Audi e-tron Sportback vs Tesla Model S (2016-2019)

The Audi e-tron Sportback costs £4,050 more than the Tesla Model S. For that premium it adds 30 kW faster peak rapid charging. The Tesla Model S is not just cheaper - it also offers 130 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Audi e-tron Sportback comes out ahead overall.

The Tesla Model S is £4,050 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £208 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Tesla Model S comes out roughly £4,170 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 231 miles for the Audi e-tron Sportback and 198 miles for the Tesla Model S - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Audi e-tron Sportback goes roughly 34 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 30 minutes in the Audi e-tron Sportback and 40 in the Tesla Model S, so the Audi e-tron Sportback loses less time at each stop. That makes the Audi e-tron Sportback the stronger long-distance car.

The two are within 29 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 465 mm of total clearance for the Audi e-tron Sportback and about 436 mm of total clearance for the Tesla Model S. The Tesla Model S also turns in a 0.4 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Audi e-tron Sportback and 85% for the Tesla Model S. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.