Audi Q8 e-tron Sportback review: boot space, seating & practicality

The Q8 e-tron Sportback is a big car, which means the compromises you have to make inside for that cool sloping roofline are minimal

Overall rating

3.5 out of 5

Boot space, seating & practicality rating

4.0 out of 5

Fuel Type:
Electric
LengthWidthHeightBoot volume (seats up/down)
4,901mm2,189mm1,616mm528/1,567 litres

Compared to the standard Q8 e-tron, Audi has removed two centimetres of headroom from the rear seats and 41 litres of storage space from the boot here. Still, the Sportback will swallow 528 litres of luggage in total – or 1,567 litres with the rear seats folded down flat. There’s an additional 62 litres of the storage in the nose, which is perfect for the charging cables. Make no mistake, this is still a practical family car.

Audi Q8 e-tron Sportback interior space, storage & comfort

There’s loads of space to stretch out inside the Q8 e-tron Sportback – whether you’re sitting in the front or rear. The designers tell us they’ve shaved just two centimetres of headroom from the rear compartment; it still feels spacious enough even for the tallest of adults to get comfortable – unusual for a coupe-SUV such as this.

Comfort is a key selling point for the Q8 e-tron Sportback, in fact. Along with the sumptuous leather seats, Audi has worked hard on refinement. It’s among the quietest cars on sale, not least because there’s no diesel chatter from the engine bay, but also because its sleek shape slips through the air with minimum fuss. Audi claims the digital door mirrors make the car more aerodynamically efficient, too. We’d stick with the standard setup, however; the difference in refinement is negligible.

Elsewhere, storage is pretty good, with big door bins, a centre cubby and a deep storage tray with a special clip to hold your phone in place while it charges wirelessly. The glovebox is a good size, too, and there are pockets on the back of the front seats for odds and ends.

Boot space

Unless you regularly load your car to the roofline with luggage, you’re unlikely to notice the Sportback’s compromised body. It still has a decent 528-litre boot, plus a neat 62-litre space in the nose for storing the charge cables. Like the standard Q8 e-tron, there’s no seven-seat option, but fold the second row of seats and you’ll find a colossal 1,567 litres of cargo capacity to play with – more than enough for most electric SUV buyers.

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