Audi Q8 e-tron: revolution in evolution

Audi has basically revised its first electric car. With great success, as a ride with the Q8 e-Tron Sportback offers.

Vienna. How time passes! You can see it not only in children and hair, you can also see it in cars. Audi just passed its first electric model in black, white and orange from event to event before presenting the beautifully painted SUV as the e-Tron at the end of 2018. Not only was it Audi’s first fully electric car, but it was also the first passenger car from Audi. The VW Group is designed as an all-electric vehicle. A revolution on many levels.

and now? Every manufacturer now has at least one battery electric vehicle on offer, with Volkswagen alone currently having six different ID models. In 2022, the Volkswagen Group will deliver 572,100 all-electric vehicles to customers. Best sellers were the Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5, with the E-Tron remaining in fifth place. And this is a nearly five-year-old car, eons in the age of electric mobility.

Audi has now thoroughly revised the e-Tron and is delivering it as the Q8 E-Tron both as a classic SUV and as a dynamic coupe known as the Sportback. With the new name in the sense of Audi labels, it is immediately clear that there is no solution anymore, you are sitting in the brand’s top model.

And very good – and also completely environmentally friendly, it must be emphasized. Half of the interior is made of materials made at least in part from recycled plastic bottles. For example the lining above the screen or the seats, which in the S-Line are covered with Dinamica microfiber material. It consists of up to 45 percent polyester fibers, but has a suede-like look and feel. The fibers are made from recycled plastic bottles, previous textiles, or leftover fibers.

Audi wants to show that sustainability is taken seriously in the luxury segment. Even during production: the Q8 e-Tron comes in as CO, at least on the balance sheets of customers in Europe and the USA₂– neutral car. If you now charge electricity from hydroelectric, solar or wind power plants, you can put steak on the charcoal grill on the weekend with a clear conscience.

There is a lot of new under the very attractive hood. The most pleasant thing is that in the future you will be standing at the fast charging station for less time and with less frequency. With the Q8 55 and SQ8, the maximum charging capacity increases to 170 kW. So, assuming you have a properly functioning charging station, you can charge from ten to 80 percent in 31 minutes. It’s about 120 kilometers in ten minutes. As 55, the E-Tron has 114 kWh (net 106), with which you can travel up to 600 km in the Sportback version.

Save on mirrors

In our testing, which also included cross-country trips on the motorway and the occasional accelerator pedal to impress passengers, the Audi needed 24.2kWh per 100km.

This is also very good because the Q8 weighs 2.6 tons. However, you only feel the heft when driving briskly into curves, when the physics make themselves felt. Otherwise, the Q8 rides like a smaller and lighter car, thanks to the improved steering, which is now more responsive than its predecessor. Driving comfort is also excellent thanks to the standard air suspension.

The Audi Q8 Sportback e-Tron costs in Austria from €75,094, while the regular Q8 e-Tron is available from €59,990. You can save by using camcorders that replace outside mirrors. Gimmick irritation in the first place.

[TFUC3]