Audi SQ8 e-tron Sportback: Sporty agility meets more range

The Audi E-tron is already four years old. The top model also benefits from the improvements. The Audi SQ8 E-tron Sportback still impresses with agility but also gains range thanks to the larger battery.

The Audi Q8 55 E-tron Quattro may be the best-seller, but the Ingolstadt carmaker's self-image is shifting more towards sportiness. The combination of Quattro and S is once again supposed to be synonymous with agility. Design fans may enjoy new details such as the inverted grille or the now two-dimensional rings. To keep up with competitors such as the BMW iX M60, a prettier design is not enough. All the components have to be fine-tuned. The engineers in Ingolstadt know this too and have created a new rear diffuser and improved the airflow around the front wheels. In addition to an aerodynamic advantage and thus more range, these details also help with agility and downforce.

Audi SQ8 e-Tron Sportback: More agility thanks to the total technology package
When you're dealing with a car weighing 2,650 kilograms like the Audi SQ8 E-tron Sportback, it's a good idea to tweak as many things as possible. This starts with the lighter battery underbody protection with glass fibre plastic (GRP, minus seven kilograms) and ends with an optimised chassis including steering and electric motors. Simply tightening the chassis and pumping more steam into the coils of the e-machines is not effective. The former top e-tron, which is now called the Q8 because of the uniform nomenclature, is supposed to be fun in all situations, not just when you're hammering around the corner on flat asphalt.

Audi
To achieve this spread, the engineers have, among other things, re-tuned the suspension. The suspension mounts on the front axle are stiffer by a factor of two than before. Such optimisations are only effective if they are embedded in an entire package of measures. This includes modified axle kinematics and a corresponding tuning of the air suspension including the adaptive dampers, which are responsible for the noticeable differences between the driving modes and provide the SQ8 E-Tron Sportback with more comfort if desired. Another consequence is a reduced tendency to roll. The most significant advance, however, is the steering, where Audi has generally not covered itself with glory in recent years. The engineers have exorcised the phlegmatic from the steering without making it so hyper nervous that the vehicle pulls to the right just by thinking in that direction.

This also contributes to the relaxation of the person in the driver's seat. Especially since you can now feel in the palms of your hands how the interplay of tyre tread, turn-in angle, speed and asphalt condition is determined. So the SQ8 e-tron circles the corners more nimbly than its brothers. However, this is also due to the trio of electric motors, two of which, each with 98 kW / 133 hp, are at work on the rear axle and a 124 kW / 169 hp motor on the front axle.

Audi
The magic word is torque vectoring. If the system recognises the driver's desire to change direction quickly, the units at the rear become active and direct power to the corresponding wheel at lightning speed. This dynamic action is supported by targeted braking interventions on the front axle. The result is an agility that you would not expect from a 2.6 tonne car. Only when you overdo it with the fast cornering foxtrot in tight corners does the considerable weight of the E-SUV become noticeable. This also applies to deceleration, where the brakes could be more precise. A consequence of the brake-by-wire system.

Dynamism is all well and good, but the joy of agility is manageable when you have to go back to the charging station after a few kilometres because the wobbling has drained the battery. The E-tron has never been a range world champion, nor will it be now, but the Ingolstadt engineers have made some adjustments in this area as well. First and foremost, the battery. The SQ8 e-tron Sportback now has a capacity of 114 kilowatt hours (106 kWh net, previously 89 kWh net). Since the dimensions of the battery are unchanged, the reason for the larger energy content is the cells, which have increased 60 Ah to 72 Ah. In addition, the aerodynamics have improved by 0.02 points to a Cw value of 0.24. This results in a standard range of up to 513 km. We needed 33.6 kWh/100 km during our test drives, during which we also drove faster at times. If you take the net capacity of the batteries, that would be around 315 kilometres.