Audi Reveals New Q4 And Q4 Sportback e-tron Electric SUVs With Range Of Up To 520km

It will be available in rear-wheel-drive variants

• Audi expands the e-tron EV lineup with the new entry-level Q4 and Q4 Sportback mid-size SUVs.

• Sporty styling with aggressive front end, prominent arches, and sleek lighting.

• Entry-spec gets 52kWh battery while other variants get a 77kWh battery for more range.

• 35 e-tron and 40 e-tron variants feature a single electric motor to drive the rear wheels for up to 204PS and 310Nm..

• Minimum range of 341km in base-spec while peak range of 520km offered on 40 e-tron variant.

• Sporty 50 e-tron trim gets all-wheel-drive with additional front electric motor and offers a max range of 497km.

• Features a sporty cabin with squarish steering wheel, driver-centric dashboard layout, and all-black interior.

Audi has added two new models to its all-electric e-tron lineup: the Q4 and Q4 Sportback. The latter was showcased in concept form at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show and the final production-spec models look almost the same. These are the carmaker’s entry-level electric offerings.

The Q4 Sportback is the coupe-styled version of the standard Q4, with a sloping roofline and a sporty rear end design. It has an impressive road presence thanks to its muscular styling, massive grille design, and angry-looking LED Matrix headlamps with sporty cutaways in the front bumper. The sleek tail lamps are connected by a slim LED light strip. The Q4 Sportback e-tron also gets a spoiler just below the rear windscreen, unlike the roof-integrated spoiler on the standard Q4 e-tron SUV.

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Audi will offer the Q4 in three variants. This electric SUV also offers a rare treat by being one of the few series-production models from Audi to come with rear-wheel drive. The 35 e-tron and the 40 e-tron variants feature a single electric motor to drive the rear wheels while the top-spec 50 e-tron adds an electric motor at the front for an all-wheel-drive system and more performance.

In terms of range and output figures, here’s what Audi is offering with each variant:

The Q4 has a max charge capacity of 125kW (except the entry-spec 35 e-tron which is capped at 100kW). Its 40 e-tron variant can add around 130km of range from a 10-minute charge using a high-speed DC charging station in ideal conditions while a 5 to 80 percent top-up will take 38 minutes. 

While the Q4 is Audi’s entry-level EV offering, it still has a premium cabin with the same sporty styling as the exterior. It has a squared steering wheel that offers an uninterrupted view of the Audi virtual cockpit: the 10.25-inch digital gauge cluster. The central infotainment display is aggressively angled towards the driver and while it uses a 10.1-inch touchscreen as standard, an 11.6-inch touchscreen will be offered as an optional extra. 

The driver can also benefit from Audi’s augmented reality heads-up display to get information without looking away from the road ahead.

Its central console with the drive selector, electronic parking brake, and driving modes has a floating design with the storage tunnel underneath. The climate controls feature tactile buttons, instead of the touchscreen display you’ll find in the more luxurious Audi models.

The flat floor of the Q4 electric SUV allows for more passenger comfort, especially in the rear, where there is no middle-hump either. It still gets premium upholstery with individual headrests for all three rear seats while the sporty front seats get integrated headrests. For the environmentally conscious, Audi offers upholstery made from high recycled polyester content from PET bottles.

Audi offers the Q4 with a host of driver assists such as collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control with lane centering feedback, side assist monitors, and predictive efficiency assist. Fully equipped, the electric SUV gets one front radar, one front camera, four surround view cameras, and eight ultrasonic sensors.

The Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 e-tron Sportback models will be launched in Europe this summer with the standard SUV coming out first. In Germany, prices will start from Rs 37.65 lakh (EUR 41,900) with a premium of around Rs 1.80 lakh (EUR 2000) for the Sportback models. The Q4 is Audi’s rival to the Tesla Model Y crossover which also claims a similar range of 525km. It also comes with a similar price tag. However, the Tesla has an edge over the Audi Q4 with autonomous capabilities and more performance. The Audi Q4 e-tron might enter the Indian market as well by 2023.