After its debut at the 2025 Guangzhou Auto Show, the 2026 Audi E5 Sportback's special edition model – the Performance quattro – quickly became the focus of market attention thanks to its powerful product features and the "more features at no extra cost" approach. It aims to provide users with a "flawless" vehicle that is comprehensively balanced in design, performance, intelligence, and luxury. So, in the highly competitive 300,000 RMB electric vehicle market, what makes this model with Audi's quattro DNA so appealing? This article will provide a detailed analysis based on the latest reports.
The official guide price of the Audi E5 Sportback Performance quattro is 279,900 RMB. This price is only 10,000 RMB higher than the 269,900 RMB of the Pioneer quattro model in the Audi E5 Sportback series. However, this seemingly small price difference translates into core configuration upgrades worth nearly 50,000 RMB, making it a "buy one, get five" value proposition in the market.
Ultimate Driving Control Package (Core Enhancements):
Wheels and Tires: Standard 20-inch large wheels, paired with 285mm wide "mixed-width" rear tires, significantly improve high-speed driving stability and grip.
Suspension System: The addition of German Continental air suspension and CDC continuously variable damping shock absorbers allows the vehicle to intelligently adjust chassis height and stiffness, maintaining comfort on bumpy roads and providing strong support in corners, truly achieving a balance of "softness and firmness."
Steering System: Equipped with rear-wheel steering technology, significantly reducing the vehicle's turning radius, making U-turns in narrow city streets and parking much more flexible and convenient.
Braking System: Equipped with Brembo four-piston front brake calipers, combined with high-performance brake discs, ensuring braking safety and confidence under powerful acceleration. Luxury and Comfort Package (Fully Upgraded):
Seat Functions: Front seat massage and rear seat heating are standard features, greatly reducing fatigue during long drives and ensuring the comfort of rear passengers.
Audio-Visual Experience: Equipped with an 18-speaker BOSE premium sound system, combined with the quiet cabin created by the all-around privacy glass, it delivers a top-tier auditory experience.
Detail Configurations: Convenient features such as negative ion air conditioning and ETC are also included, comprehensively enhancing the luxury and convenience of daily use.
In terms of exterior design, the AUDI E5 Sportback adopts the iconic Sportback fastback styling, with smooth and elegant lines. By incorporating design elements from classic models such as the first-generation TT and RS6, it presents a highly recognizable and dynamic appearance. As a product from the "lighting expert," its matrix LED headlights not only provide precise lighting but also feature a technologically advanced welcome animation, adding a touch of ceremony.
In terms of interior and intelligence, the new car is equally uncompromising:
Intelligent Cockpit: The center console consists of a large 59-inch panoramic screen composed of a full LCD instrument panel, a 27-inch central control screen, and a passenger entertainment screen, creating a highly technological atmosphere. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 automotive-grade chip ensures ultra-fast and smooth system response, while the "AUDI Assistant," developed based on the Volcano Engine large language model, provides a more intelligent and intuitive interaction experience in Chinese.
Intelligent Driving: The vehicle collaborates with Momenta and is equipped with 27 sensing hardware components, including a roof-mounted LiDAR, 3 long-range millimeter-wave radars, and 11 cameras, powered by the NVIDIA Orin-X chip. This AUDI panoramic assisted driving system deeply integrates "AUDI Driving DNA" and an end-to-end large language model, aiming to provide reliable assisted driving functions for complex urban and highway conditions in China, and is offered with a lifetime free usage commitment as part of the purchase benefits, demonstrating genuine sincerity.
As a pure electric vehicle, its performance is an unavoidable core topic:
Powertrain: Equipped with an intelligent all-wheel-drive system composed of front and rear dual motors, the system's combined power reaches 386 kilowatts (approximately 525 horsepower), with a peak torque of 725 Nm. The officially announced 0-100km/h acceleration time is only 3.4 seconds (some media test reports show 3.9 seconds), a performance that can be described as "beastly"^[Current attachment information]^. This is also the first AUDI intelligent electric vehicle equipped with quattro technology, ensuring excellent driving stability.
Battery and Range: The vehicle is equipped with an 83kWh ternary lithium battery pack provided by CATL. Under CLTC conditions, the cruising range can reach 570km, sufficient for daily commuting and intercity travel. The new car is built on an 800V high-voltage platform and supports super-fast charging. It is claimed that the battery can be charged from 77km to 618km in as little as 17 minutes, effectively alleviating range anxiety.
The appearance of the AUDI E5 Sportback Performance quattro clearly demonstrates AUDI's more proactive stance in its electrification transformation. With a price of 279,900 RMB and all high-value configurations included as standard, it directly brings the "full-featured" luxury pure electric driving experience into the sub-300,000 RMB price range, precisely targeting consumers who pursue both brand and performance while being price-sensitive. Coupled with its flexible financing options and over 55,000 RMB in purchase benefits (such as lifetime free panoramic assisted driving and free upgrade to ultra-high-definition electronic exterior rearview mirrors), it further lowers the barrier to owning a luxury electric vehicle.
The AUDI E5 Sportback Performance quattro is not a vehicle that pursues extreme performance in a single parameter, but rather a "six-sided warrior" that strives for a balanced and comprehensive approach in design, performance, intelligence, luxury, and cost-effectiveness. It deeply integrates Audi's accumulated expertise in driving dynamics and chassis tuning from the era of internal combustion engines with the 800V platform, intelligent cockpit, and advanced driver-assistance technologies of the electric vehicle era. For consumers with a budget of around 300,000 RMB who value brand reputation, driving quality, and intelligent technology experience, this car is undoubtedly a highly competitive new option in the current market.
