Practical experience Audi Q4 e-tron: where is the added value?

The Q4 e-tron is the first Audi to use this platform. While you can clearly see its genes in the Cupra Born, Audi has been able to mask the fact that a Volkswagen ID.4 lurks beneath the skin. The relationship with the larger Q8 e-tron, which uses a different platform, is immediately clear.

The technology is of course comparable to other MEB models, although Audi goes a little further in terms of performance. You did not see this yet with the entry-level e-tron 35 with 170 hp and a net 52 kWh battery pack, or the e-tron 40, with a 76.6 kWh battery pack and 204 hp. These, like the e-tron 50, have now disappeared from the range, leaving only the 45 and 55. The first variant always has 286 hp, but depending on your choice of a quattro version, it can be released on two or four wheels. The 340 hp e-tron 55 always has all-wheel drive.

Ease of use and seating comfort

The Q4 e-tron shares its dimensions with the Volkswagen ID4, a car that satisfied drivers in terms of space. Audi drivers seem to find space slightly less important. At least they pay little attention to it in their reviews. One driver does and is satisfied. “Despite the modest external dimensions – the length is about 4.60 meters – the interior space is very spacious,” he writes. “I am 1.91 meters tall myself, but with a good driving position as a driver, someone 1.90 meters tall can sit behind me and not be ‘stuck’.”

Another driver made the switch from a plug-in hybrid Audi Q5. As far as space is concerned, this appears to be no step back. “At 520 liters, the trunk is slightly larger and better because of the double floor, where the charging cables and some cleaning supplies are located.” Perhaps the latter is out of necessity, because a third rider reports: “A frunk at the front would be very useful for the charging cable… Enough space, so I don’t really understand why they didn’t create a compartment there.”

We read nothing but good things about the chairs. “With my height of 1.75 metres, you can find a good seating position behind the beautiful flattened sports steering wheel,” the driver experiences with a mouthful of Audi. He writes about his Q4 e-tron 40 Launch Edition S Competition: “The seats are widely adjustable, are comfortable and provide good support, even on long journeys.” You read it more often in this section, references to Volvo furniture. This is also the case here: “With twelve years of Volvo chair experience, I was a bit skeptical beforehand, but I must honestly say that they are nice chairs.” Stocking off? No. “Although they do not match Volvo’s seats, because they simply fit better.” The driver of an S Edition disputes this and especially praises the length of the seat. “The chairs are great. I don’t think there are any better, because in any other car they are always shorter with the support of your thighs.”

Dashboard, infotainment and controls

We don’t always do it, but an Audi requires extra attention to the interior. Where the brand previously only received praise, drivers are now more critical. “The materials used are reasonable,” reports the driver of a Q4 e-tron 40 Edition Advanced Plus. “It’s amazing that Audi has used beautiful soft materials on top of the dashboard, which you don’t touch every day. However, in the doors it is hard plastic.” The driver of an Advanced Edition is also less satisfied. “In the interior you see a lot of hard plastic, which quickly shows signs of use.”

Another Advanced Edition driver is largely satisfied. “The dashboard is neat and the menu structure is fast enough. Unfortunately, the steering wheel no longer has old-fashioned buttons, but touch buttons. Not convenient, but that’s the way it is. The navigation screen is in the Google position and works fine. The information screen is large in shape and clearly readable.” Not everyone thinks so. “The MMI and the screens are beautifully detailed and require some getting used to in the operation and locations where things are placed. The Google navigation is nice, but dated. Voice control works fine in most cases. I mainly use this to call contacts from the address book,” says the S Competition driver.

How does the Audi Q4 e-tron drive?

Then the driving, not an unimportant part. The Q4 reportedly does that quite well. “I really like the car and it is very quiet,” writes the former Q5 driver. “If you respond well to the traffic, regenerating in B mode is fantastic and you hardly have to touch the brake. The brake is only necessary at a one hundred percent stop. Compared to the Q5 S-Line, the Q4 drives calmer and steers more precisely.” And what about the chassis? “My six previous Audis were all an S-line with a lowered chassis. Not this one, but it has excellent suspension and grips the road just as well as the previous cars. So I don’t miss it.”

The driver of a rear-wheel drive e-tron 40 is also satisfied. “The car is heavy, over 2,050 kg, but the power of the electric motor is more than sufficient (150 kW) and is located on the rear axle, which makes steering very quiet due to the absence of drive on the front wheels.” He points out another advantage. “This also makes the turning circle extremely small, which is great when parking and in parking garages.” A driver of a similar Q4 e-tron writes: “The car is super quiet with the optional acoustic glass. And I have no complaints about the driving characteristics. Despite the 20-inch wheels, it offers sufficient comfort.”

The owner of the mouthful Audi describes the characteristics of his S Competition as follows. “The car may be designed as a sports car, but it actually isn’t… It really is a floating carpet. Everything feels good, curves, highway, back roads, it doesn’t matter. You also hear little tire noise. It’s funny: in a rain shower you can really hear the water sliding past the windows, the car is so quiet.” What does the Q4 excel in? “Personally, I think the car works best when cruising. Super comfortable and you arrive at your destination really rested.”

There is also criticism, namely from the owner of a Q4 e-tron 35 that has since been removed from the range. “It is noticeable that the rear is very stiffly sprung,” is his finding. “The rear tire pressure was 3.2 bar upon delivery and after reducing it to 2.6 bar it became much better, but it remains stiff and quite uncomfortable for the rear passengers.” A nuance: “On flat asphalt, the car zooms quietly and comfortably over the road.” The traction control also does not get his approval. “I have now driven around hairpin bends a number of times with the car. This involved very quiet journeys on holiday. Here it intervenes at speeds of less than 25 km/h. You can feel and hear this through the slight vibration of the rear as a result of the braking interventions on one rear wheel.” His solution: “With the ESC in Sport mode, this no longer happens during normal driving, so that’s the solution…”

Maintenance, malfunctions and irritations

We were able to complete this chapter well with the Volkswagen ID3 and ID4. The biggest problems with the MEB platform now appear to be under control, as owners of the later introduced Audi Q4 e-tron report significantly fewer issues. “We are now four months further and I am still very satisfied,” said the driver of a 2023 car. “Fortunately I have the latest software version, so I have not yet experienced any malfunctions or glitches with the Audi app or other bugs. in the MMI, as other ‘early adopters’ sometimes experience.”

And indeed, one of these early adopters is not very satisfied. “The worst thing about the car is the (3608) software, of which Audi is now, after sixteen months of denial, slowly admitting that an important update will be coming ‘soon’,” he grumbles. “Zero support from Audi Netherlands or the dealer, pillar to post idea.” Another driver with a 2021 model experiences fewer problems, but one nonetheless. “Favorites in the navigation sometimes disappear. Very difficult. You can then set things up again.”

Now about the interior: “The mediocre finish is often mentioned, but it really stands out,” says the e-tron 35 driver. “Not only the use of materials, but also how it is put together, is not what you would expect from this brand. In my car, for example, the plastic around the bottom of the driver’s seat is much wider, centimeters wider than on the passenger seat. This means that when you sit in the back you look at the steel mechanism.” It doesn’t stop there. “Another example is the heavily worn center armrest and the wrinkled sidewall of the driver’s seat. I don’t expect that after 40,000 km.” And one more thing: “The loading hatch was recently replaced because it did not open and close properly: quite difficult when you have to load.”

The Audi Q4 e-tron must be the most important MEB product and fulfills that role reasonably well. The car appears to be pleasantly quiet and the handling also satisfies most drivers. Complaints about straight-line stability, as reported by several ID3 and ID4 drivers, appear to be strange to the Audi. On the other hand, the brand’s reputation in the interior design field is somewhat destroyed by the use of hard materials. On the other hand, there is sufficient interior space and good seats. Finally, anyone who is curious about the range of the Q4 e-tron can indulge in this article: this is how far the Audi Q4 e-tron gets in practice.