40 becomes 45, 50 becomes 55
One in the category ‘the day you knew would come’: after the Volkswagens ID4 and ID5 and the Skoda Enyaq, the technically largely identical Audi Q4 e-Tron also benefits from an improved drivetrain. In the case of the Audi, it doesn’t stop there.
The new, more powerful electric motor first appeared in the all-new and ‘low’ Volkswagen ID7, but quickly found its way to the top model of the Skoda Enyaq. The Volkswagen ID4 and ID5 – two versions of the same model – soon followed, recently followed by the Skoda Enyaq. It is striking that the luxury L&K is called ’85’ and the regular Enyaq is called ’80’. As usual, that figure represents the net capacity of the battery pack (actually 77 kWh), but nothing seems to change in any of the cases.
Faster and more economical
The Audi always gets a new ‘engine designation’. The rear-wheel drive version with the updated drivetrain is called the Audi Q4 e-tron 45. It replaces the Audi Q4 e-tron 40. The figure represents a place on the power ladder at Audi and it is precisely the power that makes a big step forward. . The only electric motor of the rear-wheel drive version of the Q4 is replaced by a new one, which delivers 286 instead of 204 hp. The car sprints from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 6.7 seconds, considerably faster than the 8.5 seconds that the ‘old’ 40 needed. Because the new powertrain is also more economical, the Q4 can go a lot further on the same battery capacity. Instead of a maximum of 524 kilometers, Audi promises a range of 547 kilometers for the Q4 45.
Striking: while Volkswagen promises an increased fast charging capacity to 170 kW, Audi only increases the fast charging capacity of the four-wheel drive quattro versions. This increases to 175 kW, the rear-wheel drive versions keep it at a relatively modest 135 kW.
The name ’45’ is a bit confusing, because there was already a ’45’ with four-wheel drive. That remains, so there is now a choice of a normal Audi Q4 e-tron 45 and an Audi Q4 e-tron 45 quattro. The quattro also seems to gain some power, because the 0-100 time goes from 6.9 to 6.6 seconds. At the top of the range, the Q4 e-tron 50 is replaced by the Q4 e-tron 55. As with the GTX versions of the ID4 and ID5 and the Enyaq RS, the power increases from 299 to 340 hp. The 0-100 time goes from 6.2 to 5.4 seconds. All changes naturally apply to both the regular Q4 and the ‘sloping’ Q4 Sportback.
Chassis and steering
Audi reports that the chassis and steering of the electric Q4 e-tron have also been addressed. The car would therefore offer more comfort and more driving pleasure, something we would of course like to discover for ourselves in future tests. At the same time, some tinkering is being done to the safety systems and equipment. For example, the fully digital ‘Audi Virtual Cockpit’ instrumentation is now standard and the Q4 can actively assist its driver when changing lanes. Finally, there is good news for those who have been negatively affected by the Q4’s sometimes bizarre delivery time in recent months and years: the Q4 is now being built in Brussels in addition to Zwickau, alongside the larger Q8 e-tron.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl