Audi’s ongoing electrification expansion has a new chapter, following the overnight unveiling of the new Q4 e-tron and Q4 e-tron Sportback; Audi’s smallest fully electric cars yet.
The pair is based on Volkswagen Group’s dedicated electric MEB platform, making this something of a Veedub ID.4 alternative. The two body styles certainly look the part, extracting a lot of visual detailing from the existing e-tron.
Pricing is already the talk of the town with both models. While local sticker hasn’t been confirmed, in the US the Q4 e-tron will start at US$45,000, making it one of the cheapest premium electric options on the market.
The model has been unveiled with two battery sizes and three powertrain options overseas. The entry-level 35 e-tron model packs a 125kW motor and a 52kWh battery, power sent to the rear wheels. The 40 e-tron, meanwhile, gets a 150kW/310Nm motor paired to a 77kWh battery. Its 0-100km/h time is curiously slow, rated at 8.5 seconds.
The flagship 50 e-tron Quattro (flagship until the inevitable S or RS variant comes along, anyway) gets dual motors and all-wheel drive. Outright output is 220kW/460Nm, helping it get to 100km/h in a more brisk 6.2 seconds.
Audi hasn’t got full data on range for the models, although it has said that the 40 e-tron variant will be able to travel approximately 400km to a charge based on EPA approximations. Each model can be charged on DC fast chargers up to 125kW. Find one of these particular chargers, and you’ll be able to give your Q4 over 200km worth of charge in 10 minutes.
The Q4’s innards are vintage Audi, falling into lockstep with the current line-up’s fixation with screens, piano black, and long air vents. It gets either a 10.1-inch or 11.6-inch touch screen, plus the now to-be-expected 10.25-inch ‘Virtual Cockpit’ digital cluster. Button lovers will rejoice at the physical controls for the air conditioning.
While it’s the smallest Audi EV, the Q4 isn’t necessarily that small, period. It measures in at 4588mm long, 1865mm wide, and 1632mm tall with a 2760mm wheelbase. Boot space is rated at 520 litres, and it’s capable of towing up to 1.2 tonnes.
When will we get it? Time will tell, but with America getting it in mid-2021, it could realistically appear on Kiwi shores before the end of the year, if not early 2022.
