The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Choice of rooflines
- Rear- or all-wheel drive
- Good infotainment
- Spacious back seat
- Strong safety scores
Dislikes
- Rear drum brakes
- Dull handling
- Middling range
- Middling charging rates
Buying tip
features & specs
The 2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron misses out on both electric-car thrills and top EV range.
Audi’s Q4 E-tron, now in its second year, returns with standard or Sportback body styles, powered by an 82-kwh battery pack in either a single-motor or dual-motor configuration.
What kind of car is the 2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron? What does it compare to?
The Q4 E-Tron marks Audi’s entry into compact electric cars. With technology shared by the VW ID.4, it’s a rival for the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Genesis GV60, and Tesla Model Y.
Is the 2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron a good car?
The Q4 E-Tron earns a 7.7 TCC Rating, propelled by good standard features and safety scores. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What’s new for the 2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron?
After a short model run for 2022, the 2023 Q4 comes in a choice of body styles and powertrains, but with its shapely body intact. We prefer the more conventional shape of the standard car, with its comely grille and headlights and neatly tapered rear end; the Sportback’s sloped rear roof shortens the shape too quickly, for a thick-waisted look. Audi’s increasingly dramatic interiors hit peak curve here, with a central touchscreen that reaches into passenger space and a virtual cockpit that displays moving maps, audio, and gauges in front of the driver in a pixelated tour de force.
Q4 performance strikes a middle ground, whether it’s in acceleration, ride, or handling. The quickest version takes 5.8 seconds to reach 60 mph, about the same as a mid-grade Q5 gas SUV, but it’s nearly silent in its operation—in top versions, thanks to thick acoustic glass. The ride doesn’t lean on fancy adaptive damping, so its stiff-kneed feel over bumps when shod with 20-inch wheels doesn’t surprise. Steering is light but not as precise as that on other Audis; in all, the driving experience pales beside the brand’s gas cars.
Interior space puts those dinos to shame, though. The Q4 has good head and legroom, particularly in the standard body style, and rear-seat access is particularly good. Cargo space actually gets boosted in the Sportback despite the roofline, since the tailgate’s inside panels are concave, and a power tailgate and multi-angle cargo cover combine to make utility one of the Q4’s strong suits.
Safety scores are very good so far, and the Q4 has standard automatic emergency braking, with a surround-view camera system and a head-up display on the features list, provided you spend up into the top-dollar model.
How much does the 2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron cost?
It’s $50,995 for the Q4 40 E-Tron with its 19-inch wheels, 10.3-inch digital gauge cluster, power tailgate, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The $56,395 50 Premium gets a virtual cockpit, adaptive cruise control, and 10-speaker Sonos audio. At its peak, the $64,095 Q4 50 E-Tron Prestige adopts 20-inch wheels and an augmented-reality head-up display.
Where is the 2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron made?
In Germany.
2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron Styling
Pert and chunky, the Audi Q4 E-Tron banks on subtle styling.
Is the Audi Q4 E-Tron a good-looking car?
It has the usual Audi lines and the usual Audi attention to detail, for sure—but the more formal SUV shape wears better than the Sportback, we think. The extra point here goes to the interior, for a 6.
Audi masks the crossover-SUV size of the Q4 E-Tron effectively in the lines and curves it applies to its other utility vehicles. The standard version has the softly composed body that looks in perfect concert with the smaller Q3 gas-powered crossover. It has a particularly well-balanced mesh grille flanked by wide but trim LED headlights and offset by air intakes that smooth the flow over the 19- or 20-inch wheels—which don’t look out of step with the bulky but trim Q4. It earns a point above average. The Sportback just doesn’t gel well: it’s thick in the middle and tall, with a tailgate window split into two pieces, where the SUV has a more conventional rear end.
The interior of the Q4 would fit in any other Audi, minus some of the plastic surfaces at knee level and below. It’s a splay of screens, with an 11.6-inch touchscreen canted toward the driver, and a dash that protrudes in such a way to snip at passenger space. It’s outré, in its own way, but the wood dash trim and brushed metallic trim get framed by glossy black plastic that gets fingerprinted as if it’s an SUV of interest. It’s interesting enough to pick up another extra point, for a 7 in all here.
2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron Performance
The Q4 feels duller and more distant than other Audis.
Is the Audi Q4 E-Tron 4WD?
Base Q4 E-Trons come with a single motor and rear-wheel drive, but most versions have dual motors and all-wheel drive.
How fast is the Audi Q4 E-Tron?
Every Q4 E-Tron comes with an 82-kwh battery pack under its floor, but not all Q4s are created equal. The “40” versions carry a single rear motor rated at 148 kw/201 hp, while other “50” versions add a 69-kw/94-hp front motor to the equation. With the more impressive setup, Audi pegs a net torque figure of 339 lb-ft and swears by a 0-60 mph time of 5.8 seconds. It’s quick, but not nearly as riveting as some of the more pricey electric cars that cost more—or the Teslas that sidle up next to it in cost and blur past it in overall driving range. Without that jolt of acceleration, the Q4 E-Tron comes off as smooth and predictable; that’s where the extra point for performance comes from.
Five drive modes from Efficiency to Dynamic can alter the impression of speed, but we left it in Auto most of the time to conserve more of the Q4’s middling EV range of between 232 and 265 miles.
The usual ride and handling virtues of Audis have dissolved in the EV solution. The suspension has a firm tune; frankly it could use softer damping in its front-strut, multi-link rear suspension. Once speed and cornering forces pick up, the Q4 feels planted despite the usual crossover-SUV body lean—understandable, since it weighs about 4,900 pounds. It’s quiet and competent, but the Q4 also drives with a more dull, distant feel than just about any other Audi in the lineup—signified by a pedestrian set of brakes which use rear drums (!) and by a regenerative braking system that doesn’t offer true one-pedal driving, just a set of paddles with varying levels of regen and a “B” mode to lock in the highest level. It still feels soft and inconsistent as it transitions between regen and friction braking.
2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron Comfort & Quality
The Audi Q4 E-Tron’s back seat does a star turn.
With its comfortable front and rear seats and solid cargo room in either body style, the Q4 E-Tron earns an 8 for comfort and utility.
The roomy interior carries over largely from its ID.4 kin. In front, the Q4 has leather upholstery and power-adjustable seats that fit many drivers well, though some may still feel they sit low in the Q4 because its door caps sit so high. Front passengers sit amid a swarm of screens and haptic controls; Audi’s touchscreen interfaces work far better than the clumsy, unintuitive switches in the VW electric car. The front passenger sees some kneeroom sacrificed to the angle of the dash and touchscreen, though.
Open the rear doors and the Q4 has more than 37 inches of legroom; with the front seat in place for a 6-foot driver, another 6-foot-tall passenger fits easily with room to spare for knees. Headroom gets trimmed by the panoramic sunroof, though, and the middle back seat won’t be comfortable for long between two large passengers. Better to use it as an armrest for two satisfied passengers.
Fold down the rear seatbacks, and the Q4 E-Tron offers up 24.8 cubic feet of cargo space; it’s slightly more roomy in the Sportback, with 26.1 cubic feet, since Audi bows out the inside of the tailgate. A flexible cargo floor can be set at two different positions or folded in half and angled to keep items in place and out of sight.
Low road and wind noise are commendable in the Q4, particularly in top versions with the addition of acoustic glass.
2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron Safety
The Audi Q4 E-Tron earns good crash-test scores.
How safe is the Audi Q4 E-Tron?
The NHTSA hasn’t chimed in yet, but the IIHS gives the Q4 E-Tron a Top Safety Pick+ score, meaning that it earns universally good crash-test scores and has good headlights and crash-prevention technology. With that point, plus one for standard automatic emergency braking and one for good safety extras such as adaptive cruise control, a surround-view camera system, and a head-up display, it’s an 8 here.
It’d be a 9 if rearward vision were better; it may still be a 9 if the NHTSA gives it five stars. We’ll update this score when we know more.
2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron Features
The Audi Q4 50 E-Tron pairs luxury with electric-car efficiency best.
Audi sells the Q4 E-Tron in two power outputs (40 and 50) and two trim levels (Premium and Premium Plus), with a range-capping Prestige version. Both have good standard features and options, and a user-friendly infotainment system. That nets an 8 here: with free service, the Q4 would pick up a point to accompany its 4-year/50,000-mile warranty.
The base $50,995 Q4 40 E-Tron has 19-inch wheels, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 10.3-inch digital gauge cluster, a power tailgate, and a panoramic sunroof. For $6,200 more, the Premium Plus version adds sporty exterior trim.
Which Audi Q4 E-Tron should I buy?
The $56,395 50 Premium adds adaptive cruise control, the virtual cockpit, and 10-speaker Sonos audio. Premium Plus adds the same $6,200, but on the 50 it also gains automatic parking.
How much is a fully loaded Audi Q4 E-Tron?
The $64,095 Q4 50 E-Tron Prestige piles on headlight washers, animated headlight and taillight signatures, matrix-LED headlights, 20-inch wheels, acoustic glass, and an augmented-reality head-up display.
2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron Fuel Economy
The Q4 E-Tron makes very good use of its batteries.
Is the Audi Q4 E-Tron efficient?
It’s an electric car so it’s more climate-friendly than any gas-powered vehicle. Rear-drive versions rate 265 miles of range on a full charge by the EPA, which puts the Q4 at 3.0 miles of driving per kwh of battery; that’s good, but other versions dip below that figure and likely will be more common on the road. That’s why the Q4 E-Tron scores a 9 here, instead of a 10.
All-wheel-drive models get EPA-rated at 236 miles of range, while the Sportback edition picks it up to 242 miles due to better aerodynamics. That puts those models at more like 2.8 miles per kwh.
The Q4 can charge on its 400-volt design and a 240-volt outlet at 9.6 kw, which translates to a full charge in about nine hours. On a DC fast-charging connection of 150 kw, it can go from 5-80% in 36 minutes. The Q4 comes with a portable charge cord, and Audi sells a wallbox charger rated at up to 11.5 kw.
On the road, the Q4 E-Tron can be charged at Electrify America stations; owners get 250 kwh of free charging.
