A Familiar Electric Formula (And That’s No Bad Thing)

Five years ago, Audi had a single all-electric model available in North America. Fast-forward to today, and some of the highest-profile categories in its line-up have been expanded to accommodate a zero-emissions option. The 2025 Audi Q4 e-tron is not only the smallest of the range, but — with pricing kicking off at $49,800 (plus $1,295 destination) — the cheapest way to go full-EV with four rings on the grille.

Advertisement

A compact luxury crossover, the Q4 e-tron falls between the Q3 and Q5 in size, though is more expensive than the base models of either gas SUV. Under the sheet metal is Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform, a dedicated architecture for EVs that also underpins the VW ID.4 and ID. Buzz.

Chris Davies/SlashGear

The MEB was designed with affordable electric vehicles in mind, and indeed Audi will use the PPE — or Premium Platform Electric — for upcoming models like the A6 e-tron sedan. That said, “affordable” doesn’t equate to “cheap,” and with the German-made Q4 e-tron not eligible for U.S. federal incentives, the value stakes are even higher.

The Q4 e-tron is a chunky little thing, that for some reason reminds me of a tadpole. 19-inch wheels are standard, with up to 21-inch options depending on trim. The Navarra Blue metallic ($595) paint you see here is as bold as Audi gets; otherwise it’s a choice of gray, black, or white. Regardless, there’s a silver contrast strip running between the wheels, which helps break up what would otherwise be a pretty chubby profile. A Sportback version offers generally the same hardware but with a coupe-inspired swooping roofline.

Advertisement

Chris Davies/SlashGear

The $1,300 Black Optic package swaps the silver exterior trim for gloss black versions, including the front grille and roof rails, plus adds 20-inch bicolor wheels. Arguably more useful is the Cold Weather package, which for $1,000 adds a heat pump and heated windshield. Finally, the $1,800 Sport package — as fitted to this car — gets treats like special 21-inch wheels, sport suspension, sport seats inside, and other tweaks.

Chris Davies/SlashGear

Inside, it’s spacious in both rows. The front seats get heating as standard, and there’s tri-zone climate control. A decent 24.8 cu-ft of cargo space expands to 53.1 cu-ft with the rear bench folded. 

The Q4 e-tron’s dashboard goes heavy on the angles, a dogleg sweep with a sharply canted 11.6-inch infotainment touchscreen and a dual-layer center console. Rather than relegate everything to software, Audi still provides physical switchgear for the climate control; there’s even a proper start/stop button, unlike some EVs which power up as soon as the driver sits down. Weird (and ergonomically annoying), then, that adjusting volume involves sweeping your finger around a circular touchpad that also handles track skipping.

Advertisement

Chris Davies/SlashGear

A custom layout with EV-specific gauges shows up on the standard digital driver display, adjusted via touch-sensitive buttons on the Sport package’s squircle steering wheel. Does it need to be so angular? Probably not, but at least it’s not a yoke. Paddles behind it handle regenerative braking levels, which is convenient, but even after driving a long roster of Volkswagen Group cars, I still struggle to decipher the adaptive cruise control stalk low down by your left leg. Just put the buttons on the wheel, Audi.

Chris Davies/SlashGear

The infotainment system itself is a familiar thing, by now, though that’s not a problem. It supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Prestige trim gets Sonos-powered audio — which sadly has no involvement to your home Sonos speakers, which seems a missed opportunity — and a wireless phone charger.

Advertisement

Premium and Premium Plus trims come in either rear-wheel drive (badged “45”) or all-wheel drive (badged “55:) form; the Prestige trim gets Audi’s Quattro AWD 55 drivetrain as standard. For the 2025 model year, in the rear-wheel drive models there’s a single motor delivering a maximum of 282 horsepower, capable of propelling the Q4 e-tron from 0-60 mph in 6.3 seconds. All-wheel drive versions get two motors, for 335 horsepower in total, and trim the 0-60 dash to 5.0 seconds.

Advertisement

Chris Davies/SlashGear

That’s not slow, but then again it’s not the wowing speed that we’ve come to expect from EVs. On the road, the Q4 e-tron feels spritely, but it never does that “slam you into your seat” magic trick that can surprise passengers so endearingly.

Chris Davies/SlashGear

Honestly, I don’t think the average Audi buyer will mind: in dual-motor form, the EV’s speed slots it right between the gas-powered Q5 Performance and the sportier SQ5. Compared to similar electric rivals, though, you might feel a little slow. The 2025 Polestar 2, for example — which now comes with its Performance upgrade as standard — does 0-60 mph in just 4.0 seconds.

Straight-line pace aside, the Q4 e-tron is an easy car to drive. The speed-sensitive steering is light, certainly, but that leaves it easy to twirl around in tight urban traffic. The regen is smooth, and easy to modulate across its multiple levels. As usual, there are Audi’s Comfort, Dynamic, Auto, and Individual drive modes, but the EV gets an Efficiency mode as well as an even more miserly Range mode.

Advertisement

Chris Davies/SlashGear

The latter not only tames the eagerness of the drivetrain, but trims HVAC use and makes other power-saving tweaks. It’s best saved for those moments when you’re really not sure if you’ll make it to the next charger, since it leaves the drive experience sluggish. In a mixture of Auto, Comfort, and Dynamic driving, I saw 2.8 mile/kWh on the Audi’s trip computer.

Chris Davies/SlashGear

Based on the 77 kWh usable from the 82 kWh battery — the only option Audi offers on the car — that would work out to about 216 miles of range. Less, certainly, than the 258 miles the EPA says you could see (the single-motor bumps that up to 288 miles) but not bad since I wasn’t particularly driving with frugality in mind.

Chris Davies/SlashGear

When you make it to a charger, there’s up to 175 kW DC fast charging. That, Audi says, is enough for a 10-80% top-up in about 28 minutes. Not bad, but a Genesis Electrified GV70’s 240 kW support slices 10 minutes off that time. At home, the 11 kW onboard charger means 0-100% takes about 12 hours.

Advertisement

Much like the original e-tron SUV — since renamed the Q8 e-tron — you get a strong sense, here, that Audi is playing to the home crowd. The Q4 e-tron is good, and certainly feels very Audi-like, but it lacks a distinct “wow” factor, or indeed something that capitalizes on what only an EV can do.

Advertisement

It’s neither hilariously fast, nor capable of ridiculous range on a single charge; there’s no clever V2L-style way to use its battery to power your house during an outage, or your campsite on a trip. A Polestar 2 is faster, an electrified GV70 has more personality, and what the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 lack in relative prestige, they make up for with plenty of toys and useful power outlets.

Chris Davies/SlashGear

Instead, the Q4 e-tron is just an Audi that happens to be electric. And though that’s a familiar strategy, perhaps — if the deal you strike is right — we’re still early enough in the EV transition that it’s sufficient for the Audi’s target audience.