2023 Audi Q8 e-tron : Our observations after a day of driving

The Audi Q8 e-tron's adaptive air suspension is more than just a trick though. It offers a near-magic carpet-like ride quality.

Driving the Q8 e-tron

Thumb the starter whilst keeping the brake pedal depressed and you will be greeted by an uncharacteristic "whir" from the electric motor rated at 300 kW backed by a (now-larger) 114 kWh battery pack.  For reference, the outgoing e-tron was equipped with a smaller 95 kWh battery pack. This, along with the now improved drag-coefficient values of the Q8 e-tron, has resulted in an overall improvement of the car’s range by 32% as claimed by Audi. The SUV and Sportback variants can now do 582 km and 600 km on a full charge in ideal circumstances.

For those who want plain and simple numbers, the motor delivers a claimed 408 BHP and is capable of hitting the century mark (100 km/h) from a standstill (0 km/h) in about 5.7 seconds. Audi claims that the Sportback variant can achieve the same target slightly quicker than the SUV, i.e. in 5.6 seconds.

Ease off the brake pedal and the car remains stationary. There is no creep function in this car. Dab the throttle pedal and the car gets going in a smooth and controlled manner. One thing that strikes you about this car, as it gets going, is just how smooth, silent and refined the drivetrain is. Vibrations are nearly non-existent, and the power delivery is linear and progressive.

Give it a boot-full however, and the car catapults you forward with the sort of ferocity that very few ICE-powered cars could. People who talk about ICE-powered cars delivering instant torque with no turbo lag should experience the Q8 e-tron to truly understand the meaning of "instant torque" and "no lag".

The feeling is akin to what one would experience in a passenger airliner, just as the aircraft is done with its taxiing procedures and the pilot engages maximum thrust. It truly pins you to the back of your seat and sends you down the road, sans the drama you may expect from an ICE-powered sportscar.

If the battery pack and the electric motor are up to the task, i.e. well charged and reasonably cool in terms of battery-pack temperatures, the car will allow you to tap into its reserves and give you maximum boost when the throttle is pinned to the floor. The sensation that maximum boost provides is so ferocious and severe that you begin to wonder why you need that elusive sportscar/supercar that’s on your bucket list.

And then you are reminded about the drama, or rather the lack thereof, that the electric motor fails to deliver. This is where the EV drivetrain is often found lacking – the drama that an ICE-powered car delivers, in the form of varied levels of power delivery and of course, a characterful exhaust note accompanying the ferocity of the motor. It may seem irrelevant to those who crave outright power and performance, and while we certainly see the appeal in quiet performance that the Q8 e-tron delivers in spades, we are after all automobile enthusiasts deep down and at heart. And to us, the appeal wears off quickly and we are left wanting some drama and character from the Q8 e-tron.

This brings us to a quote from the internet that we must mention: Comparing the performance of an electric car to that of an ICE-powered car is like comparing the performance and efficiency of a microwave to that of a barbeque grill. The microwave may cook food faster and more efficiently, but have you ever heard of someone inviting you over to join them for a microwave party?

Under the bonnet is one of the electric motors:

Frunk sits in the middle of the bay:

It is designed to carry the charging cable:

Comes with a light:

Suspension

If there was one aspect of the Q8 e-tron that blew us away, it is the ride, handling and braking. It is perhaps one of the most dynamically accomplished cars we have driven.

For starters, the steering is quite un-Audi-like as it delivers plenty of feel and feedback, even if it’s artificial. The calibration work undertaken to set it up could not have been done better, all things considered. The car turns in sharply and does not feel lazy or dead off-center – something Audis have been rather guilty of lately. It is very quick and direct, making it perfect for a spot of hustling on your favourite B-road.

The steering is complemented perfectly by the car’s adaptive air suspension that can be set up using 7 drive modes: Dynamic, Efficiency, All-Road, Off-Road, Auto, Comfort, and Individual.

Engaging Dynamic mode via the touchscreen on the dashboard drops the car down from its standard ride height of about 175 mm to its lowest possible ride height (149 mm). It also firms up the ride without making it too stiff. The car feels predictably pointy and tighter in Dynamic mode. Efficiency mode raises the ride height a touch from its lowest setting but still keeps it lower than the standard ride height. All-Road mode raises the ride height by about 35 mm from the standard, allowing for easier traversal of rough roads. Off-Road mode raises it by an additional 35 mm over All-Road mode, giving the Q8 e-tron enough ground clearance to tackle tough trails and tricky courses, should the need arise. Auto mode allows the onboard electronic suspension platform to work with the 4 level sensors on the car’s axle in order to adapt and optimize the ride height as well as its general characteristics based on prevailing road conditions. Comfort mode softens up the ride a great deal, while Individual mode allows the driver to make adjustments and set up the ride exactly the way he would want it.

In Dynamic, Off-Road and Auto modes, the drivetrain sends power and torque to all four wheels a.k.a. Quattro! However, in the standard driving modes the drivetrain sends power only to the rear wheels – which makes the Q8 e-tron possibly the first RWD Audi since the R8 supercar!

That said, the front axle will automatically receive power and torque when the onboard computers deem it necessary. Variable torque distribution helps regulate torque split between individual wheels and axles, based on road conditions and driving situations. Selective wheel torque intervention via the brakes helps control the amount of torque being sent to individual wheels, further aiding the car’s handling and allowing it to rotate around the corner harder and quicker!

The car’s adaptive air suspension is more than just a trick though. It offers a near-magic carpet-like ride quality. No matter how bad or good the road seems to be, the suspension allows the car to breathe with the road surface and absorb all the ruts, potholes and undulations without breaking a sweat. Even in Dynamic mode, the car simply sailed over all the rough stuff, while in Comfort mode, it dismissed potholes and ruts like they did not exist!

With such an accomplished ride, one would assume that the handling would be compromised. However, the manner in which the car negotiated corners and bends left us amazed. It truly does feel like it’s on rails! Nothing seemed to unsettle the car, and we threw everything at it! While you do feel the heft of the car around a fast corner, the chassis of the car gives its driver the feeling of being shrink-wrapped. It’s relatively easy for even novice drivers to negotiate fast corners.

All this of course comes at a price. Long-term reliability and maintenance of the adaptive air suspension is a bit of a question mark. Replacement kits are certainly not going to be cheap, and while the suspension may be robust enough to deal with everyday driving, Indian roads can pose a serious challenge. Therefore, long-term reliability remains to be seen.

Braking performance also took us by surprise. It is amazing how the brake pedal offers so much feedback and feel, despite all the tech tied to it. We had a couple of moments where we expected to fly over unmarked speed-breakers that we had failed to spot in time, but a firm push on the brake pedal is all it needed to bring it down to crawling speeds. A visual inspection of the brake discs and callipers led us to believe that the braking system was potentially taken from one of the hot Audi ‘S’ or ‘RS’ variants.

Safety & Technology

The Q8 e-tron is loaded to the gills with trick safety features and technology, to the point where you begin to question your involvement as a driver behind its steering wheel.

Our experience driving this car was limited to the road network in and around Nandi Hills and on open stretches of highway. Rarely did we chance upon bumper-to-bumper traffic. But in our limited time driving the Q8 e-tron on B-roads, we understood quickly that the car could easily drive itself. Single-pedal driving can easily get you around. As you approach traffic, coasting at speed, the car reads the distance between itself and the vehicles in front of it and controls its speed by applying the brakes ever so slightly while simultaneously drawing energy from it through the regeneration system.

Being an EV, you can expect the car to have the technology to recuperate lost energy whilst braking through its regeneration technology. While coasting, there is no regeneration whatsoever. However, using the brake pedal with various levels of intensity will help recover lost energy and further builds on the range left in the tank. Alternatively, one can use the left paddle on the steering to mimic engine braking and further coax the car into recuperating lost energy.

The lane-departure warning / assist is one such feature, that tugs the steering and nudges the car back into its lane the moment it notices you driving over the white lane markers. It’s a clever piece of technology but can be annoying when trying to needle your way through slow-moving highway traffic. One way to game it, without turning it off altogether, is to use the indicators liberally, and the system will not intervene.  

The Q8 e-tron gets 8 airbags, which, we're pretty certain nobody would want to find out how well they probably work.

The car’s headlights do a neat little party trick by projecting the Audi logo along with a cool e-tron motif onto a wall or any surface you choose to project it on. Sadly, we could not test this out as our drive was during the day.

Along with the car, Audi offers a phone application for Apple and Android users, that its owners can download and monitor the car’s driving remotely. In essence, you could hand the car over to your driver or friend, and you would be notified immediately the moment either of them accelerates, brakes or turns hard! There is no escaping bad behaviour in this car’s driver’s seat, that’s for sure! The app also provides its user with the live location of the car, and a "car finder" in case you don’t remember where you’ve parked it during a mall visit. Charge / range details, concierge services and access to Audi’s rewards club are also offered through the phone application.

In a bid to allow customers a variety of specifications and options to choose from, Audi now offers 48 exterior colour options, 8 interior leather options that can be paired with 11 stitching colour options, two wooden inlay designs and 2 comprehensive exclusive leather packages. This should help set your Q8 e-tron apart from your neighbour's.

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