Mid-2024 Australian launch for Audi Q4 E-Tron

AUDI Australia has, at long last, confirmed the Q4 E-Tron compact electric SUV for this market, arriving next winter in both wagon and coupe-like Sportback bodystyles to become the German premium brand’s most-affordable electric model.

Executives making the announcement at last weekend’s Melbourne Electric Vehicle Show also dropped heavy hints that the larger – and not yet fully revealed – Q6 E-Tron is more a matter of when than if for Australia.

Confirmation of the Q4 E-Tron for Australia came just hours after Audi revealed an updated model year 2024 version, which the Australian arm’s product planning executive Peter Strudwicke confirmed is what will be offered to local customers.

Rivalling the BMW iX1, Lexus UX300e and Mercedes-Benz EQA that respectively start from $78,900, $79,990 and $82,300 (all before on-road costs), the Q4 E-Tron will come in at substantially less than the new Q8 E-Tron that starts from $153,900 + ORC and was on Audi’s Melbourne show stand alongside the brand’s flagship RS E-Tron GT sports sedan.

Audi Australia execs told GoAuto it was too early to talk potential pricing and specifications for the Q4 E-Tron and were reticent to comment on whether the brand’s six-year complimentary aftercare package encompassing Chargefox network subscription, scheduled servicing and roadside assistance was compatible with a sub-$100K starting price.

Updates to the Q4 E-Tron that will be sold here include retuned suspension, increased energy efficiency, standard equipment upgrades and additional driver-assist tech, as well as a Q4-specific sound generator to help overcome the lack of combustion commotion.

Battery chemistry tweaks – all variants have a 77kWh pack capacity, with the 52kWh option seemingly dropped – have enabled faster DC charging rates that climb from 125kW previously to 175kW for dual-motor all-wheel drive models (rear-drive: 135kW), enabling a 10-80 per cent top-up in around 28 minutes.

The default maximum charge limit is 80 per cent in the interests of battery pack longevity and, as part of thermal management upgrades, the Q4-E-Tron will pre-condition its battery pack to accept maximum energy flow when a DC charging station is programmed as a sat-nav destination.

A new permanently excited synchronous motor on the rear axle improves energy efficiency, enabling the Sportback 45 variant to achieve a 562km WLTP range claim, 42km further than its predecessor.

It is also more powerful, with a 210kW output that comes close to the pre-update’s dual-motor configuration that developed a combined 220kW. As such, the least-powerful Q4 E-Tron accelerates from 0-100km/h in 6.7 seconds, just five-tenths behind the quickest AWD variant previously.

All-wheel drive versions come with up to 250kW, cutting the 0-100km/h dash to 5.4s. Top speed remains limited to 180km/h across the board and, like the battery pack, thermal management for the new electric motor has been upgraded.

Dynamically, Audi has tweaked chassis and steering calibrations to better match the standard, sports and adaptive suspension options. The company says this has resulted in “harmonious damping, improved steering response, and tighter load control”.

Enhanced adaptive cruise control and lane trace assist systems notify the driver when it is safe to change lanes and once the indicator is indicated, the car will steer itself into the corresponding lane.

Infotainment upgrades with connected navigation and infotainment become standard, as do a 10.25-inch Virtual Cockpit digital instrument panel, heated front seats and a gesture-controlled power tailgate.

A likely starter for the Australian market is a new ‘Edition S line’ cosmetic upgrade pack.

Comprising 21-inch matte bronze alloy wheels, darkened bezels for the Matrix LED headlights and LED taillights plus bronze Audi ring emblems and metallic black lower cladding, the pack can only be combined with Pebble Grey, Glacier White metallic and Mythos Black metallic paint finishes.

Finally, the new sound signature is emitted externally at speeds of up to 25km/h to alert vulnerable road users, while inside it continues and varies according to motor load and speed of travel to “deepen the emotional bond between the Audi driver and their vehicle”.

The external sound is a legal requirement but the interior can be silenced by the driver through a menu in the infotainment screen.

Audi is having a good year of sales, its whisker shy of 12,000 deliveries to the end of August representing a 31.8 per cent uptick over the same period of 2022.

Mr Strudwicke told GoAuto that supply had improved, although the taps were still not fully on.

“There are certainly fewer issues than there were; it really did affect cars across our entire spectrum,” he said.

“That's one of the reasons why it's difficult to look at sales figures over the last year or two and get a gauge of what the real demand is because it was often what we could get at the time. There are still restrictions but fewer issues than there were.”