I’m not completely certain the place this fallacy that each automobile must be good at all the pieces got here from. Sure, trendy automobiles are extra versatile and succesful than ever, however your minivan doesn’t must set a Nurburgring lap time, you understand? Trying to be good at each being a minivan and being a monitor rat means will probably be unhealthy at each.
The similar factor is true of electrical automobiles. For instance, your heavy, two-row electrical SUV doesn’t must do a 10-second quarter mile and carve corners like a scorching hatch. Many EVs have tried this, and they’re in the end disappointing. That’s why I discover a automobile just like the 2024 Audi Q8 E-Tron SUV so refreshing. It doesn’t have delusions of grandeur. It’s targeted on being a horny, relentlessly nice electrical luxurious SUV, and it’s actually good at that.
Full Disclosure: Audi needed me to drive the 2024 Q8 E-Tron so badly that they let me fly out of Burbank to SFO and drove me to an costly lodge in wine nation the place they let me order room service so I might work as an alternative of getting dinner with everybody else. I had a Meyer lemon tart for dessert.
What Is The Audi Q8 E-Tron?
The Q8 E-Tron is the brand new title for the electrical SUV previously recognized as E-Tron. It was meant to make it much less complicated for consumers in search of Audi’s electrified automobiles, and assist set up its place because the halo mannequin within the E-Tron lineup. Functionally, it’s similar to the outdated automobile however notably improved in lots of key methods.
First, it provides higher vary due to a reworked battery pack that’s the similar bodily measurement because the outdated one, however Audi organized the cells in a different way inside it, permitting for extra cells, and now has 114 kilowatt-hours of capability, an enchancment of 16 kWh over the earlier model. The new pack design provides up a complete EPA-estimated vary of 285 miles within the SUV or 296 miles within the slipperier Sportback. Is it Tesla territory? Nope, nevertheless it must be lots for most individuals virtually all the time.
Power is up as effectively, due to a reworked electrical motor design that provides extra windings that translate into a complete peak of 402 hp. That’s not a mind-melting determine, and neither is the claimed 0-60 time of 5.4 seconds, however this isn’t a efficiency EV and shouldn’t be judged as one. It feels fast sufficient round city, and though freeway on-ramps is probably not the thrill you may go after, it’s fast sufficient they don’t develop into an subject both.
Audi additionally determined to fiddle round with the suspension and steering for this new Q8 E-Tron. Control arm bushing stiffness up entrance has been elevated by 50 %, which, when mixed with a faster steering rack, makes for a fairly nimble automobile. Steering help has additionally elevated, so that you’re paying nothing in driving consolation for sooner steering. Audi has fitted air suspension to each ends of the automobile, which provides an important journey and handy journey top changes on the fly.
Continuing the theme of small however significant enhancements, the Q8 E-Tron now helps as much as 170kW DC quick charging. You’ll wish to take benefit as a lot as you may as Audi is protecting two years of limitless Electrify America charging with each 2024 Q8 E-Tron. Level 2 charging can also be sooner due to a newly obtainable 19.2kW onboard charger. The commonplace one continues to be respectable, too, at 9.6kW. It’s value mentioning that the non-obligatory charger would require a a lot beefier service to your wall field in the event you’re charging this at house. If you’re not charging at house, Audi’s obtainable twin cost ports are fairly useful, permitting you significantly extra flexibility at charging stations.
How Does The Audi Q8 E-Tron Drive?
Driving the Q8 E-Tron could be greatest described as completely nice. It’s roomy and cozy with very adjustable seats, which make lengthy stints behind the wheel a snap. Sure, you gained’t discover barn-burning efficiency right here, nevertheless it has sufficient to have just a little enjoyable, taking part in into the strengths of EVs whereas asking little or no in compromise from a day-to-day use standpoint.
The automobile’s weakest level from a driving perspective is Audi’s weird regenerative braking settings. Like most German automobiles, there isn’t any true one-pedal drive mode, and when you can choose totally different ranges of regen with the steering wheel paddles, it returns to its default mode everytime you get again on the accelerator. It was so annoying to must guess what sort of regen I used to be going to get after I let off the accelerator pedal that I gave up on controlling it altogether and simply used the mechanical brakes. Obviously, in the event you don’t like regen, this can be a non-issue, however in the event you’re a regenerative braking fiend like me, this may very well be a dealbreaker for you.
Beyond that admittedly minor subject, the Q8 E-Tron’s total highway manners are glorious. It provides excessive ranges of journey consolation with mild however correct steering paired with sufficient efficiency to make the automobile type of fade into the background as you’re driving it round. It’s not a automobile that ever screams for consideration – from you as the motive force or from different individuals – and as an alternative it simply goes about doing its job of being a really good luxurious SUV and not using a ton of fanfare. This is a large win for Audi, so far as I’m involved, as a result of in need of having a charger put in at your own home, you typically don’t have to consider the Q8 E-Tron. You simply get to take pleasure in it.
Audi Q8 E-Tron’s Interior and Tech
As an Audi, and a flagship mannequin at that, the inside of the Q8 E-Tron is a really good place to spend time. It’s extraordinarily well-assembled utilizing very upscale supplies and has been designed in a considerate extremely ergonomic method, which makes most issues within the cabin straightforward to seek out and to make use of. I’m not a giant fan of the all-haptic controls that Audi has gone inside many latest fashions, however of the totally non-physical management programs in automobiles at this time, that is among the many greatest.
At the middle of the sprint, the MMI Touch infotainment system stays tremendous snappy and straightforward to make use of. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto each join wirelessly, which is a plus. The Bang and Olufsen stereo system can also be just about the identical as you’d discover in most different trendy Audis. It’s not unbelievable, nevertheless it’s not overly fatiguing to hearken to.
Safety tech on the Q8 E-Tron is fairly stable, together with trendy conveniences like adaptive cruise with energetic lane-keep help, automated emergency braking, parking sensors and automated excessive beams as commonplace on the bottom mannequin. Step as much as the center trim stage (aka the candy spot), and also you get a 360-degree digital camera, site visitors signal recognition and LED headlights. The top-tier Prestige trim will get a parking assistant and intersection help.
Pricing and Competition
Pricing for the Q8 E-Tron SUV begins at $75,595, together with a $1,195 vacation spot charge. The top-spec Launch Edition will run you a bit extra, with a beginning value of $88,745. The Sportback fashions are dearer, with the bottom mannequin coming in at $78,995 and the Launch Edition promoting for $93,145.
Right now, in order for you a totally battery-electric luxurious SUV, your choices are restricted, however the competitors is stiff. Rivian has its R1S, which provides extra vary as an non-obligatory further however begins with simply 260 miles, although with significantly extra energy at 600hp. It additionally begins at $78,000. The BMW iX xDrive50 begins at $88,095, together with vacation spot, and comes with 307 miles of vary and 516 hp, nevertheless it’s not precisely subtle-looking. The Mercedes EQE SUV will seemingly be a reasonably sturdy competitor, however the EPA hasn’t launched its estimated vary but.
As so usually is the case with Audi, specializing in issues that make a automobile nice to reside with quite than issues that make large headline figures makes their automobiles rather less fascinating on paper, however in the end it finally ends up being the mannequin I’d almost definitely select to reside with.
Sure, you’re making some sacrifices with vary and energy by going with the Q8 E-Tron, however none you’d seemingly discover throughout your commute and even on the weekends. What you achieve is a very properly made and thoughtfully designed EV SUV from a longtime firm that’s not going to make your neighbors name the householders affiliation on you in the event you go away it parked outdoors. Audi’s flagship EV SUV must be hitting sellers very quickly.
Source: jalopnik.com