The e-tron was one of the first fully electric luxury SUVs to hit the US market, and for 2024 it’s getting a raft of updates that include a new Q8 moniker. 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron Retains its floor-mounted battery, standard all-wheel drive thanks to front and rear electric motors, and two-row five-passenger layout, so it may seem like not much has changed. However, dDespite the similarities, the Q8 e-tron has several major improvements in key areas.
To the untrained eye, the new car and the old e-tron look strikingly similar on the outside, and to some that’s okay — the previous e-tron was a restrained but beautiful thing. For others, a more radical departure from the previous car would have been a welcome change. But if you want fancier, there’s always the BMW ix and its “interesting” exterior design. Either way, small details change like an active grille with shutters that pop off and a new LED light strip at the front help differentiate the Q8 e-tron from the car that came before it .
The change to the Q8 e-tron brings with it a number of improvements that you can’t see. While the looks don’t change much and the interior is more or less the same, the Q8 e-tron gets the option of a bigger battery pack, adds range, and will be able to charge a bit quicker than the upcoming e-tron. before this. It will also be available in multiple variants. There will be a base Q8 50 e-tron with a 95-kWh battery pack and its equivalent Sportback, while the Q8 e-tron and Sportback models with the “55” designation get a more powerful battery pack.
The more performance-oriented S models return with their three-motor setup and more power. The SQ8 e-tron and SQ8 e-tron Sportback represent the tippy tip of the new Q8 e-tron range and will carry the heaviest premiums, even though prices haven’t been revealed yet.
The previous e-tron was a solid all-around vehicle, but that was when it debuted for 2019. Within a few years, Mercedes, BMW, Genesis and others have caught up to the e-tron. Hopefully the refreshed model can maintain its relevance and take a more solid shot at the luxury EV SUV crown.
Q8 e-tron power and torque figures
The Q8 e-tron will come in several battery and motor configurations. The first is the base Q8 50 e-tron model (and its Sportback equivalent). This model gets two electric motors, one at the front and one at the rear, for standard all-wheel drive. Peak output for the base Q8 e-tron is rated at 335 horsepower and 490 lb-ft of torque in the car’s boost mode. That’s actually lower than the 2023 e-tron’s outputs of 402 hp and 490 lb-ft when in boost mode, but keep in mind that the 50 is the new base model.
If you want a little extra pep in your step, you’ll need to step up to the Q8 55 e-tron model. There, peak horsepower jumps to 402 hp in boost mode, but peak torque remains the same. For those of you who want serious EV punch, there’s the SQ8 e-tron. Thanks to three electric motors (two in the rear and one in the front), the SQ8 e-tron makes a hearty 496 horsepower and 718 lb-ft of torque.
Small changes to the electric motors (such as adding two more coils for a total of 14) mean the motors make more power but require less energy to do so, making the car more efficient. And 2024 brings with it the option of a higher capacity battery. The Q8 50 e-tron uses a 95-kWh battery pack – the same as the previous e-tron – while the larger battery pack found in other models has a usable capacity of 106 kWh. Even though the more powerful battery isn’t substantially larger, the upgrade in efficiency means major range gains.
Q8 How is the interior of the e-tron?
Very little has changed inside. The design is similar to the e-tron that came before, and the biggest differences will be the inlays on the dashboard and some changes to the various menu structures in Audi’s class-leading MMI infotainment system.
To give you a better idea of the interior, we’ll revisit some of our impressions from past experience with the e-tron:
The e-tron does a lot of the basic things very well. Getting in and out is easy as the seats sit at the perfect height and the door openings are nicely squared up. Passengers will enjoy abundant room, and the driver gets the bonus of a great driving position and unobstructed view.
Controls, on the other hand, are a mixed bag. The drive mode shifter is unique but took some getting used to, while many of the smaller buttons work fine. But the infotainment and climate control systems rely heavily on touchscreen interfaces. They look stunning but are overly complicated.
We expect our interior experience to be more or less the same in the new car, though we will still complain about a few more scratchy plastics.
Q8 e-tron range and charge time
Range is a big area of improvement for the Q8 e-tron. With competitors all offering EV SUVs that break the 300-mile barrier with ease, Audi had a clear target to hit. For context, the current e-tron serves up a 222-mile EPA-estimated range for the standard SUV and 218 miles in Sportback form. In our real-world range testing, however, the e-tron covered 248 miles in the standard SUV body style and 238 miles in its more coupe-like Sportback version.
While we don’t have official EPA estimates yet, the new Q8 e-tron has been tested in Europe. Under the slightly more lenient WLTP test procedures, the Q8 e-tron handily beats its predecessor. The base Q8 50 e-tron model is rated at 491 km (305 mi) for the standard SUV and 505 km (314 mi) for the Sportback model.
The Q8 55 e-tron model is rated at 582 km (351 mi) for the SUV size and 600 km (372 mi) in Sportback guise. With a range rating of 494 km (306 mi) for the SUV and 513 km (305 mi) for the Sportback, the top-spec SQ8 e-tron trims will, naturally, have a lower range due to their power outputs.
Range figures out of the way, it’s also worth mentioning that the new Q8 e-tron not only goes further but charges faster than its predecessor. Audi says that, under ideal conditions, the Q8 55 e-tron and SQ8 e-tron will be able to charge up to 170 kW at a DC fast-charging station and fill from 10% to 80% capacity in about 31 minutes. , The model with the smaller battery pack will have fast-charging capability of up to 150 kW, the same as the previous e-tron.