The Audi Q4 e-tron has undergone a light facelift, with the main changes being the designed cabin, more efficient and powerful drivetrains, and bidirectional charging.
As before the Q4 e-tron is available in two body styles: a more practical and upright SUV, and the swoopier and more aero Sportback “coupe”.
Externally, the main changes take place up front where there’s a subtly modified bumper, and grille that’s now body colour instead of silver. Its thick black frame remains, but the glossy black plastic no longer flows into the side intakes.
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There’s a lightly redesigned rear bumper too, but it’s inside where Audi has wrought the most visible changes with a completely redesigned dashboard and centre console.
Gone is the current car’s edgy dashboard with its profusion of vent-related horizontal bars, and in its place is a simpler design heavily inspired by the latest A5 and A6.
A curved black panel housing a 11.9-inch instrumentation display, and a 12.8-inch infotainment touchscreen dominates the new dash. A 12.0-inch touchscreen ahead of the front passenger is an optional extra.
The instrumentation screen is 1.65 inches larger than before, while the touchscreen has gained 1.2 inches, but some of that extra real estate is now permanently dedicated to showing climate controls as the air conditioning system’s physical buttons and dials, and dedicated displays, have now been deleted.
Also gone is the floating console jutting out from the lower dashboard. This has been replaced by a more traditional centre console that houses the wireless smartphone charging pads, cup holders, gear selector, hazard lights, drive modes, and a short cut pad for sound system. It also includes a small open storage area under charging pads.
At launch in Europe, the revised Q4 e-tron range will be offered with four drivetrains, which dispense with the 35, 40, 45, and 50 nomenclature in favour of e-tron, e-tron performance, e-tron quattro, and e-tron quattro performance.
All models benefit from the new, more powerful APP350 motor on the rear axle, as well a more efficient transmission and electronics. The base battery pack has grown by 7kWh, and WLTP range has improved by 16 to 32 kilometres depending on the model.
| Q4 e-tron | Q4 e-tron performance | Q4 e-tron quattro | Q4 e-tron quattro performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total power | 150kW | 210kW | 220kW | 250kW |
| Torque | 350Nm | 545Nm | Rear: 350Nm Front: 134Nm |
Rear: 545Nm Front: 134Nm |
| 0-100km/h | 8.1s | 6.6s | 6.2s | 5.4s |
| Battery size (net) | 59kWh | 77kWh | 77kWh | 77kWh |
| Range – SUV | 440km | 578km | 558km | 541km |
| Range – Sportback | 451km | 592km | 573km | 554km |
| Max DC charge rate | 160kW | 165kW | 165kW | 185kW |
For reference, the outgoing 35 drivetrain had 125kW to its name, the 40 made 150kW, the 45 quattro had 195kW, and the 50 quattro topped the range with 220kW.
Thanks to updated to the MEB architecture, the Q4 e-tron is the first Audi to support bidirectional charging. With vehicle-to-load the Q4 e-tron can power external appliances, while vehicle-to-home functionality means the car can be used as battery to store excess energy captured by, say, a solar panel system. After the sun sets, or when energy use is high, the car’s battery can help power the house.
Matrix LED headlights and OLED tail-lights with driver-selectable lighting signatures are on the options list.
Other available features include an augmented reality head up display, rear USB-C charging ports, a Sonos sound system, and an Adaptive Driving Assistant that can make lane changes on a highway and stay within unmarked lanes on rural roads.
The facelifted Q4 e-tron goes on sale in Europe from May, although deliveries won’t begin until the middle of the year. Australian availability and timing has yet to be confirmed.