Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron review: performance, motor & drive

The Q4 Sportback e-tron provides the instant kick of torque you’d expect from an electric SUV, and you’ll have no problems reaching the national speed limit with ease. However, in comparison to rivals like the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Tesla Model 3, it's not quite as quick in a straight line, nor as much fun to thread through a series of corners.

Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron 0-62mph, top speed and acceleration

The 40 e-tron features a single electric motor that sends all of its 201bhp to the rear wheels, and will do 0-62mph in eight-and-a-half seconds. Likely to be the most popular option for buyers, this offers ample – if not blisteringly quick – acceleration and remains smooth when getting up to motorway or overtaking speeds.

At the top of the range is the 50 e-tron quattro, which gets a dual-motor setup for a total output of 295bhp and 460Nm of torque, making it capable of 0-62mph in 6.2 seconds. One motor sits on each axle, but the front one is only used when more grip is required, or under full throttle. Once again, this doesn’t provide the same ‘kick in the back’ as some electric SUVs do, but nonetheless, the 50 e-tron should be more than fast enough for the majority of electric SUV buyers.

The 40 e-tron has its top speed limited to 99mph to preserve range, while the more powerful 50 e-tron quattro is limited to 112mph for the same reason.

Handling

The Q4 Sportback e-tron is by no means the most engaging electric car to drive, but it’s comfortable and refined, regardless. Our test car did have the optional adaptive suspension and damper control fitted, however, so we'll add our verdict on the standard setup once we've had the chance to drive it. We can say that the upgraded setup was able to keep the car largely flat while cornering and handled road imperfections very well.