5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE... AUDI Q4 e-TRON
Here’s the lowdown on Audi’s most accessible EV yet
IT’S BASICALLY AUDI’S VW ID.4
This is the first Audi built on the bespoke electric platform underpinning all VAG’s most affordable EVs. And knowing what its buyers want, Audi’s spun an SUV from it before anything else. Prices start at £40,750, though, so it’s not eligible for UK gov’t subsidies.
YOU CAN GET 300+ MILES OF RANGE
Audi’s not chasing the headline 0–62mph times of Teslas; the cheapest Q4 takes a yawning 9.0secs. You’ve a choice of 52 and 77kWh batteries and 168, 201 and 294bhp peak outputs, all but the most powerful being rear-wheel drive. Maximum range belongs to the middle-rung Q4, offering 328 miles in slipperier Sportback form.
YEP, THE SPORTBACK IS CLEANER
As well as the ‘normal’ one (above), Audi’s offering a coupe-fied Q4 Sportback (below). It costs more, but it’s the one to have if you’re buying into fully electric life: its slipperier shape brings a slipperier drag coefficient (0.26Cd vs 0.28), buying it a few more miles of range while giving you a rear screen dissected by a spoiler like the old Honda Civic.
THE LEDS ARE CUSTOMISABLE
It wouldn’t be a new Audi without some headlight chintz. And sure enough the Q4 e-tron gets the option of matrix LEDs which, if you go exploring the infotainment system, you can programme to display four different patterns to oncoming drivers. Like your tech more tangibly useful? The head-up display allows augmented reality satnav instructions.
AUDI’S GONE BIG ON SUSTAINABILITY
We’re told the Q4 is similar in size to a Q5 but offers interior space comparable with a Q7’s (without the seven-seat option), while each car will be built and delivered to its owner completely carbon-neutral. Helping it are lots of recycled materials, including seat trim that was once 26 1.5-litre plastic bottles.