Audi Q8 e-tron and Q8 e-tron Sportback debuts in India

The Audi Q8 e-tron has made its debut in India. The Q8 e-tron is essentially a facelift of the e-tron – Audi’s first electric SUV – and comes in both standard SUV and Sportback coupe SUV body styles.

Audi Q8 e-tron design
As a part of the facelift, the Q8 e-tron gets blacked-out grille surrounds that extend beneath the headlights. The top part of the redesigned grille, which features a new mesh design and Audi’s new monochrome logo, gets a light bar that is designed to project light downwards. The Q8 e-tron also gets a reprofiled front bumper with larger air intakes on either side. 

While not much has changed in profile, the Q8 e-tron and Q8 e-tron Sportback get 20-inch alloy wheels. Both also get ‘Audi’ and ‘Q8 e-tron quattro’ lettering on the blacked-out B-pillar, and the only changes at the rear are the redesigned bumper and new Q8 badges on the tail-gate. 

Audi Q8 e-tron interior and features
The Q8 e-tron carries over a similar interior layout as the outgoing e-tron. The powered front seats with memory function get heating, ventilation and massage features. The interior continues with two touchscreens in the centre console – a 10.1-inch for the infotainment system and an 8.6-inch for controlling the majority of the car's functions such as HVAC. Like the outgoing model, the Q8 e-tron also gets a digital instruments cluster that Audi calls Virtual Cockpit Plus. 

Other features include a 16-speaker Bang and Olufsen speaker system, panoramic sunroof, 360-degree camera, four-zone climate control and a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS). 

Audi Q8 e-tron powertrain, battery
The Q8 e-tron gets a 114kWh battery pack that has a range of up to 600km (WLTP cycle). It powers the two electric motors that produce 408hp and 664Nm of torque (combined) and can accelerate from 0-100kph in 5.6 seconds (claimed). Audi is providing a 22kW AC charger with the Q8 e-tron and it can support up to 170kW DC fast charging. With the former, Audi claims the Q8 e-tron can charge from 0-100 percent in six hours. With the DC fast charger, the Q8 e-tron can be charged from 10-80 percent in a claimed 31 minutes. Just like the outgoing model, the Q8 e-tron continues with a charging port on either side of the car.

Audi Q8 e-tron rivals, launch timeline
With the Mercedes-Benz EQC discontinued, the Audi Q8 e-tron and Q8 e-tron Sportback’s sole rival remains the Jaguar I-Pace (Rs 1.19 crore-1.24 crore). Expect Audi to launch the Q8 e-tron in the coming weeks.