Enlarge / After selling more than 160,000 e-tron SUVs, Audi has given the model a mid-life refresh and a new name – Q8 e-tron. (The one seen here is the SQ8 e-tron Sportback version.)
Jonathan Gitlin
LANZAROTE, SPAIN – The electric vehicle market is so young that most models are still in their early stages. However, the prevailing opinion in the industry is that a model should live for around eight years, with a mid-life refresher or refresher scheduled around the fourth year. It’s not for nothing that Audi started producing its first electric SUV, the e-tron, around four years ago and has since sold more than 160,000 units. Now the German automaker has a growing range of electric vehicles, and “e-tron” has been transformed from a proper noun to an adjective in its company lexicon, just as “quattro” did a few decades earlier. So this mid-life refresh comes with a name change – e-tron becomes Q8 e-tron, highlighting the fairly obvious similarities between this EV SUV and the gas-powered Q8.
When I drove the Ur-e-tron in 2018, I found it solid, if a bit unspectacular. In terms of looks, it hits most of the right notes – Audi knows how to design a beautiful shape and its interior is at the top of the class, if a bit somber at times. Developed in a relatively short period of time, the e-tron only managed a relatively modest 2.2 miles/kWh (28.2 kWh/100 km) at launch. That was enough for a range of more than 200 miles (321 km), but not much more, although a software update in 2021 increased the usable capacity of the 95 kWh battery pack from 83 kWh to 86 kWh.
Audi is good at designing attractive SUVs and the Q8 e-tron is no exception.
The original e-tron SUV was a compelling alternative to the petrol Q8, but it was likely a second car due to poor efficiency and limited range. The update fixes that.
Here you can see the Q8 e-tron at its second-highest ride height in Allroad mode.
As a five-seater luxury SUV, this one isn’t bad.
With this update, Audi has added the EV badge to its current naming scheme.
Though Audi is still waiting to finalize its EPA numbers ahead of the Q8 e-tron’s arrival in the US next year, the long-legged version is expected to launch with a range of at least 300 miles (483 km). That will probably be the lower-drag Sportback, which will return as a body variant.
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Getting there required some modifications. For starters, there’s a new battery pack between the axles. It has the same dimensions as the old battery, but Audi changed both the cell type – now prismatic instead of pouch – and the chemistry, which was nickel-manganese-cobalt but is now nickel-cobalt-aluminium.
The proportion of cobalt is significantly reduced, and Audi says the changes, combined with new battery management software, mean a 20 percent increase in energy density. As a result, Q8 e-trons in the US market now pack a total of 114 kWh, of which 106 kWh are usable.
The new pack also loads faster than before. It can take a peak charge of 170kW, up from 150kW on the old model, and the charge curve has been optimized to maintain high power rates for as long as possible. Audi told us that fast-charging from 10 to 80 percent should take 31 minutes, and the Q8 e-tron now has ISO 11518, or plug-and-charge, capabilities.
Interior updates are minimal, but more recycled materials are now used.
Jonathan Gitlin
Audi’s Virtual Cockpit display is standard equipment.
Audi
There is enough space in the back for adult passengers.
You can stow 20 cubic feet (569 L) of cargo here in the back when the rear seats are in use.
Jonathan Gitlin
Maximum cargo capacity is 1,637 L (58 cu ft) with the rear seats folded flat (different from this photo).
Jonathan Gitlin
There’s also a new rear electric motor for the powertrain, with two motors and all-wheel drive. Audi continues to rely on asynchronous electric motors instead of permanent magnet motors because of their advantage when there is no current. The Q8 e-tron has moved from 12 to 14 windings around the stator, which generates a stronger magnetic field with the same current consumption.