After Volkswagen and Skoda, it is now Audi’s turn to design an electric SUV based on the MEB platform. We can now dream of the specifications of the Audi Q4 E-Tron: a 204 hp electric motor drives the rear wheels and the battery pack is 77 kWh.
If you are reading about the 204 hp electric motor and the 77 kWh battery pack for the first time, we would be happy to talk to you. Volkswagen and Skoda also use this combination for their electric SUVs. It is a good development that these brands mention the usable capacity of their battery pack, instead of the larger gross capacity of 82 kWh. Skoda is being a bit silly by calling the model with 77 kWh battery the Enyaq iV 80, but so be it. We are now used to the fact that strange numbers are pasted on the different engine versions from Audi. The Q4 35 E-Tron has 170 hp, we test the 40 E-Tron with 204 hp and the 50 E-Tron has 299 hp.
Electric Audi Q4 E-Tron has no ‘frunk’
A disadvantage of three electric SUVs based on the same EV platform is that our work gets a bit boring. In addition, the designers of Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi are stuck with the limitations of the platform. So it’s no surprise that the Q4 E-Tron has no storage space in the nose of the car. After all, the ID.4 and the Enyaq iV don’t have a frunk either. You store the charging cord under the cargo floor of the trunk, but then you can’t easily reach it when it is fully charged for the summer holidays. Skoda – the most practical brand of the three – saw the mood and immediately designed a cable bag that fits in the opening next to the luggage floor of the Enyaq iV, behind the wheel arch. If only Volkswagen had included a frunk in the design plans, the buyers of three electric SUVs would have benefited from it.
Largest digital instrumentation of the trio
Fortunately, the benefits of copying each other’s homework far outweigh. In the Q4 E-Tron, you can enjoy a spacious cabin with plenty of freedom of movement in both rows of seats. As a driver, you sit on a comfortably shaped seat and look through an angular steering wheel at a large digital instrumentation. This screen measures 26 centimeters diagonally and is considerably larger than the digital meters in the VW and the Skoda. The designers do have that freedom. To our great delight, the current battery level is expressed in remaining kilometers and in percentages. Because once you have figured out how far the car travels on a 10 percent battery charge, you can predict the range even better.
woohoo! Physical switches in the Audi Q4 E-Tron
As you would expect from an Audi, the build quality and finish are top-notch. Yet you do not have to look very low for panels made of hard plastic. We immediately condone this as soon as we discover that Audi is not participating in the prevailing trend of incorporating as many functions as possible into the central touchscreen. No, on the dashboard of the Q4 E-Tron there is a row of physical switches with which you control the climate control. How nice.
Don’t miss extensive Auto Review car tests anymore?
You will receive them directly in your mailbox via our newsletter
For the buttons on the steering wheel, the designers unfortunately looked at the touch buttons that Volkswagen also uses. These are touch surfaces that you have to rub very carefully. Some drivers can get used to this, but not us. Just give us the ‘old-fashioned’ buttons on the steering wheel of the Enyaq iV.
Unfortunately, the Audi has the smallest luggage space
The selector switch of the machine is within easy reach, on a kind of diving board. Underneath is a large storage box that the driver and co-driver can easily reach. At least as handy is the bottle holder integrated into each armrest. When Skoda’s designers saw that, there must have been a few Czech swear words about the design department. Why didn’t we think of that?! The Q4 E-Tron does have the smallest trunk of the three. Not that a load volume of 520 to 1490 liters is anything to complain about. The draw weight of 1000 kilos is neatly in line with the rest.
Quiet, comfortable and manoeuvrable, even in the city
The 204 hp electric motor is powerful enough to move the more than two-ton SUV smoothly and easily. The engine is in the back and you can hardly hear it. Wind and rolling noises are also professionally kept out of the cabin. Our test car has 20-inch wheels (standard 19-inch) and in combination with the optional adaptive shock absorbers, unevenness in the road surface is smoothed out. The steering offers a lot of feedback and that sends so well. The turning circle (10.2 metres) is remarkably small for such a large car, which improves maneuverability in tight, zero-emission inner cities.
Audi Q4 E-Tron is economical with electricity
When it comes to charging, Audi has a clear division: Q4s with a 77 kWh battery can charge at 11 kW and fast charge at 125 kW. If you buy a copy with 52 kWh, you charge at home with 7.2 kW and along the highway with 110 kW. You don’t have to pay anything extra to upgrade the fast charging capacities from 50 kW to 125 kW, as is the case with Skoda. This is offset by a solid base price of EUR 52,815. The Q4 is roughly 5 grand more expensive than the ID.4 and the Enyaq iV.
Audi communicates a power consumption of 17.3 to 19.3 kWh per 100 kilometers. Our experience in practice is quite similar. In and around the city we clock 15.2 kWh, at 100 km/h we measure 17.5 kWh and at 130 km/h the power consumption rises to a not too alarming 23.4 kWh per 100 kilometers. Long story short: during the day you get on the highway over 400 kilometers on a charge of electricity and in the evening 300 kilometers and a little. That makes the Audi Q4 40 E-Tron the most economical of the three.
Conclusion
It is logical that the Audi Q4 E-Tron offers a lot of space, comfort and driving pleasure, because its designers work with the same building blocks as those of the Volkswagen ID.4 and the Skoda Enyaq iV. What makes it different are the high-quality dashboard with physical buttons for the climate control and a large digital instrumentation. For now, it also seems to be the most economical of the three.