First drive: Audi Q4 e-tron, luxury EV leader or VW in drag?

Friday, 8 September 2023

The Q4 e-tron’s short overhangs allow for a super long wheelbase.

With all the hubbub at Volkswagen Group about these plug-in car things, it might be something of a surprise for some to learn that Audi – a jewel in its German crown – has just three electric vehicles in its Kiwi line-up.

The first two, the e-tron and e-tron GT, were partial oddities. The former is the brand’s first, a handsome enough large SUV with a few typical teething problems. The latter is an exotic GT, one of the best looking cars on sale today but ultimately a niche good.

The Q4 shares the same MEB platform as the Skoda Enyaq and Volkswagen ID.4.

The new Q4, the brand’s third EV, is its first true shot at a bread-and-butter BEV with potential for volume amongst its customer base. So, is it any good?

Make me an instant expert: what do I need to know?

The Q4’s lineage and timeline are as complex as the Marvel cinematic universe, but with less forced laughs and talking trees.

The Sportback’s coupe silhouette adds a 12km range advantage, according to Audi’s aero boffins.

Whilst this is a new car to us New Zealanders, it’s been on sale in Europe since 2021. Don’t think this means Audi’s local arm has just been sitting on its hands, though. It’s pestered head office enough to make our little country the fourth market outside of Europe to get its hands on it.

Under the skin, the Q4 is built on the same MEB architecture that underpins the Skoda Enyaq and the Volkswagen ID.4. They all share the same powertrain, too; the 150kW/310Nm single-motor rear-wheel drive. The 220kW/460Nm dual-motor Quattro alternative, meanwhile, is the same as what’s coming in the ID.4 GTX.

Audi has finally given us the electric wagon we've been waiting for.

Just like the Enyaq and ID.4, the Q4 is available in two body styles – a traditional SUV silhouette or a pricier Sportback coupe. There are two specs; the 40 e-tron Advanced base 50 e-tron Quattro S Line. The range starts at $99,990 for the base SUV, extending to $126,990 for the SUV flagship. Both coupe variants are a $4,000 premium.

Regardless of whichever model you choose, you get an 82kWh (77kWh usable) battery. Range is predictably better in the RWD models than in the AWDs, thanks to the latter’s additional power and weight.

The Sportback’s more rounded shape means it’s got better range than the SUV, too. The Advanced coupe’s 542km range is the best of the bunch, while the Quattro S Line SUV’s 511km trails the field.

Augmented reality features heavily in the flagship Q4 e-tron’s huge head-up display.

For the numbers nerds, the Enyaq gets the best range of the trio, but only by a measly 2km. Audi keenly notes the work that’s gone into getting the most range out of its Q4. These range from fairly significant measures like the active grille shutter up front, to much more minor detailed fare – like an added crease in each wing mirror (Audi refers to them as ‘mirror turbulators’) and the ‘pre-spoiler’ in front of the front bumper air curtains. These two features account for 7km of gained range, it says.

While its shared platform means mechanical consistencies with its Veedub buddies, there’s no denying that the Q4 feels quintessentially Audi once you’ve hopped inside. The combination of metals and gloss blacks, the driver-angled central stack, the fitted feel.

Plenty of room in the back with no big lump for the transmission tunnel, a standard EV benefit.

The Q4 feels like a four-ring product through and through, at least inside. Haptic feedback buttons appear on the steering wheel (grumble grumble), but thankfully there’s standard buttons for the aircon controls. Bonus points for being the only MEB SUV with a touchscreen integrated into the dash, too.

Space is plentiful thanks to the Q4’s enormous wheelbase. Audi argues that the Q4 combines the small outright dimensions of a compact SUV with the boot space of a medium SUV, and the interior dimensions of a large SUV. And there’s weight to the theory when you compare its numbers to something like the Toyota RAV4.

All models get a fair bevy of standard equipment, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless device charging, radar cruise, leather upholstery, power adjustable heated front seats, all included.

The Sportback’s rear end won’t be unanimously loved by all. Note the split rear windscreen, broken up by the rear spoiler.

The S Line adds a good amount of extras on top of its boost in power and racier styling, including tri-zone climate, sports seats, Nappa leather, matrix LED headlights, and an enormous head-up display with augmented reality features. On those headlights, Audi has included the ability for drivers to customise the day-time running light signature … a probable industry first.

What’s it like to drive?

The SUV is likely to be the better seller out of the two Q4 e-tron body styles.

Starting at Britomart, we took the Q4 out of the CBD to Te Arai Lodge, an hour and 20 minutes or so away. Our upwards leg was spent in the passenger seat of a base-spec Q4 SUV, whilst our return saw us at the helm of a Quattro S Line Sportback.

The first point is that the performance gap between the pairing is vast. It is hard to believe now that Skoda initially tried to offer the 150kW single-motor powertrain for $92,990 with a less exclusive badge on the grille. Where the entry-level option is adequate in response and performance, the 220kW dual motor 50 is much more lairy.

Those 19-inch wheels ensure that the entry level Q4 e-tron Advanced 40 doesn’t look so entry level ...

It’s much quicker to 100kph, taking 6.2 seconds (more than two seconds quicker on the 40), and it hugs curves better, too.

Whilst the S Line doesn’t exactly push your body into the seat back kicking and screaming like one of those ‘ludicrous’ EVs from the US, it’s quick enough for the vast majority of people shopping in the premium SUV market. Certainly quicker than any other MEB on sale today.

As you might expect, the Q4’s ride quality is very polished. Forgiving enough to feel plush and cushioned even on pot-holed gravel, but firm enough to take corners at a decent pace without excessive body roll.

Expect the Q4 e-tron to shoot to the top of Audi’s EV sellers, and potentially ahead of the brand’s ICE models, too.

Audi’s ‘digital cockpit’ remains one of the most well presented digital clusters in the game.

The Q4 e-tron’s 520-litre boot space is competitive when positioned next to medium SUV ICE rivals.

The Q4’s physical switchgear is classic Audi. Tactile and neat. The haptic buttons on the steering wheel are a more acquired taste.

The e-tron’s pumped guards are subtle, but give it a muscular profile.

The easiest way to tell a Q4 40 from a Q4 50 is whether there’s any chrome in the grille.

The S Line’s added power can make for good fun when powering out of corners, the rear end seemingly happy to move around a little. It’s quite a rear-biased drive system, with the front motor only really kicking in when it senses slip and if you’re in a performance mode.

Why would I buy it?

Here’s something interesting. The entry-level Volkswagen ID.4 and Enyaq are both priced at $79,990. Volkswagen’s local arm has said already that it expects a lot of EVs in that price bracket to inherit price hikes if a change of government results in the Clean Car Discount scheme getting the boot.

Meanwhile, the base Q4 e-tron is $99,990, with Audi New Zealand stating that such a change in Clean Car schemes will have no impact on its pricing. Should the huge clump of $80,000 EVs lift their prices after the general election, the Q4’s pricing will go from being good value for money to being properly competitive. A curious prospect.

Why wouldn’t I buy it?

The Q4 e-tron has one sizeable central flaw in that, like the ID.4 and Enyaq, it isn’t a live connected vehicle. This means no over-the-air functionality, no neat app to play with, and – worst of all – no way to retroactively install it in older vehicles.

There’s a few other weird little things, too, like how the driver seat’s function as the car’s effective key can apparently mean the car will turn off if you lift your bottom in the air. We chose not to attempt this out in the field, for obvious reasons …

Bonus images