2024 Audi Q8 E-Tron First Drive: Range Finder

We're hauling along at a decent clip on a smooth black ribbon of road in a new 2024 Audi Q8 E-Tron, pondering the craggy, moss-covered moonscape blurring by us as we do. A faint whine is emanating from the electric motors, distant and almost nonexistent. We listen for tire noise, wind noise—any noise. It's there, but the sound deprivation is real.

Quiet is kept at all speeds in the updated and renamed 2024 Q8 E-Tron lineup, more so than in many other EVs of its ilk. Its impressive isolation notwithstanding, as we traversed the comma-shaped, volcanically generated Grand Canary Island paradise of Lanzarote in the Q8 E-Tron, we couldn't shake how normal the experience seemed. In part it's because we've driven so many EVs in the years since the original model debuted back in 2018. But more than that, this all-electric-powered SUV looks, feels, and largely drives much like any other vehicle in the Audi stable. And, in many ways, that's the point.

When the E-Tron first rolled out, it was an ambassador of sorts for Audi's electrification efforts, and at the time it was one of the few EV SUVs on the market. Oh, what a difference a couple of years makes. Not only are there multiple all-electric-powered people-movers available from several automakers, and more coming all the time, but Audi itself is E-Tron-ing all of its things and rolling out E-Tron-specific models like the Q4 and GT. For the original E-Tron, it was high time for a rebrand, not only to de-anonymize the vehicle, but to also reposition it as a halo SUV in its ever-growing EV portfolio. Voila: The E-Tron has become the Q8 55 E-Tron, and the E-Tron S is now forever (?) known as the SQ8 E-Tron.

The names have changed, but much is still the same, and that's not a bad thing. The Audi engineering and styling teams who updated the E-Trons to Q8 E-Trons (as before, you can get them in base and fastback-style Sportback flavors) already had a more-than-solid vehicle to build upon. As we've outlined, its cabin remains well-isolated, and it rolls on the same Audi-based platform as before, which we found to be a dynamically satisfying experience.

Its power numbers and performance aren't finalized yet, but they should be roughly in line with the present models, with the Q8 55 utilizing front and rear electric motors that should mean a total system output of about 355 horsepower and 414 lb-ft of torque that boosts to 402 hp and 490 lb-ft for short bursts. The SQ8 uses the same front and rear dual-motor setup (one at each wheel that also lends it advanced torque-vectoring capability) as the outgoing E-Tron S with output rated in the present car at 429 hp, 596 lb-ft (496 hp/717 lb-ft on boost).

In 2019, we tested an E-Tron that hit 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, and Audi claims as little as 4.3 seconds to 60 mph for the SQ8. After a few neck-snapping launches on a lonely stretch of Lanzarote backroad, we'd say that number is legit.

When speaking with Audi team members about the new Q8 E-Tron, the R word kept coming up: range. It was the number-one customer feedback request of E-Tron buyers. More, please. Given that the present E-Trons top out at an EPA-rated 226 miles for the most-optimized model, engineers went about remaking the battery pack and pulling out every last aero trick in the book (less overall drag, wheel arch and underbody air flow improvements, active grille shutters) to boost its range.

The battery itself is now a 114 kWh unit (fitted to both models) that's 20-plus-percent more energy-dense than before, thanks to improved cell chemistry and other management updates. The pack's cells are built using a stacking technology that allows them to be packaged in a more efficient way, effectively increasing the battery's usable material without increasing the pack's footprint in the vehicle.

While they were at it, engineers also boosted the battery's peak charging capacity to 170 kilowatts (up from 150 kw) when hooked up to a DC fast charger. Though that's not a class-leading number, according to Audi the charge curve runs at a high level up to 80 percent, and as a result it can reportedly push as much as 76 miles worth of charge into the battery in as little as 10 minutes. Not too shabby.

The net result is an SUV that in optimized form (slipperier Sportback, 19-inch wheels) should net around 300 miles or more to a charge, or at least that's the number Audi's been tossing about. A more realistic range will likely be somewhere in the 280-mile area for 21-inch-wheel-shod models (you can get 22s for the SQ8 if you'd like). We'll see closer to the vehicle's launch in the U.S. in the spring of 2023.

Range admittedly wasn't at the front of our mind when hustling along in an SQ8 Sportback on Lanzarote's highways and often far-too-narrow byways. Our foot went hard into the accelerator early and often to access its intoxicating surge of torque and resulting whoosh of acceleration, and though you'll experience some squat at the outset, it's almost fun, and not unexpected given the SQ8's power and near-three-ton heft. What was surprising though was how sure-footed the SQ8 felt as we wound our way up, down, in, and around the island's charming and weathered whitewashed villages with their signature green doors.

Thanks in part to its 50/50 front-to-rear weight distribution, lower center of gravity, torque-vectoring e-motors at each rear wheel, improved steering rack, and sport-tuned air suspension, the SQ8 can flat-out handle for its size. Body roll proved minimal under moderately hard cornering, and any tug of the wheel offered immediate feedback. The engineering team was especially proud of the steering update; to them we say, job well done. Things proved a little softer all around in the Q8 55. It's a more relaxed ride, with its air suspension tuned more toward the comfort end of the spectrum. Bumps were soaked up better than the SQ8's firmer setup.

Both vehicles offer graduated, paddle-actuated brake energy recuperation settings, a carryover feature from the E-Tron. We'd like perhaps one more toggle to haul it down even harder without using the brake pedal, but we were able to click up (you can access a coast mode) and down and slow it impressively without touching the brake as we approached one of the island's myriad roundabouts.

The regen engages up to 0.3 g of force, at which point there's a seamless handoff to conventional braking when you hit the pedal hard enough (hit them too hard and there is some dive). We've driven our share of EVs with a wonky brake-pedal feel as they make that type of transition—the Q8 E-Tron is not one of them.

There also isn't anything weird about the exterior and interior of the Q8 E-Tron, and that's by design. Audi officials we spoke with said the goal wasn't to create a look-at-me sub-brand, but rather to blend its E-Tron vehicles into its overall lineup as it transitions to an all-electric-powered future.

The Q8 E-Tron, however, is serving as the vanguard vehicle for a couple of new marque-wide updates. Look closely at the Audi four-rings logo adorning the vehicle's refashioned single-frame grille (in part to accommodate the active shutters) and you'll see it's now flat and two-dimensional in nature (there's a similar treatment at the rear), and there's an embossing of the model name on the B-pillar, offering a reminder to owners of what they're driving as they approach from either side.

Specific to the Q8 E-Tron are multiple takes on a newly reshaped, more aero-friendly front end, depending on what trim level or model you choose. Out back, you'll find additional reworked details, with SQ8 models distinguished further by metal trim brightwork. It's not a remaking of the exterior, as the E-Tron was already a good-looking SUV out of the gate (especially in Sportback form), but the changes make it that much better.

Step inside and you'll find the latest in Audi interior technology, including the virtual cockpit digital gauge cluster (you can opt for a color head up display with a different IP setup), and Audi's latest, largely buttonless two-tier infotainment and HVAC screens, with several displays dedicated to EV operation. Depending on model and option, there are multiple trim and materials choices available, and even the least expensive models feel premium—as they should, considering the Q8 55 will likely start just south of $75,000. There's enough rear-seat legroom to accommodate a basketball center, and at roughly 27.4 to 28.5 cu-ft with the back seats up and 54.5 to 56.4 cu-ft of with them down (numbers aren't final yet) cargo space is decent for a five-passenger SUV. Oh, and there's a frunk with additional space.

There were a couple of downsides inside. The center stowage area between the front seats is pretty paltry, partly because the Q8 E-Tron's packaging doesn't allow for the amount of front flat floor space that other EVs, including the smaller new Q4 E-Tron, enjoy. And although the optional side view camera mirrors look future-cool, the driver-side view was especially annoying to use. The monitor is embedded in the door, and we could never get used to it. We can't get it yet here in America, but if or when we do, make sure to try before you buy.

No, the 2024 Q8 E-Tron isn't an earth-shattering, game-changing new EV. It's not cheap, and it has an ever-growing menagerie of competitors. But if understated luxury, much-improved range, and a familiar style and drive experience is what you want from an EV SUV, you could do much worse than choosing an already established and accomplished vehicle like this Audi.