The all-new, all-electric Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron are both on sale now, priced from £40,750 OTR and £42,250 OTR respectively.
Customer deliveries of the Q4 e-tron are under way, while the first Sportback customers are due to take delivery in October.
Conveying the progressive design of the concept cars into series production with minimal alteration, the versatile all-rounders will be offered in the UK in conjunction with Sport, S line, Edition 1 and Vorsprung trim options, and with a choice of two battery variants and three drive configurations capable of WLTP-certified driving ranges of up to 316 miles (Q4 40 e-tron Sport). They will also provide unusually ample space in which to go the distance in a fully digital cabin that visually and technologically reflects the Q4 e-tron’s position at the forefront of automotive development. Its forward-looking specification incorporates fittingly ingenious technology, including a pioneering augmented reality head-up display connecting the virtual and real worlds in a totally new way.
With the Q4 e-tron and the Q4 Sportback e-tron, Audi is introducing the next step in its design language for electric models. Like the 2019 concept cars that they so closely resemble, the new compact SUVs boast striking proportions accentuated by their short front overhangs and large wheels emphasised by muscular blisters, and by a surface treatment that is clear and pared back but also intersected by super-precise, high definition lines. In the Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron, the especially low coupé-style roofline ends in an expressively designed rear where the spoiler sits deep on the two-part window.
As is customary for Audi the progressive design gives appropriate priority to functionality and aerodynamics: The Q4 e-tron achieves a drag coefficient of 0.28, and the Sportback gets to an even lower figure, with a drag coefficient of 0.26. A key contributor to these impressive figures is the main section of the bodies, with their glasshouses drawn in sharply towards the rear. The adjustable cooling air inlet in front of the radiator and compressor is another important factor. Supplied by the central lower air inlet, its electric louvre is opened if the major assemblies require cool air, such as when the vehicle is charging, but remains closed in the majority of situations to minimise energy losses caused by air flow through the narrow cooling ducts, adding around four miles to the overall driving range. Three-dimensional spoilers in front of the front wheels also optimise the airflow, adding almost nine miles to the range, and a partial covering for the control arms of the rear axle gives another boost of just over two miles.
Detailed solutions, on which the Audi aerodynamics experts have worked closely with the designers, provide further gains in range. At the front, the narrow vertical bars below the headlights channel the airstream smoothly along the vehicle’s side, resulting in a three-mile range uplift, and a minute step on the exterior mirror housings known as the turbulator edge allows the airflow to swirl in a targeted way, which is good for another mile. The 19-inch Aero wheels with their flat designs also facilitate low-loss air flow, notching up an additional three miles, and even the tailgate seal plays its part. Designed to handle the pressure conditions generated by the roof edge spoiler, it adds just over two more miles to the range.
On the Q4 Sportback e-tron, the spoiler sits much lower on the split and steeply raked rear window, and as the area in which the air swirls as it comes off the vehicle is restricted to the zone beneath the spoiler that area is significantly smaller than in the Q4 e-tron. This not only highlights the unique design of the SUV coupé, but also enhances its range by around 7 miles while also reducing the lift on the rear.
The interiors of the Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron are characterised by a real sense of space and are centred around the striking instrument panel. This is oriented towards the driver and divided into separate areas integrating two displays – the central MMI touch monitor, with acoustic feedback and natural language voice control, and the Audi virtual cockpit. Both of these feature as standard throughout the UK range. An upgraded Audi virtual cockpit plus is installed in Vorsprung versions, and available for all others as part of the optional Technology Pack. It adds an “e-tron” layout to the standard system’s selectable “classic” and “sport” screen formats in which the power meter is brought to the fore. A larger 11.6-inch version of the MMI touch screen notable as the largest display in the Audi portfolio to date will also become available later this year.
As usual in the Audi range, infotainment and navigation are operated primarily using the central MMI touch display. This system also grants access to the apps available via the standard Audi smartphone interface, now offering wireless connection for some handsets. In the UK MMI Navigation Plus and Audi connect internet connectivity feature as standard across the board, as does the e-tron route planner, which works with them to calculate the optimal route that tracks the public charging infrastructure as closely as possible. Through Audi connect the Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron can also display high-resolution satellite images from Google Earth for navigation, deliver ultra-accurate traffic information derived from the swarm intelligence of the Audi fleet and offer useful features such as a news feed, weather and travel updates and an on-street parking assistant.
