Pros: smooth ride, refinement, interior quality, decent range
Cons: forgettable driving experience, so-so charging speeds, expensive
Audi Q4 e-tron Design
Audi sells the Q4 e-tron, currently its smallest and most-affordable EV, in both regular SUV format and also with a more sloping tailgate, which the company dubs a Sportback – its terminology for a coupe-SUV. Both body styles are almost dimensionally identical, save for the fact the Sportback is 18mm lower and therefore more aerodynamic, so it can go slightly further to a charge model-for-model than the equivalent SUV.
Both are tidy-enough looking things, with the revisions carried out for 2026 as part of the facelift including subtly revised bumpers fore and aft, the inclusion of LED head- and taillights which have four configurable signatures for owners to choose from via the in-car infotainment screen, and the adoption of a body-coloured panel in the defining ‘Singleframe grille’ on the nose.
Audi Q4 e-tron Interior
A substantial change for 2026 has been enacted within the Audi Q4 e-tron, where the carmaker’s ‘Digital Stage’ interface has been adopted. This sees at least an 11.9-inch instrument cluster and a 12.8-inch MMI central infotainment touchscreen drafted into service, these two items housed in one huge construct sitting atop the dashboard. There are then options for a further 12-inch passenger screen to sit to the side of the original two panels, plus an augmented-reality head-up display for the driver’s use.
The inclusion of the Digital Stage has meant quite a bit of rejigging of the lower portions of the Audi’s dashboard, including a higher central tunnel area incorporating two wireless charging pads for smartphones, but also the deletion of the old car’s physical climate-control panel – all in-car comforts are now run through the touchscreen. Still, this tech all works well enough and, aside from that, the Audi’s interior is a success.
Material quality is very good in the front, if a little bit lower rent in the rear, but there’s plenty of space in the back of the Q4 e-tron for even taller people to sit comfortably. A flat floor is a bonus and headroom in the back of the Sportback isn’t too bad at all, considering its sloping roof on the outside. It’s the Sportback which also has the bigger boot with all seats in use, weirdly enough, at 527 litres versus 515 litres for the SUV, but fold the 40:20:40 split-folding rear seats down and the SUV wins out at 1,487 litres to the Sportback’s 1,460 litres. There is no ‘frunk’ under the bonnet of either version, though.
Audi Q4 e-tron Performance & Drive
Audi offers two powertrains for the revised Q4 e-tron, both of which are single-motor EVs and rear-wheel drive. The first is simply called the Q4 e-tron, which has 204hp and a battery of 59kWh usable energy, allowing it to run 0-100km/h in 8.1 seconds and go up to 440km as an SUV, or 451km as the Sportback.
Above that is the Q4 e-tron performance, which has a more powerful motor rated at 286hp, but also a bigger battery pack at 77kWh (usable). Its stats read 0-100km/h in 6.6 seconds and 578km between charges as an SUV, rising to 592km in Sportback guise – this being the longest-range Q4 of all versions sold.
The range is fine on the Q4 e-tron family, then, yet the charging speeds aren’t amazing by modern EV standards. At up to 160kW for the regular car or 165kW for the performance, they’re OK and competitive with some other, older EVs in this class, although a 10-80 per cent charge will take either 27 or 29 minutes accordingly – not super-brisk, generally speaking. The Q4 can also only charge at 11kW on three-phase AC outlets.
To drive, the Audi is supremely polished, with its major strengths being exceptional rolling refinement and largely excellent ride comfort. Quiet, easy-going to pilot and providing superb real-world electrical efficiency while on test with us, the Q4 e-tron is a remarkably capable product. What it isn’t, however, is very memorable – the handling is inert and safe, and there’s nothing really about the driving experience which conveys a truly premium air that would place the Audi version of this EV clearly above the likes of the Skoda Enyaq, Volkswagen ID.5 and Cupra Tavascan, all of which are vehicles that use exactly the same underlying hardware as the Q4.
Audi Q4 e-tron Pricing
Two specifications of Audi Q4 e-tron are available in both body styles and with two trim levels (Advance and S line), with prices starting from around €53,000 and rising beyond €63,000 in the grandest configuration. That places the Audi favourably among the competitor likes of the BMWs iX1 and iX2, the Volvos EX40 and EC40, and the ageing Mercedes EQA – but it is quite a lot more than Skoda, VW or Cupra are charging for their takes on the same thing. And further complicating that are the rise of super-cheap, affordable EVs from China that could potentially challenge the Q4 e-tron, purely on a specification basis.
Carzone Verdict
The big news is really the integration of the Digital Stage within; as long as you get on with a predominantly touchscreen-biased interface system, then there’s little the Audi does that will put your back up, unless you’re a really keen driver looking for an involving experience when behind this SUV’s wheel. For everyone else, it’s just a relaxing, high-quality, long-range machine that gets the job done with minimal fuss.