Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron review: A dynamic, coupe-styled electric SUV

If you can imagine the Audi Q4 e-tron in its SUV guise and then press down firmly on the roof, then you get the Sportback version of the car. It’s sleeker and looks more dynamic, but it’s less practical and costs more than its SUV stablemate.

We tested the Sportback when it first arrived in a Launch Edition specification with very limited numbers. At the time the trim levels had a slightly different format to today’s line-up and the cars were identified as 35, 40 and 50, all of which had different power outputs. Then there was the possibility of adding Audi’s excellent Quattro all-wheel drive to the mix.

Our Launch Edition car featured the larger 77kWh battery and was classed as a ‘40’ which meant it could deliver 204PS and 310Nm of torque with a driving range of 315 miles between charges.

Today’s Audi Q4 Sportback e-trons are available in Sport, S-Line and Black Edition with 35 (170PS), 45 (286PS) or 55 (340PS). It really is as clear as mud! One thing is straightforward however, and that’s the appeal of this car. It drives beautifully, is packed with all the mod cons we demand these days and is even competitively priced.

We were lucky to get an early test drive in the Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron in a limited-run Launch Edition model. While we liked the way it performed, we still believe the standard SUV model has the edge.

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Independent rating: 8/10

The Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron, as tested, featured a 77kWh battery and had an official range of 315 miles. However, as with all electric cars, that really depends on the style of driving and how ‘enthusiastic’ you are with the accelerator pedal. We covered a lot of motorway miles during our loan, where the range tends to drop dramatically at 70mph.

Acceleration to 62mph from a standing start takes 8.5 seconds and it has a top speed of 99mph, so the vehicle will have no issues joining a motorway from a slower slip road or overtaking caravans in summer.

It’s nicely composed on B-roads with lots of twists and turns, although our car had a suspension set-up based on the S-Line, so it is quite firm. That means you need to brace for any unexpected potholes.

That aside, the vehicle is beautifully refined with barely a sound filtering through into the cabin. Special mention to how easy it is to drive. For many, this Launch Edition would have been their first introduction to electric driving, so credit to Audi for not making it too complicated (apart from the naming process).

There are drive modes to change the performance dynamics, along with three levels of regenerative braking to recoup energy on the go. Our only real gripe was the poor rear-view visibility due to the sloping roofline of the car and the split rear screen.

Our test car could get a five to 80 per cent battery charge via a 125kW fast charger in 38 minutes. This process takes just 28 minutes on the latest line-up.

The interior of the Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron is everything you would expect from the German carmaker. It’s high-end with quality fixtures and fittings throughout, but there is nothing garish or too extreme to drive off a loyal fanbase of customers. Some may say it’s a bit too predictable and lacking in flair, but we quite like that.

The seats are upholstered in faux leather that looks gorgeous and can be heated. The steering wheel features a flat top and flat bottom, giving it a slightly futuristic appearance, and there are plenty of soft-touch surfaces and eye-catching decorative inlays.

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Space up front is excellent, but taller adults in the back may find their hair brushing against the headlining due to the tapering roofline.

With all seats upright, the Sportback has a larger boot capacity of 535 litres compared to the SUV’s 520 litres. But with the split-folding rear seats dropped flat, the SUV is the winner with a limit of 1,490 litres compared to 1,460 litres on our test car. There is extra space beneath the boot floor to store cables.

In addition, there’s about 25 litres worth of storage throughout the cabin, including a compact central cubby bin, a lockable glovebox, door pockets, seat-back nets, front and rear cup holders and some practical trays.

The first thing you notice inside the car is the 10.1in infotainment screen in the middle of the dashboard, angled slightly towards the driver for convenience. It offers access to features including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connection, a superb Sonos sound system, sat nav and DAB digital radio.

Behind the wheel is a clear 10.25in digital driver display that highlights all the important data such as current speed, range and battery charge levels. This screen can be personalised to choice, so you can prioritise which information is most prominent.

There are a number of touch-sensitive steering wheel buttons to access different features and controls without taking your hands from the wheel. These are quite fiddly to operate initially but okay after a while.

A separate panel houses all the climate control settings, and we like the fact this Audi maintains a decent number of physical switches and dials. There is nothing worse in our book than having to navigate overcomplicated touchscreen menus simply to warm the cabin by a notch or two.

Our test car, in the limited Launch Edition specification, was priced at £49,870 with a number of extras pushing the final price up to £51,160.

This version is no longer available, but the latest 2024 Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron line-up is priced from £49,225 for the Sport model, rising to £54,025 for the Black Edition. That is before any optional extras are factored in, though, and like most premium brands, there are plenty of ways to personalise the car – at a cost.

Day-to-day running costs will depend on how often you need to charge at pricier motorway service stations. If you keep those visits to a minimum and do most charging via a home wallbox or at work, you can keep costs at a respectable level.

The Q4 Sportback e-tron is covered by Audi’s standard three-year, 60,000-mile warranty, which extends to eight years or 100,000 miles of battery cover.

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On a 125kW fast charger, you can charge the 77kWh battery from 5 to 80 per cent in 38 minutes. (The 2024 models are slightly faster, gaining 10 to 80 per cent in 28 minutes.)

With a starting price of £49,870, the Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron is competitively priced, especially for a car from a premium manufacturer. But there’s a great deal of competition out there right now, with this sector really hotting up.

The batteries are covered by an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty.

Coupe-styled SUVs always divide opinion. It’s almost like the car hasn’t quite got its own identity but has morphed from lots of other vehicles. That said, this model gained lots of attention during our test drive down in Cornwall.