Verdict
It's a show of confidence by Audi, releasing a Sportback variant of the new Q4 e-tron from launch. For buyers not swayed by the more upright look of the regular Q4 e-tron SUV, it serves a purpose as a more stylish, eye-catching alternative. The 50 quattro drivetrain feels well executed too and goes some way to justifying its price increase over models with the single motor 40 drivetrain without sacrificing overall driving range.
The new Audi Q4 e-tron isn’t just poised to be Audi’s most popular all-electric model, it's lining itself up to become one of the brand’s best-selling cars in the UK full stop. So perhaps it’s unsurprising to see that not just one, but two versions will be on sale in Britain very shortly.
True to the brand’s recent form, this is the Sportback version of the new Q4 e-tron. Like the larger e-tron Sportback, and the petrol and diesel powered Q3 and Q5 Sportback variants, it’s a coupe-SUV-shaped version of Audi’s Mercedes EQA rival, and Audi predicts this will be the preferred shape of around 16 per cent of all Q4 buyers.
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With electric power, perhaps there is a new, compelling case for the coupe-SUV - a more aerodynamic shape that can cut through the air more efficiently than the traditional two-box Q4 e-tron, and to that end Audi has teased that Sportback versions of the Q4 may have slightly more range than their standard counterparts (WLTP homologation has not yet been finished). Opportunistic marketing aside, most people will choose the Sportback purely for the way it looks.
Using the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform for pure-electric cars, like the regular Q4 e-tron, the Q4 e-tron Sportback slots neatly between the Q3 Sportback and Q5 Sportback when it comes to its footprint, at almost 4.6 metres long and with similarly short overhangs and a stubby nose. It’s identical up front, in fact, and just 18mm lower at its tallest point.
Beyond the B-pillar things begin to change though. The swooping roofline officially shaves 24mm of headroom for the three passengers in the back, and curiously the boot space with the 40:20:40 split rear bench in place grows by 15 litres, to a Q5-rivalling 535 litres. We’re told this is to do with the positioning of the lights on the new rear end, which is bookended with a fixed wing splitting the rear window.
In real terms, the loss of 24mm of headroom means that the Sportback’s shape hardly plunders the space available in the back in favour of style. There’s still a good amount of room on offer, though not quite of the Q7-rivalling vastness the brand has hinted at. Knee and legroom is particularly good, but footroom feels constricted, with little space for feet to slide beneath the two front seats. The middle seat is very much usable, however, thanks to a flat floor, while access to the rear is good too.
Up front, the cabin environment of the Q4 e-tron is the most premium feeling yet of a car using the MEB platform, headlined by the largest, brightest central infotainment screen ever fitted on an Audi, at 11.6-inches. However, the Q4 e-tron isn’t completely without the cost-saving quality foibles that are present on cars like the Volkswagen ID.3.
Generally, materials higher up in the cabin are of good quality, but the reliance on shiny black piano-style plastic on large swathes of the car’s dash and doors is a little telling.
The tall belt line combined with the small windows and the more rakish rear of the Sportback mean that it's not a particularly light and airy place to sit either, feeling a little dark despite the good amount of space on offer. And of course, the smaller rear window with its integrated spoiler means that rearward visibility is not as good on the Sportback as it is on the regular Q4.
Our first taste of the Q4 e-tron was a right-hand-drive UK car in entry-level Sport trim fitted with what will be the popular 40 drivetrain, combining the largest 77kWh battery with a single rear-mounted electric motor, developing 201bhp.
The spec of our German-registered left-hand-drive Q4 Sportback is a mix of trims, but aligns closest to range topping Edition 1 specification. More importantly, it has the most powerful 50 quattro powertrain, which combines the 77kWh battery with two electric motors, for a combined power output of up to 295bhp and all-wheel drive.
You’ll pay a premium of around £6,300 for the extra motor and power compared with rear-wheel-drive 40-spec versions of the Q4. Range isn’t too badly affected, because it will run with just the rear motor powering the car most of the time.
Depending on trim and configuration, Audi claims up to 308 miles WLTP for a Sportback 50 quattro, subject to final homologation, and with 125kW rapid charging replenishing the battery from five to 80 per cent full in 38 minutes, recharge times are competitive too.
In our estimation, a real-world driving range of 250 miles should be easily attainable. Efficiency of over three miles per kWh should be achievable with no real effort to drive in a way to conserve range. Unless you put the Q4 e-tron 50 quattro model into the Dynamic driving mode and get heavy on the throttle, what you see on the predicted range readout of the fully-digital instrument panel is what you get.
You can eke more range out by slipping the car into B mode for constant recuperation when not on the throttle, or summoning the function via the paddles behind the steering wheel.
However, the additional power is precisely why some Q4 Sportback customers will plump for the 50 quattro, and by and large they’ll get a car with a good turn of pace, though without a truly rapid edge.
The 0-62mph sprint comes up in a hot hatchback-rivalling 6.2 seconds and in the typical, surging manner of a fast electric car. It’ll accelerate up to motorway speed with little hint of the 460Nm torque running out.
With selectable drive modes ranging from Efficiency to Dynamic, there’s a real flexibility built into the 50 quattro drivetrain, with large variance in responsiveness and performance depending on which mode is chosen.
However, there’s almost certainly enough power for everyday driving in the Efficiency or default Comfort setting, and on adaptive dampers, it's in these modes where the slightly firm ride is on its best behaviour, maintaining decent body control despite a two-tone-plus kerbweight and softening off the worst that the road can throw up.
But like the single-motor versions of the Q4 e-tron, the 50 quattro is still a quiet and comfortable car, with direct and light steering that gives a sense of nimbleness. It’s as easy to drive as any other MEB EV in the Volkswagen Group fold, just with a slightly heightened sense of quality, some tech exclusive to the Q4 e-tron and more power with all-wheel drive.
How it stacks up against the new Volkswagen ID.4 GTX, with an identical 295bhp powertrain, will be interesting to see.
| Model: | Audi Q4 Sportback 50 e-tron quattro Edition 1 |
| Price: | £59,000 (est.) |
| Motor/battery: | Dual electric motors/77kWh (usable) |
| Power/torque: | 295bhp/460Nm |
| Transmission: | Single-speed automatic, four-wheel drive |
| 0-62mph: | 6.2 seconds |
| Top speed: | 112mph |
| Range: | 308 miles (WLTP est.) |
| Charging: | 125kW DC (5-80% in 38 mins) |
| On sale: | Now |
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