SPORT FOR ALL? (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_audiq4etronsportback_2022

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 105

Launched back in 2021, the Q4 e-tron was an important model for Audi. So important that Ingolstadt felt the need to create two distinct variants, this Q4 Sportback e-tron derivative being the more dynamic-looking one. Like its standard counterpart, it was built on the Volkswagen Group MEB chassis for volume all-electric cars, but pushed the boundaries of that platform in terms of the premium prices being charged for the size of car delivered. Still, you certainly get a very up-market feel that might help ease you into your new electrified phase of motoring ownership. Here, we look at the early 2021-2023-era versions of this car.

Modelsword count: 2

5dr SUV

Historyword count: 216

Back in 2021, Audi's all-electric e-tron range continued to widen as more was revealed of the company's capabilities when it came to EV technology. The e-tron sub-brand had once designated PHEVs but by the beginning of this century's third decade it had been set aside for all-electric models, the first three of those being the e-tron large SUV, the e-tron Sportback large five-door GT and the e-tron GT quattro sports saloon. But these were merely preludes to the BEV model that really mattered to Ingolstadt, the Q4 e-tron, which was offered with a choice of body shapes, this Q4 Sportback e-tron obviously being the sportier one. Where the standard Q4 e-tron took on the plushest versions of boxy compact EV crossovers like the Volkswagen ID.4 and the Skoda Enyaq iV, the Q4 Sportback e-tron took aim more directly at sportier contenders in this class like the Skoda Enyaq iV Coupe. Actually, all the engineering bits that matter are common between these three cars, namely the MEB platform and the battery tech. Yet Audi claimed to have put its own stamp on the way this car drove. The Q4 Sportback e-tron sold in its original form until late 2023 when the powertrains were significantly updated. It's the earlier-spec 2021-2023-era Q4 Sportback e-tron models we look at here.

What You Getword count: 547

The Q4 Sportback e-tron is definitely a sleeker thing than its standard-shape counterpart - and not just visually - the drag coefficient drops from 0.28 to 0.26Cd. This sportier variant's more sharply swept back silhouette culminates in a roof spoiler that sits much lower on the split and steeply raked rear window, and as the area in which the air swirls as it comes off the vehicle is restricted to the zone beneath the spoiler, that area is significantly smaller than in the ordinary Q4 e-tron. This not only highlights the more unique design of this SUV coupe, but also enhances its range by around 7 miles, while also reducing the lift on the rear. The front end is of course just as with the ordinary Q4 e-tron, dominated by a rather in-your-face multi-faceted 'e-tron'-branded version of the brand's usual Singleframe front grille, which isn't a grille of course (this being an EV) but was retained by designer Marc Lichte to keep the sense of brand continuity that many rival models in this segment had lost. Outer black framing flows into the LED headlights, which can be of the intelligent Matrix sort, each one with 16 individually activated LEDs which give you more precisely targeted illumination and the option of selecting between four variable digital light signatures. Inside, it's certainly nothing like anything you'll have seen from any previous Audi. Everything on the upper level is angular, with none of the elements appearing to blend very harmoniously with each other, but it all kind of works in a contemporary, minimalistic sort of way. There's an unusual jutting lower console trimmed in smudge-worthy piano black for the neat little gear selector slider. And, just above, the silver trimmed central fascia section incorporates horizontal vents and the 11.6-inch MMI Navigation Plus central display, with a sweep across the cabin that gets interrupted by a beady-browed instrument binnacle. If you've a Q4 with brake recuperation paddles, that binnacle's 10.25-inch 'Virtual cockpit' screen has to be viewed through a rather weird quartic steering wheel with flattened top and bottom sections. Futuristic? You'd say so. Premium? Possibly, but only really if you get a car whose original owner spent some cash on a more up-market level of trim. To get in the rear, you've to duck slightly as you get in, but it's nothing too serious. To accommodate the battery, the back seat is mounted 70mm higher than the front, which you might expect to create a head space issue given this Sportback variant's swept-back roof line; actually though, while those of basketball-playing stature might struggle, most other adults should be fine in the back, unless they enter wearing particularly elaborate headgear. It's also a wider cabin than you'd expect a relatively compact mid-sized SUV to be able to provide and with no central transmission tunnel to obstruct things, three adults could actually fit reasonably easily into the back of this car. All models get 3-zone automatic air conditioning, which means you get separate climate controls in the back, along with a 12v socket and a couple of USB-C ports. Boot space in this Sportback actually rises slightly over the ordinary model - 535-litres rather than 520-litres; but capacity when the 40:20:40-split seatback is lowered falls slightly - 1,460-litres, rather than 1,490-litres.

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