Do not adjust your television sets, etc, this is not a brand new model from Audi but rather the facelifted version of its flagship electric SUV, the e-tron. Audi’s made styling tweaks, a few aero changes, updated the powertrains and batteries and added a little ‘Q8’ badge on the back to align the car with its flagship combustion SUV.
Blurring those lines is what the Q8 e-tron is all about: it doesn’t scream about its electric powertrain, it just quietly gets on with the business of flinging you down the road with the sort of premium solidness you’d expect.
What flavours does the Q8 e-tron come in?
If you’re interested in all the Q8 e-tron detail then dive into the Buying section for more – it does get complicated. There are three versions of the electric powertrain to choose from (50, 55 and S), two body styles (the normal SUV and the more coupe-like Sportback version) and four trim levels. All the trim levels are available on the 50 and 55 cars, whether SUV or coupe, but the S-badged cars only come in the two highest specs. Phew.
But is it well equipped?
The Q8 e-tron is as executive as you’d expect here. Even the base trim of the Q8 e-tron is so well equipped that you can hardly imagine how Audi might be able to ram more stuff in and up the price (spoiler: it succeeds). You get 20in wheels, air suspension, LED headlights, an electric opening boot, electrically adjustable front heated seats, all the touchscreens you could want and 360-degree parking sensors.
The scrimping on the entry powertrains – the 335bhp 50 model – comes with the battery, which is a ‘mere’ 89kWh for a range of up to 290 miles. Upgrade to a pricier 55 car and you get a 106kWh battery that will manage up to 343 miles in aero friendly coupe form.
What about charging?
Audi says that the Q8 e-tron has been upgraded to charge at a maximum of 170kW – lower than some headline grabbing rivals the firm admits, but what the clever engineers have done is go for a lower charging sweet spot that the car can sustain for longer. Because they wanted the car to be more dependable to live with. Isn’t that kind.
Is it practical?
There’s quite decent room in the back of the Q8 e-tron, you don’t get the obvious sense that the floor has been compromised by hundreds of battery cells being crammed under the floor. Even in the Sportback version there’s a decent amount of headroom for rear passengers. Three adults on the rear bench might be a bit of a chore with the diminished legroom in the middle, but kids would be fine.
What’s it up against?
The electric SUV segment is awash with contenders, so you’ve got the likes of the Tesla Model X, Jaguar I-Pace and Mercedes EQC to consider if the Q8 e-tron doesn’t do it for you at the eye-wateringly expensive end of the spectrum. Cue a timely hyperlink to our Devonshire group test of the Tesla, Jag and Audi.
What's the verdict?
“Looking to set a tentative foot into the future? This is the safest stepping stone yet”
It’s not a profound facelift that Audi’s made to its flagship electric SUV, but the Q8 e-tron is one of the easiest ways to go electric – you’ll hardly notice you’re doing it. It hits all the right Audi notes of premium, solid quality without resorting to brash gimmicks to try and get you to notice it.
It’s heavy, yes, and expensive too, so it’s hardly like it’s making electric propulsion available to the masses and has no particular claims to be saving the planet. This is the electric vehicle as a luxury tool, and as a refined, imposing grand tourer it makes a solid case for itself over most of its electric rivals.
Tesla Model X
£87,190 – £168,730
Jaguar I-Pace
Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV
Continue reading: Driving
Driving
What is it like to drive?
The first thing that strikes you about the Q8 e-tron is that it’s all very smooth. The controls are quite firmly weighted, so there’s a heft to the steering and the pedals all feel very firm. In fact, the brakes almost feel unservoed when you first stomp on them, but the transition from regen to disc has been well smothered. Audi’s quite proud of how much regen it can get out of the car under braking, and it’s impressively engineered.
The second thing that strikes you is how un-EV-like it all is – Audi’s electric flagship majors more on the latter than the former. It’s nice to drive an electric vehicle that doesn’t scream about it. The flip side is that you can easily get carried away on the move into the sort of driving behaviour that’s best reserved for cars with large petrol tanks.
It can’t all be roses, surely?
Well, it is quite heavy. A common refrain these days, but the Q8 e-tron tips the scales over 2.5 tonnes, which is weighty by anyone’s standards. Another thing we didn’t like – and there’s almost certainly a sub-menu settings choice we’ve not found yet that will address this – is that the lack of creep when reversing makes parking feel dicier than it needs to.
Especially with the crazy digital wing mirrors fitted, which don’t really show you what you need to see. You end up stabbing at the throttle to get yourself into position and it feels like it could easily end in embarrassment.
More positively, the Q8 e-tron is rated for towing up to 1,800kg of braked trailer, which is a pretty decent effort for an electric car. Of course, the weight of the car means you’ll need to take an extra test to try that out to its fullest potential.
What about the SQ8 e-tron, is it fun to drive?
It really depends how you get your kicks – it’s ruthlessly efficient at grabbing a road and choking the life out of it, but that’s not always enjoyable. Lots of fast EVs these days have a sort of rollercoaster quality where you just hang on and grit your teeth until it’s over.
The other aspect of this is that driving the SQ8 e-tron fast means draining your battery at an alarming rate, which is something performance electric driving has yet to address. How can you have fun on a long drive? If we’re honest, we’d much prefer to take things more sedate in one of the less punchy powertrains and get the extra miles.
Audi e-tron S review: what’s the point of a 500bhp electric SUV?
£87,620
Holy heck, the new Audi e-tron S will drift
Audi e-tron review: first UK test of Audi's electric SUV
£71,505
Previous: Overview
Continue reading: Interior
Interior
What is it like on the inside?
It’s all very Audi-like inside, which is to say premium-feeling, solidly built and impeccably decked out. An Audi is like one of those posh boutique hotels that just uses basic things properly, no copper accents or buttons in weird places. The seats and driving position are all very adjustable so you can get comfortable and the controls are logically laid out. It’s not always a given on cars, that.
And if you’re used to a combustion-engined Audi you’ll be right at home here because it’s exactly the same. It’s nice how Audi’s new era of electric power will be much the same as the old one. Why change things if they’re already being done properly?
Indeed. Has much changed inside the facelifted Q8 e-tron?
Not really. Take the centre console, for example, where Audi has frankly missed a trick in not making some tweaks. The bit between the seats certainly looks cool, but it feels like space has been wasted somehow.
The drive shifter doesn’t move, but the handle sort of straddles the console with a button on the end that you twiddle with your thumb to select drive or reverse. It works alright in practice, and the shifter doubled up as an arm rest to play with the aircon controls and other buttons that are stashed at the base of the dashboard.
Likewise, the cubby where the cupholders sit seems deep, but as soon as you put too much in you’ll find things coming flying out onto the seats through the gaps that create grab handles on either side.
The digital wing mirrors look pretty cool…
Replacing wing mirrors with cameras seems like the high-tech answer to a question that nobody asked. It’s nice to have a bit of theatre to show off to passengers, we suppose, but there was nothing fundamentally wrong that needed fixing.
It doesn’t take too long to get used to the positioning of the screens, in fairness, but the main problem with digital rearview mirrors is that they don’t offer the same depth that actual mirrors do. Which is precisely what makes it easy to change your eye focus from the road ahead to see what’s happening behind. Hmm.
And then the digital wing mirrors are rendered all but useless in rain or bright sunlight, and are borderline deceitful when used for parking manoeuvres. Hardly seems worth it, does it?
What about the rest of the car?
Rear passenger room is bang average – the seats are all solid, and three adults in the back might not enjoy longer journeys thanks to middle legroom that’s slightly impinged by the centre console. You get a decent sized boot in the Q8 e-tron, enough to take a decent amount of luggage for five people onboard – 569 litres (528 litres in the coupe version) which expands to 1,637 litres (or 1,567) with the seats down.
You’ve also got a nifty 62-litre frunk in the Q8 e-tron that’s useful for storing the charge cables and any other bits you want to keep out of sight. Could it be bigger? Sure, but there’s the Q7 for that. As a flagship electric statement (why else would you go for the Sportback version?) the Q8 e-tron does a decent job.
Previous: Driving
Continue reading: Buying
Buying
What should I be paying?
It can get a little bit complicated here – there are four trim levels to choose from, two body styles and three different powertrain options. The Q8 50 e-tron in Sport spec is the entry car, starting proceedings at £68k and rising to just under £115k in SQ8 e-tron Vorsprung format.
You can choose from Sport, S Line, Black Edition or Vorsprung specs – the entry-level Sport is already very well equipped with 20in wheels, adaptive air suspension, all-wheel drive, LED headlights, powered boot, heated electric front seats, two-zone aircon, 10.1in infotainment touchscreen, wireless phone charging and 360-degree parking sensors.
What do you get in the different trims?
We’ll compare prices in 50 guise – the Sport starts at £67,800 with that powertrain set-up. S Line adds some fancier exterior trim, sportier air suspension, darkened windows and 21in wheels for a £72,800 price tag.
The Black Edition cars costs £75,150 with the entry powertrain and come with gloss black 21in alloys and black trim around the exterior, while top-spec Vorsprung adds 22in wheels, matrix LED headlights, virtual door mirrors, heated steering wheel and all the option packs that Audi can throw at it, reflected in the hefty £89,800 OTR cost.
When it comes to the SUV or coupe set-ups, the coupe or ‘Sportback’ version demands a £2,500 premium for a swoopier roofline and less bootspace. You do get a useful boost to range and efficiency though thanks to the coupe’s more aero-friendly shape.
What are the powertrain options?
The 50 set-up offers 335bhp and 490lb ft of torque for a 6.0-second run to 62mph, and a 124mph top speed. The 55 model has 402bhp and the same torque and top speed as the 50, knocking four tenths off the 0–62mph run. These two cars are powered by e-motors on the front and rear axles for all-wheel drive. It’s no Land Rover, but there’s enough traction to reassure on dodgy surfaces.
The SQ8 pumps out an impressive 496bhp and whopping 718lb ft of torque from its three e-motors (one at the front and one powering each of the rear wheels), squirrels to 62mph in 4.5 seconds and has a slightly higher 130mph top speed.
The 50 gets an 89kWh battery for a range of up to 290 miles, while the 55 and S cars get a larger 106kWh battery. The 55 will manage up to 343 miles in Sportback guise, while the S’s perkier performance means it will only manage up to 295 miles, and that’s if you’re very gentle with the accelerator.
The 50 and 55 are available with all trim levels, while the SQ8 only comes in Black Edition and Vorsprung flavours. The S tops out the price list at £114,500 for the SQ8 e-tron Vorsprung. And breathe.
What about its rivals?
The Tesla Model X could probably be seen as a rival, but it’s a brash 10-gallon hat next to Audi’s pinstripe suit. Pricewise it’s a little more expensive too, starting at around £100k (although you can’t get an exact price from Tesla at the moment until the car you’ve ordered is ready to be shipped).
The Jaguar I-Pace gives the Audi a run for its money – it’s arguably more stylish and stands out more, but it’s starting to show its age a little. The Q8 e-tron’s mild update at the end of 2022 makes it the fresher offering.
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