, strolling around the recommended speed range - and 130 km/h feels like strolling here - , then it is a good idea to schedule a charging stop every 300 km at the latest.

The almost 700 kg battery weight between the axles doesn't change that, nor does the comparatively fast charging with a charging capacity of up to 270 kW. The navigation systems in Audi and Porsche make it easy to find appropriate charging options. The stations can be built into the route recommendation, so the battery is also preconditioned in time for charging – at least in theory. However, the charging stations rarely show more than 150 kW charging power during the test, even if both they and the E-Tron and Taycan should be able to do so.

If you drive even faster on the federal trunk road network, you have to expect more frequent charging breaks. Here is an anecdotal example from everyday life: After the test drive on the handling course in Boxberg, the battery capacity is charged up to 95 percent at the Jagsttal motorway service area. Then there is a trip to Munich, according to the GPS 294 km.Shouldn't be a problem, but since the Taycan driver keeps the speedometer needle in the range between 130 and 150 km/h whenever possible and permitted, the Porsche soon recommends a charging break at the Lonetal West motorway service area before things get tight. OK, will do.

After 158 km, the Taycan is parked in front of the charging stations, showing around 40 percent state of charge. Late autumn dawn is early, the gas station with cash register and coffee machine is several hundred meters away. Charge for a quarter of an hour, then you can cover the last 140 km at around 75 percent. A good hour later in Munich it is dark, and a reassuring 25 percent battery charge is still available. Driving time including charging: three hours, twenty minutes.

The same can be said of long-distance journeys with the RS E-Tron GT, which has the same battery, but is - as mentioned - a little more economical according to WLTP: its data sheet shows 20.6 kWh per 100 km, 22, 9 that of the Taycan Turbo. The perceived difference in everyday life? Barely available. The difference is still measurable, in the test average the Audi consumed 29.8 kWh/100 km, while the Porsche consumed 30.3 kWh/100 km. The Taycan Turbo proves to be faster on the home wall box because it is equipped with the optional on-board AC charger up to 22 kW (1,666 euros). With the RS E-Tron, the 22 kW option for 1,270 euros is in the list, but it was not installed in the test car.

The Porsche brakes better

Of course, the differences were a little smaller during the test drives on the tight handling course on the proving ground in Boxberg. Certainly not ideal terrain for the two four-door models, each weighing more than 2.3 tons. All the more amazing, however, is the performance that they iron onto the asphalt. The perceived differences are greater than the measured ones. Because while the two electric twins prove to be almost equal in the obligatory exercises standard slalom and lane change in terms of the pure measured values ​​in km/h, they feel very different in handling.

Thanks to its active roll compensation, the Porsche shows practically no body roll when cornering quickly, can be turned in extremely precisely, remains neutral for a very long time and doesn't bitch even when there are abruptly provoked load changes. The Audi can't put itself in the limelight quite so skilfully in the same exercises. It tends to oversteer earlier, and with its less precise and less responsive steering, it can also be guided less precisely on the ideal line than the Porsche.

In addition, his driving dynamics systems seem to be designed a bit more carefully. The dedicated drive on country roads confirms this impression: the Taycan seems light-footed and more relaxed overall, although the differences are minimal and probably only noticeable in direct comparison.

What is much more noticeable on country roads: the Porsche's brakes can be controlled more easily.As already mentioned, both test cars have optional brake systems with carbon-ceramic discs, a rather unusual addition for electric cars. The Taycan rewards the investment with a crisp pressure point and the finest controllability, the transition from electric to hydraulic braking is not noticeable. And when you fully reach in, the Porsche stops after 32.5 meters from 100 km/h. That is an absolute top value that the Audi does not achieve here: At 34.5, it needs two meters more for the same exercise.

However, the RS E-Tron GT turns out to be the easier-to-handle car during the test drives. Not only because it is a bit more comfortable, it is also more intuitive and safer to use. In the Taycan Turbo, the nested infotainment and on-board computer menus, the air conditioning controls and, last but not least, the toggle switch for forward and reverse travel hidden on the dashboard are annoying. Audi solves that better. The two brothers shouldn't be too similar after all.