Audi Q4 review

Maybe you’ve got a premium-badged SUV on your driveway already, and you’re thinking that now would be a good time to switch to electric power. In which case, the Audi Q4 is the ideal next step.

You’re treated to fresh front-end styling with concept-car cues – such as the intricate blanked grille and sharp headlights – but the Q4 doesn’t bring any nasty surprises. It feels just like any other Audi SUV, and there’s no attempt at weirdness or being different just because it’s electric.

Underneath, the Q4 shares its platform and parts with the likes of the Volkswagen ID.5, Skoda Enyaq and Ford Explorer – but you’d have to look very hard to find evidence of that. Unlike those cars, the Q4 gets a proper digital driver’s display with Audi’s superb Virtual Cockpit software. There are still buttons in useful places, while the other VW Group electric cars have gone for a more minimalist look.

The Audi version is more expensive than the rest, but it does feel a bit more premium than the Skoda and considerably more premium than the VW. In terms of its similarly posh German rivals, the Q4 is considerably better than the Mercedes EQA and very closely matched to the BMW iX1. It’s a very good all-rounder.

But the Q4 also has to fend off the Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Tesla Model Y, Peugeot 3008 and Renault Scenic E-Tech, and you’ll generally find that all of these cars can be picked up with a newer plate and/or lower mileage than an equivalently priced Q4.

Audi’s digital dials have been in constant use for quite a few years now, but they still manage to look modern while displaying relevant information in a clear and concise way. Other brands take note.

Continuing that theme, the touchscreen is really easy to use as well. It’s not overwrought with ultimately pointless screen themes (as you get in the EQA and iX1), and it features always-there shortcut keys on the right-hand side of the screen to quickly get you from one menu to another. The screen itself responds snappily, and you get a little buzz of haptic feedback to make it feel like pressing a button.

We’d much prefer buttons on the steering wheel. While they don’t control the major driving functions of the car, they’re very easy to swipe accidentally.

And we’d much prefer a lot less of the gloss black plastic. It cheapens what otherwise feels like a fairly high-end cabin. There could’ve been a lot less of it if Audi had borrowed VW’s column-mounted gear shifter.

The Q4 offsets its relatively high price with a good spread of standard equipment. Sport trim opens the range with adaptive cruise control and turn assist, traffic sign recognition, a powered bootlid, a reversing camera, heated cloth seats, ambient lighting and keyless entry.

S Line, a popular trim with UK buyers, mainly adds cosmetic upgrades – sportier bumpers, slightly lower suspension, tinted windows and stainless steel pedals. In addition to this, Black Edition adds lots of moody black trim (funny that!) and a flat-bottomed steering wheel with paddles to increase or decrease the level of brake regeneration.

Although it’s a little bit shorter than the Volkswagen ID.4 and Skoda Enyaq, the Q4 still boasts impressive practicality. The 520-litre boot is about average in the family SUV class, and there’s a small storage space underneath the boot floor that’s useful for storing a cable and that can of tyre gunk that you hope you never have to use.

Thanks to the wheels being pushed right out to the corners – an advantage of an EV-only platform – there’s a lot of interior space. If you’re roughly average height, you’ll have plenty of room to stretch out in the back seats. And in the front ones, actually, because there’s a lot of front-seat adjustment.

Headroom is good, you can squeeze three adults across the rear bench and the Isofix child seat mounting points are easily accessible. That all means the Q4 makes an excellent family car.

Mind you, your passengers might be asking why they haven’t got rear USB sockets or anywhere to stash their phone. The answer, if you’re interested, is that they’re bundled into expensive option packs – along with nice-to-haves like powered front seats and a heated steering wheel.

Upfront storage is a bit more generous (half-width glovebox notwithstanding), with the usual assortment of cupholders, door bins and a phone tray. The door bins aren’t big enough for a big bottle of water – but don’t fret, because there are bottle holders integrated into the panel ahead of the window switches. Audi wants you to stay hydrated.

Most Q4s come with an 82kWh battery (77kWh usable). Stick with a two-wheel-drive model and you’ll see up to 338 miles of range if you match Audi’s 3.8mi/kWh figure. Four-wheel drive knocks about 20 miles of the quoted range figures. In mixed driving, it should be possible to get close to 300 miles between charges, but less on motorways where the powertrain is less efficient.

If you only do local journeys and can regularly charge at home, you might be happy enough with the smaller 55kWh or 63kWh batteries. The 55kWh one only just scrapes 200 miles – expect 150 in the real world – while the 63kWh one officially manages around 240 miles to a charge.

Provided you pick either the 63kWh or 82kWh battery, the maximum fast-charge rate is pretty decent at 165kW. That could mean a 10-80% top up in 24 minutes for the 63kWh one and 28 minutes for the larger battery. The 55kWh battery – no longer available new – maxes out at 110kW, meaning a 36-minute top-up to 80% (and, of course, you’re still getting less range at 80% charge than in the bigger batteries).

Performance is strong, too. Our test car was the ‘40’ version with 204hp and rear-wheel drive. This felt a bit quicker than the official 0-62mph time of between eight and nine seconds, with the midrange acceleration being particularly impressive. Getting up to motorway speeds is really no hassle at all.

If you want a bit more oomph, the ‘45’ has 286hp and a 6.7-second sprint. It really does feel sports car quick. Even so, above that is a 340hp ‘55’ version with the benchmark acceleration test completed in just 5.4 seconds. This is the powertrain you’ll find in the VW ID.4 GTX and Skoda Enyaq vRS, but Audi doesn’t feel the need to create a standalone model to shout about its extra performance.

Electric SUVs are heavy, and that requires beefed up suspension to cope with the weight. As a result, the Q4 has a slightly firm ride. Otherwise it’d wobble all over the road like a creme caramel with a steering wheel.

But the Sport trim isn’t uncomfortable – far from it. The initial impact of a bump is softened out well, and the Q4 is a pleasant companion on a long journey. Over sustained rough surfaces it can sometimes feel a little floaty and unsettled, but you’ll probably only pay attention to that if you’re really looking out for it.

S Line, on its bigger wheels and firmer suspension, isn’t quite so composed over bumps. More jolts make their way into the cabin, and you sometimes feel the sharpness of a pothole or a particularly vicious speed bump.

Like every other car we’ve tested that uses this platform and setup, the brake pedal is soft at the top. You really have to kick the pedal towards the firewall to get a lot of braking power, or rely on the regenerative braking to slow you down as soon as you come off the accelerator.

Otherwise, the Q4 drives nicely. The steering is intuitive and refinement is mostly decent. Even towards the time when you’ve had a Q4 for several years and it’s time to resell, you’re unlikely to be annoyed at the driving experience.