Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback Review 2024

Audi’s switch to electric started with the e-tron SUV and quickly expanded to include the sporty Audi e-tron GT, luxurious Audi Q8 e-tron, the Audi Q4 e-tron and this, the Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback. It gives you all the premium quality of the regular, SUV-shaped Q4 e-tron, but with a sleeker, coupe-like design. It does mean compromising on interior space, but it’s slightly more sporty than its conventional sibling.

Initially, we didn’t take coupe-like SUVs seriously. After all, why would you buy an SUV that loses some practicality in the back seats and boot – the things that make these cars so appealing? Well, those and their higher ground clearance, the ability to sit above the other traffic (until everyone else bought SUVs as well) and some lifestyle benefits. But more and more car manufacturers started following the lead of the BMW X6, including Audi and Mercedes-Benz, until even Porsche and Lamborghini joined in. Now there are loads of coupe SUVs on our roads.

Style is clearly winning over practicality, and as the world moves towards electric, we are naturally seeing more electric SUV coupes. Audi has given its Q4 e-tron the treatment with the Q4 e-tron Sportback. It’s a sporty-looking thing that takes the Volkswagen ID.5 and Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV platform and moves it into premium territory.

There are three main Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback models: the 40, 50 and 50 quattro – the latter using two electric motors to provide Audi’s famous all-wheel drive. Each uses an 82kWh battery (76.6kWh of which is usable) and claimed driving range is up to 332 miles.

There are some strong choices if you want an electric SUV, including the BMW iX3, Jaguar I-Pace and Mercedes-Benz GLA. You won’t find so many premium electric coupe SUVs yet, although the Audi has its work cut out to take on the superb Genesis GV60 and Polestar 2. Slightly less premium choices include the Volkswagen ID.5 and Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV, with more rivals on the way.

Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback Sport models have comfort suspension, while S-Line and Black Edition versions have stiffer springs to provide a more dynamic driving experience. All versions of the car have a fairly firm ride, especially on the larger 20- and 21-inch alloy wheels, but the suspension does a fine job of dealing with bumps in the road. It comes into its own on smooth tarmac and on motorways, where it veritably wafts along.

Again, you can feel the weight of the car when hustling along back roads, and it’s certainly not as agile and involving as a lower-riding saloon or estate. Its premium nature is most apparent in town, where not only does the ride comfort help you ignore the daily traffic grind, but you also get more battery regeneration to improve your driving range.

All Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback models use an 82kWh battery (76.6kWh of which is usable). Sport versions have one electric motor producing 204PS and 310Nm. They take 8.5 seconds to reach 62mph, but thanks to the instantaneous electric torque, it will feel like you’re accelerating much quicker.

Audi Drive Select allows you to switch between five driving modes: Efficient, Comfort, Dynamic, Automatic or Individual. Choosing the Individual mode provides some customisation, so you can set the car up exactly as you want it.

Splash out a bit more on the Sport 50 e-tron quattro and you get two electric motors, one on each axle to provide all-wheel drive, plus a power output of 299PS. It will reach 62mph in around 6.2 seconds, nearly three seconds slower than a Tesla Model Y.

All models can charge at up to 135kW on a rapid charger, which means the potential to charge from 5-80 percent in just 29 minutes. Plug it in at home using a regular 7kW wallbox and charging will take around 12 hours, ensuring you have a full charge each morning.

The Audi Q4 e-tron received the maximum five star rating from Euro NCAP, which carries across to the Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback variant. It scored 93 percent for adult occupant protection and 89 percent for child protection, thanks to essentials such as its solid structure, effective crumple zones, front and side airbags, traction control and Isofix child seat mountings.

It has lots of electronic safety kit as well, including a tyre pressure loss indicator, lane-departure warning, traffic sign recognition, driver fatigue alert, adaptive cruise control and pedestrian and cyclist detection. Other systems are also available in the optional Safety Package Plus.

The Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback will tow a 750kg unbraked trailer and 1000kg braked. Towing will impact the driving range, of course, and there are limited public charging locations for vehicles with a trailer or caravan. However, more charge point operators are starting to consider this.

Look at the Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback coupe SUV in the same way as you would a coupe car and the focus is on those sat up-front. They will have loads of space, plenty of storage and access to all the infotainment.

There is less headroom for those sitting in the back than in the regular Q4 e-tron, but access is fairly good. Also, while the panoramic roof can reduce headroom, it does give the interior a lighter, airier feel.

The Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback is slightly longer than the regular Q4 e-tron and that actually means its boot is technically bigger, at 535 litres – expandable to 1,460 litres if you fold the back seats down. The real compromise is in the boot height, which is impacted by the sloping tailgate. Visibility is also slightly compromised by the tapering roofline and shallow rear window, so a reversing camera is an essential inclusion.

You’d expect Audi quality and finish to be of a premium standard, and that’s certainly the case with the Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback. There are some hard plastics out of view and in the doors, but generally it all feels well put-together, with materials that are out of the top drawer.

The upholstery is comfortable and luxurious and, like all Audis, it should last for years without significant signs of wear.

Audi hasn’t gone the route of Skoda and VW by cramming most of the controls into the Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback’s 10.1-inch infotainment touchscreen. There are physical buttons for climate control air-con and other functions, which are much easier to use on the move, as are those on the steering wheel. It also avoids the dreaded finger-wobble while trying to select an icon on the touchscreen by having a useful ledge of dashboard below the screen to rest your hand on.

The system is the same as in other Audi models, with straightforward icons for access to navigation, phone, multimedia and vehicle settings. It’s easy to swipe through menus and icons, and pairing your smartphone is a simple affair. The system is compatible with the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto interfaces, too.

Audi’s Virtual Cockpit includes a large digital instrument cluster with a number of themes and views to suit your needs. It works really well and there’s the option of an augmented reality head-up display to provide essential information, including navigation directions, in your eye-line as you drive.

Prices for the Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback start at £51,415 for the Sport 40 e-tron. That’s understandably more than its Volkswagen Group siblings: the Skoda Enyaq iV and VW ID 5. The 40 e-tron is available in a more luxurious S-Line trim from £53,965 or you can go for the darker, more sinister-looking Black Edition from £56,215. As its name suggests, this means more exterior trim in black, including the large grille section and wing mirrors.

If you want the legendary quattro all-wheel drive, then you need to go for the 50 e-tron versions. These start with the Sport at £57,795, while the S-line is priced at £60,345 and the Black Edition will set you back £62,595. All prices are correct at the time of writing.

Official figures state that the Audi Q4 Sport 40 e-tron can achieve up to 3.7 miles per kWh and travel as far as 327 miles on a full charge, although these could be more or less depending on the driving conditions. Typically, an EV will get better driving range in a city environment, where regular stopping and starting can improve efficiency through brake energy regeneration. 

As an EV, the Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback doesn’t attract any vehicle excise duty (VED, or road tax), although it will be liable for the basic rate of tax from 2025. In the same year, the UK government will abolish the ‘expensive car supplement’ exemption for EVs. With all Q4 e-tron models costing over £40,000, they will be liable for this charge – currently an extra £390 per year.

Maintenance costs should be lower than for a petrol car, although the Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback will still need to be serviced every couple of years. You can also buy one of Audi’s extended warranty packages, which start from £365 for a four-year or 75,000-mile option.

All Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback models come with lots of equipment as standard. Sport versions get 19-inch five-spoke Aero alloy wheels, comfort suspension, Audi’s Drive Select driving mode system and LED headlights and daytime running lights. There’s a power-operated tailgate, e-tron logo puddle lamps and heated twin leather sports seats for those in the front.

Audi’s MMI Navigation Plus system is standard across all models, including a high resolution 11.6-inch touchscreen, 3D map display and various audio streaming options. There’s a rear-view camera, loads of driver assistance systems and, as you’d expect, you get a charging cable, although a home or office wallbox charger will cost you extra.

Go for the S-Line models and you add 20-inch alloys, sport suspension, various S-Line logos inside and sportier exterior bodywork.

Black Edition versions get 21-inch wheels in matte grey, a black single-frame grille, black trim around the windows and black badges.

Then there are the various options, including Audi’s curated option packs. The Technology Pack includes a Sonos premium audio system, Matrix LED headlights, a 12V socket and USB charging ports in the back seats, and a wireless charging pad. It also gives you dynamic indicators and four digital lighting signatures that put on a light show when you open or lock the car. The cost for all this luxury and theatre is £1,495.

Go for the Technology Pack Pro at £4,295 and you also get an augmented reality head-up display and a panoramic glass roof, although bear in mind this might compromise headroom further for adults in the back seats. The Safety Package Plus costs £655 and includes various collision avoidance systems.

It will cost you just under £1000, but it’s worth adding a heat pump from the options list. This uses waste heat from the electric drive system and combines it with ambient air to warm up the car in winter. It allows you to sit inside your centrally heated home or office, push a button on the app and the car will be all toasty inside when you climb aboard.