Audi SQ8 e-tron: how it brings the fun back to electric driving

Electric SUVs have garnered a reputation for offering little in the way of driver engagement and fun character. But not all electric vehicles are born equal. That’s where the new Audi SQ8 e-tron is changing the game.

Derived from the groundbreaking Audi Q8 e-tron and refined by the expert engineers at Audi’s ‘S’ division, the Audi SQ8 e-tron combines the cosseting comfort and advanced in-car technology that we’ve come to expect from Audi, with 40 years of progressive Vorsprung Durch Technik DNA. The result: an all-electric driving experience that’s truly invigorating.

Available as a classic SUV and streamlined Sportback, the Audi SQ8 e-tron is the first all-electric Audi to feature a tri-motor setup with intelligent torque vectoring. This delivers 503PS and 973Nm of electrifying performance, as well as confidence-inspiring all-electric quattro grip.

Advanced Sports Suspension provides a sporty yet supple ride, while the uprated steering rack ensures crisp, precise turn-in and true driver engagement. Plus, the Audi SQ8 e-tron’s highly customisable ESC system offers plenty of scope to adjust a wealth of settings to your suiting – providing the perfect blend of driving fun and total reassurance.

Add to this a show-stopping design, plush, eco-conscious interior details and a range of up to 278 miles (Sportback), along with 170kWh rapid charging, and you have the ultimate family SUV that’s bringing new levels of excitement to all-electric driving.

Learn more about the Audi SQ8 e-tron

Imposing style meets efficient design

The Audi SQ8 e-tron’s amazing driving character begins with its sporty style and advanced aerodynamics. Whether you go for the SUV or Sportback, every version of the SQ8 e-tron boasts striking ‘S’ exterior styling and stealthy black brake callipers that allude to the performance within.

Up front, the clean single-frame grille strikes the perfect balance between form and function. Not only does it immediately signal Audi’s fresh new e-tron design language, but the active air shutters help with cooling and improve aerodynamic efficiency.

Below that, the sculpted bumper vents work with rear wheel spoilers to create air curtains that help air flow more efficiently around the eye-catching 21in standard alloy wheels, along the sides and beneath the car. Underneath, the flat enclosed underbody uses carefully placed indentations to guide air smoothly to the rear diffuser.

The Audi SQ8 e-tron also sits 2mm lower and is 39mm wider than the regular Audi Q8 e-tron, which gives it an even more imposing and lower slung stance. All of this combines to create a drag coefficient of just 0.27Cd for the SUV and 0.24Cd in the Sportback – meaning more range, better efficiency and even more show-stopping style.

Invigorating electric performance

The Audi SQ8 e-tron takes invigorating electric performance to new heights thanks to an advanced tri-motor set-up – the first ever to be used on an all-electric Audi. The constant dual rear motors offer superb everyday efficiency and produce 98kW each, while the 124kW front motor can be activated on demand to give a substantial boost in power, while also offering even more grip.

By splitting power across three motors, the Audi SQ8 e-tron’s confidence-inspiring quattro all-wheel-drive system uses advanced torque vectoring technology to send power to the wheel that needs it most in milliseconds, giving you even greater stability. The motors also utilise 14 coils (rather than 12) which generates a stronger magnetic field and in turn, higher amounts of torque without using more energy. The result: 503PS, 973Nm and 0-62mph in just 4.5 seconds.

But driving fun isn’t all about straight-line performance: Audi’s intelligent regenerative braking system can be adjusted manually via steering wheel paddles to offer varying amounts of deceleration and stopping power, while also pumping ‘lost’ energy back into the battery for later use. The result: a truly visceral old-school engine braking feel and up to 270 miles of range in the SUV and 278 miles in the Sportback[1].

Speaking of all-electric range, the advanced cell technology found in the Audi SQ8 e-tron’s 114kWh battery helps to yield faster changing times: 10% to 80% charge in as little as 31 minutes via a 170kW rapid charger[2]. All of this means you’ll spend less time topping-up and more time on the road – giving you more smiles per mile.

Advanced engineering for the ultimate drive

As standard, the Audi SQ8 e-tron comes with carefully tuned Sports Suspension that works with air-sprung dampers with controlled shock absorption to offer the perfect balance between cosseting comfort and sporty agility. At 56mph and above, the Audi SQ8 e-tron hunkers down by 10mm to offer better motorway efficiency and precise handling. Head off the beaten track and it will rise up by 20mm for better ground clearance and off-road capability.

Alongside the advanced suspension, the Audi SQ8 e-tron also boasts an uprated progressive steering rack with adjusted ratios that help the steering react more quickly and directly to your inputs – both at speed and around town – making driving easier, more precise and even more engaging.

The steering rack works with a highly adjustable ESC system that allows for even greater levels of manoeuvrability, especially in low speed corners. This result is a better steering feel and even more agility in all situations, while always having the confidence that the advanced electronics have your back.

Technology designed to make driving easier and safer

Driving enjoyment is as much about safety as it is performance – and the Audi SQ8 e-tron doesn’t disappoint. As standard, all models come with up to five radar sensors, five cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors, delivering up to 40 driver assistance systems that are designed to make journeys safer and more relaxing. But it’s the Audi SQ8 e-tron’s powerful Digital Matrix LED headlights that really help it shine out from the crowd when it comes to confidence-inspiring safety. 

Available on Vorsprung models, these next-generation headlights use Audi’s Digital Micromirror Device – an intricate web of over a million micromirrors that can be individually switched on and off in the blink of an eye to help you cut through the darkness more efficiently and more effectively than ever before.

With the glare-free high-beam activated, these micromirrors intelligently and selectively blank out small sections of the beam so that you can retain a clear view of the road ahead, without affecting the vision of fellow road users. It can also spot and recognise pedestrians, providing clear illumination that warns you of their presence at the side of the road.

When driving, the lights also project key safety information onto the road surface ahead of the car – whether it’s markings to clearly illuminate the lane you’re driving in, or direction indicators that provide other road users an even clearer sight of your next move.

Cosseting comfort

Finally, we come to comfort. Inside, the Audi SQ8 e-tron makes use of the longer wheelbase and extra interior space opened up by its all-electric platform to offer an incredibly spacious, minimalist and lounge-like area with comfortable seating for five and up to 569 litres of boot space in the SUV and 528 litres in the Sportback – both also offer up to 62 litres of space in the ‘frunk’.

The large two-part electronically opening panoramic glass roof available on Vorsprung trim adds a bright, airy feel inside, while up front the centre console with two vertically stacked high-resolution digital touchscreen displays make finding your favourite music, podcasts and destinations a breeze.

Black Edition trim also brings multi-colour interior ambient lighting, Super Sports seats, a multifunction steering wheel, voice control, four-zone climate control, heated front seats, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard and a premium Bang & Olufsen sound system.

Vorsprung trim adds heated rear seats and a heated steering wheel, side and rear sunblinds, power closing doors, a large panoramic sunroof, adaptive windscreen wipers, two USB-C ports with rear charging, Twin Leather Pack and Audi’s advanced key which lets you keep the key in your pocket or a bag at all times.

Furthermore, the myAudi app unlocks even more potential by allowing you to set charging times, lock and unlock the car, precondition the battery for maximum range, schedule servicing, find nearby chargers, and even pre-heat the seats, windscreen, steering wheel and interior of the car for those really chilly mornings.

So, with invigorating electric performance, engaging driving characteristics, a cosseting interior and a wealth of driver aids and infotainment technology that makes driving easier and safer, those are all the ways the Audi SQ8 e-tron is bringing fun to all-electric driving.

Learn more about the Audi SQ8 e-tron

[1] Maximum range up to 270 miles (official WLTP range for the Audi SQ8 e-tron quattro) or up to 278 miles (official WLTP range for the Audi SQ8 Sportback e-tron quattro). May not reflect real life driving results.

[2] Based on 350kWh charger (limited in UK: motorways only; not available in Northern Ireland, most of Scotland/Wales). Test data for comparison. Actual times vary (depending on e.g. spec, battery/charger condition & temp.). Longer in cold weather