Design

The Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron offer an advanced look, with a structured closed surface within a broad octagonal frame and its illuminated e-tron logo in the middle, instead of a traditional radiator grille. There’s also the striking front and full width rear lights. The Sportback takes inspiration from coupe body-styling, with a softer dynamic elegance from its 2”-lower roof line. Wheel sizes and styling features vary across trims, with the Edition 1 including the black styling package and 20” Audi Sport alloy wheels. The interior of the Q4 e-tron offers full luxury, spaciousness, and family comfort. Sustainability is the top priority from Audi with this model not only in terms of the electric drive: the floor covering and seat trims are made of recycled materials from plastic bottles. In terms of boot capacity, the Q4 e-tron offers up to 1,490-litres with all the rear seats down.

Performance

The Audi Q4 e-tron comes with a choice of three powertrains: 35 e-tron (168bhp), 40 e-tron (201bhp) and 50 e-tron quattro (294bhp). At the top of the range, the Q4 50 e-tron quattro and Q4 Sportback 50 e-tron quattro have an electric motor powering each axle for excellent traction and performance. Its drive components are in a low central position delivering outstanding transverse dynamics and sporty precise handling. Both models tackle the 0-62mph sprint in just 6.2 seconds and have a top speed of 111mph. For supreme handling, the Q4 e-tron mainly uses its electric rear motor in order to produce the highest efficiency, but the electric all-wheel drive will use the front asynchronous motor to redistribute the torque as required to the front axle. This also happens if it anticipates any slippery conditions or if the car understeers or oversteers. Depending on which powertrain you go for will impact how much range you can get out of it; the Q4 35 e-tron has a WLTP range of up to 208 miles whilst the Q4 40 e-tron is estimated to have a range of up to 316 miles on a single charge. The Sportback has lower drag coefficient figures (0.26 vs 0.28), so you can expect to get a few more miles of range out of it. With a charging capability of up to 125kW, the biggest Q4 e-tron battery can charge from 5-80% in as little as 38 minutes.

Technology

Inside the Audi Q4 e-tron, you’ll find a Virtual Cockpit and a 10.1” MMI display. You can also opt for the augmented reality head-up display and Sonos sound system. The new generation of steering wheel has touch element control panels which allow you to select different features with ease and familiarity. There are three levels of brake regeneration, too, to aid efficiency, which can be adjusted through the steering wheel paddles.

Safety

The safety systems in the Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron are the same, including adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, automated emergency braking, self-parking assist, forward collision warning, standard blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and semi-autonomous drive modes. LED headlights are standard across both models, but vary amongst trims. In Edition 1 models, these include Matrix LED technology, which is also available for Sport and S Line models as an optional extra. 16 individual LEDs mean you can switch between four signatures via the MMI touch operating system.