Audi unveiled its Q4 E-Tron on Wednesday and it appears to be a very credible rival to Tesla’s Model Y. got a preview of this in March but now the real thing is here.
Audi says the Q4 E-Tron’s range is 250 miles, which is less than Model Y’s 300-plus, although it may not be as easy as thatBut what stands out here is the price, which Audi said would start at less than $ 45,000 excluding tax breaks, or more than $ 5,000 less than a Model Y Long Range.
What you get for that is 150 kW – or just over 200 hp – of power in the Q4 40 E-Tron base model with rear-wheel drive, while the more expensive Q4 50 E-Tron has a power of 220 kW, or almost 300 hp. The Q4 50 E-Tron also gets four-wheel drive, along with the Q4 50 E-Tron Sportback.
And while the base Q4 40 E-Tron will have only one motor at the rear, the Q4 50 E-Tron and Q4 50 E-Tron will have a second motor front that activates to provide more traction when conditions require.
Audi spends a lot of time talking about the exterior and interior of the Q4 E-Tron at release, which I think will be more and more of a thing with every new EV as consumers have little desire to think about electric powertrains, or at least less than with combustion engines
G / O Media can receive a commission
To that end, Audi says it had aerodynamics in mind, with the Q4 E-Tron’s drag coefficient of 0.28 and the Q4 E-Tron Sportback’s 0.24. Audi is also trying to differentiate itself with outdoor lighting tricks.
To keep innovation at the forefront, even at the brand’s most accessible EV entry point, the Q4 e-tron electric SUVs offer available Matrix design LED headlamps with adjustable daytime running lights – a world first. The driver can switch between four running light signatures in the MMI touch control system. At the rear, a light strip connects the rear light units and is available with animated home and away functions.
Inside says Audi there is more space because there is no center tunnel. An “augmented” head-up display is also optional.
The premium interior of the Audi Q4 e-tron is spacious and airy; the instrument panel is intentionally turned towards the driver. A separate floating panel houses the shifter including a handy storage and wireless charging cradle for compatible devices. Also new is the steering wheel with its seamless touch surfaces, which allow the driver to operate the digital instrument panel. Infotainment and navigation are mainly controlled via the central 10.1-inch MMI touchscreen, combined with the 10.25-inch digital instrument panel or the optional virtual cockpit. The available integrated surround-view cameras are especially useful when driving around town and parking in tight parking spaces. Natural voice control provides a third operating interface.
Finally, the Q4 E-Tron will have a slew of semi-autonomous systems to compete with Tesla’s Autopilot, although Audi hasn’t said whether these are standard or not (I suspect not.) The systems include an adaptive cruise assistant. that “helps with longitudinal and lateral guidance across the entire speed range and certainly traffic scenarios via a combined Traffic Jam assist. “That describes a level 2 semi-autonomous system and a stop-and-go semi-autonomous system, both things that consumers are used to.
Audi said the Q4 E-Tron and Q4 E-Tron Sportback will be available later this year, and Wednesday’s announcement included a bit of swagger, with Audi says that it would “have more all-electric models in the US than any other luxury brand by the end of 2021”.
That’s a clear reference to Tesla, which sells four electric cars here. Including the E-Tron GT, the E-Tron and the E-Tron Sportback, Audi now gets five. And a brand like Audi is the kind of brand that could turn even a potential Tesla buyer’s head, or at least more so than Volkswagen with its version of the Q4 E-Tron, the ID.4 or Chevy with its Bolt EUV. Whether that is enough is the question of everyone.
