Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron review: Sporty and sophisticated styling

(Pocket-lint) - Having already reviewed the Audi Q4 e-tron - which we thought "goes beyond the contention acknowledgment to its distinctive style, interior comfort, and exertion implementation" - here's a look astatine its sportier cousin, the Q4 Sportback e-tron.

The Sportback, arsenic its sanction suggests, is the "short backmost and sides" mentation of this mid-size electrified SUV, dropping the roofline to the rear, delivering a sportier stance and adding a spoiler into the mix. There's a terms premium, which besides includes the summation of an automatic tailgate, and a small little interior country arsenic a effect of the design.

With a decent real-world scope per complaint (in the 40 model, arsenic reviewed; the 35 is much a municipality runabout with smaller battery), however, the Q4 Sportback e-tron is simply a car that, for many, volition beryllium precocious up their options list. Not lone does it look amended than the accepted SUV exemplary successful our opinion, its interior abstraction truly isn't arsenic compromised arsenic you mightiness think.

Design & Trim

• Trim levels: Sport, S Line, Edition 1, Vorsprung
• 19-inch alloy wheels (20- & 21-inch optional)
• LED headlights (LED Matrix for Vorsprung)
• 535-litre footwear capableness minimum
• £42,250 UK OTR starting price

One glimpse astatine the Q4 Sportback e-tron and it's, well, an echo of the Q4 e-tron from the beforehand quarters. It's got those distinctive looks, those agressive-looking headlights - which are LED arsenic modular connected each trim levels - and sheet folds to adhd plan distinction. 

Our exemplary came with the Matrix LED headlights (a £1,075 extra) which automatically work the roadworthy and set arsenic appropriate. You tin besides tinker with their quality successful the settings, with 4 default options to springiness the Sportback an adjacent much unsocial signature.

Much arsenic the Q4 Sportback e-tron's beforehand grille has that classical Audi aesthetic, however, it's a alternatively antithetic setup to the German marque's combusion models: arsenic this is electric, nary aerial is required for cooling, frankincense the beforehand is sealed disconnected - adjacent the classical 4 rings aren't afloat embossed from the front, but are flat, astir arsenic if 'drawn' onto the front.

Audi perpetually pushes caller colour options per conveyance type, though the Q4 e-tron's options (all £575 additions for metallic coats) are alternatively subdued. Floret silver, Glacier white, Geyser blue, Mythos black, Navarra blue, Typhoon grey, oregon Aurora violet implicit the offerings.

Being an SUV, portion of the Q4 Sportback e-tron's precise intent is to beryllium high-riding and connection accrued interior abstraction implicit the emblematic saloon. That includes a 535-litre footwear - which, by default, is simply a small much capacious than the modular Q4 e-trons 520 litre offering. The button-press automatic tailgate is simply a bully touch, too, enabling casual entree to the rear - and this is wherever the charging cables are stored, underneath a sheet section.

It's besides from this rear quarters wherever you tin admit the Sportback's distinctive styling. The roofline tapers successful overmuch much rapidly, dropping lower, the spoiler adding a last 'brow' to the rear that gives a overmuch much elegant look from immoderate eyeline.

Interior & Tech

• Audi cardinal MMI show (10.1-inch touchscreen [11.6-inch enactment owed 2021])
• Audi Virtual Cockpit drivers show (10.25-inch non-touch)
• Audi Pre-sense, lane departure & swerve/turn assist
• Optional: Cruise assist, 360° cameras, blindspot
• Head-up dislay (HUD) & AR navigation options
• Android Auto / Apple CarPlay compatible
• Sonos Audio available

Much arsenic we emotion the looks, it's connected the wrong wherever the Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron truly sells itself. This interior compartment is the step-up that qualifies its taller asking terms implicit its adjacent competition. Surprisingly the headroom successful the rear is really precise bully - six-foot adults volition person nary occupation sitting present (as we person done for hours-long journeys), with an adjustable headrest adding to the comfort. If you thought the Sportback mightiness compromise the Q4 e-tron offering then, successful short, it truly doesn't.

Up beforehand shows that Audi has learnt a happening oregon 2 implicit caller years erstwhile transitioning from aged technologies to new. That's to say: it's not 100 per cent touchscreens; there's a bully substance of carnal buttons and controls too, ensuring a balanced mode successful which to power the lighting, air, infotainment and information features.

The electrification of the drivetrain doesn't devour into the interior space, truthful there's nary elephantine centre passageway utilizing up imaginable abstraction oregon forcing your legs into weird and compromised positions. It's spacious, airy, and mostly driver-focused. 

For galore years Audi has been enhancing its MMI setup - that's Multimedia Interface, acronym lovers - with the Q4 Sportback e-tron embodying the latest implementation for 2021. That comprises 2 halfway components: a 10.1-inch touchscreen to the centre dash, angled towards the operator (a larger 11.6-inch mentation volition go available, though there's nary terms constituent connected that astatine the clip of writing); and a 10.25-inch ocular display, called Audi Cockpit, positioned to the driver's enactment of sight.

The main surface relies connected interaction control, but with haptic feedback providing an assured 'clack' and a carnal response, it's truly casual to use. Yes, it gets precise fingerprinty precise rapidly - arsenic you tin spot successful our pictures - truthful you'll privation to person a microfibre cloth connected manus to support it looking polished. Once you've setup the bulk of features - specified arsenic dependable balance, bass/treble levels, and truthful distant - chances are you'll conscionable plug successful a phone, load up Apple CarPlay oregon Android Auto, and request not interaction the sheet loads more.

As we said: the Q4 Sportback e-tron besides supplements controls with carnal buttons for clime control. We deliberation this is simply a overmuch much palmy matrimony of the 2 forms - making it ace casual to ever prime and sync air-conditioning, for example, without needing to excavation into screens. It further avoids those fingerprints too. There's nary further 3rd surface towards the centre passageway here, like you'll find successful the A8 arsenic 1 example, alternatively a floating level with elemental controls specified arsenic the one-button commencement power and cogwheel prime 'clicker'.

Interestingly, and dissimilar different manufacturers, you tin supplement Android Auto with Audi MMI successful tandem: perceive to Spotify via your phone, with Android Auto showing the playlist connected the cardinal screen; portion utilizing the Virtual Cockpit show to utilise Audi's turn-by-turn mapping and directions done its navigation. A champion of some worlds that truly don't look to clash oregon reason 1 another.

The quality to power betwixt what displays connected these 2 main screens is besides perfect to guarantee everything you request is wrong eyeshot. Battery complaint remaining and projected mileage are ever connected show successful Virtual Cockpit, which is great, oregon you tin prime the circumstantial e-tron format from wrong the settings which further brings this to the fore. Our lone existent ailment astir the screens wide is that the cardinal one, contempt being cleverly positioned towards the driver, is conscionable a small spot of a scope astatine times.

The wide tech disposable tin beryllium expansive (and costly too) depending connected what battalion options you pick. While Audi's Pre-sense is aboard arsenic modular - it's ever keeping an oculus connected what's successful front, should an emergeny halt beryllium needed - there's besides optional cruise control, a head-up show (HUD) with further optional augmented relaity (AR) visualisations, lane-keep, blindspot alert, and a full-on suite of cameras that tin presumption each astir the car - and adjacent make a top-down visualisation of it and your surroundings for further information erstwhile reversing oregon parking. We would suggest adding the reversing camera arsenic a minimum, arsenic this near-five-metre-long beast isn't particularly casual to park.

Drive & Range

• 40 exemplary (204PS): Single centrifugal & rear instrumentality drive, 77kWh artillery capacity, 316 mile scope (TBC)
• 50 exemplary (299PS): Quattro all-wheel thrust & duplicate motors, 77kWh, 295m (TBC)
• 35 exemplary (170PS): Single centrifugal & rear instrumentality drive, 52kWh, 211m (TBC)
• Drive modes: Eco, Comfort, Dynamic, Individual
• Up to 125kW fast-charging capable

All of which is each good and good, but if you're buying an EV and it's going to springiness you scope anxiety, oregon you don't person the charging capabilities astatine home, past it's improbable to beryllium the car for you. Not conscionable successful the lawsuit of this Audi, but immoderate electrical car astatine present. That's wherefore we'd accidental debar the entry-level '35' model, which has a smaller 55kWh battery, which we're amazed is being ranged successful the UK market.

The Q4 Sportback e-tron doesn't yet person its scope officially confirmed (the WLTP standing is yet to beryllium announced astatine the clip of writing), but it'll nary uncertainty beryllium precise akin to the modular Q4 e-tron. In this '40' model, with its 77kWh battery, that'll beryllium an authoritative measurement determination astir 315 miles per charge. 

Does it spell that benignant of distance? Not quite, but past nary electrical car, utilized successful real-world format similar existent radical really drive, volition execute its figures. We've recovered it to beryllium astir 17 per cent beneath that, achieving 3.4 miles per kWh. Still, it means you'll beryllium capable to execute 250 miles oregon thereabouts per complaint - but astir apt little arsenic the colder upwind creeps successful and the artillery gets whipped by the elements. To enactment that successful context: the Volvo XC40 Recharge gave america somewhat less, astatine 225 miles per charge, which is inactive beauteous bully going.

That scope isn't achieved successful immoderate benignant of eco-focused driving either. We happily enactment Dynamic thrust mode into play, popped the aircon on, cranked up the soundsystem, and often pushed the pedal to the level for an overtake oregon two. If you did prime Eco thrust mode and spell mildly past you'd compression adjacent much scope retired of a charge, we're sure. 

In presumption of drive, the Q4 Sportback e-tron whitethorn person the connection 'sport' embedded wrong its sanction but it's not ultra-sporty successful presumption of driving style. That's a bully happening though: we've had passengers some beforehand and rear remark connected however creaseless the driving acquisition felt compared to their norm, truthful it's not each rock-hard suspension to stomach-turning acceleration to beryllium recovered here.

Indeed, the Sportback is 1 genuinely comfy spot to sit, portion there's ample pep to get you firing disconnected down the roadworthy erstwhile needed. No, the 0-62mph clip of 8.5 seconds doesn't dependable exceptional, but for a 2.5-tonne conveyance it's spritely capable - conscionable not arsenic spritely arsenic the aforementioned Volvo XC40 Recharge.

Writing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 23 November 2021.