Audi Q4 45 e-tron 2025 Review
The Audi Q4 is the most affordable EV Audi currently sells in Australia. As the Q4 45 e-tron SUV we’re testing here it qualifies for the Fringe Benefits tax exemption because it’s priced under the luxury car tax threshold. The saving that delivers – if purchased via a novated lease – greatly enhance a solid car’s appeal. Otherwise, there’s a lot here that feels quite familiar – even if it is a very rare rear-wheel drive Audi road car. That’s because it’s based on a platform shared with multiple other VW Group models such as the Volkswagen ID.4 and Skoda Enyaq.
How much does the Audi Q4 45 e-tron cost?
Priced at $84,900 plus on-road costs, the 2025 Audi Q4 45 e-tron is currently the cheapest model in this line-up of five-door, five-seat electric SUVs and also the cheapest EV Audi offers in Australia.
It may not stay that way for long as a Q4 40 e-tron is expected to be added to the line-up soon.
This is the wagon version of the 45. If you want the Sportback with a more sloping roof, then be prepared to pay an extra $1600.
That pricing means both versions slide in comfortably under the luxury car tax threshold, making them eligible for the fringe benefits tax exemption if purchasing via a novated lease. This delivers many thousands of dollars in savings.
If that’s not a requirement and you want an extra e-motor bolted on the front axle, then the Q4 55 e-tron wagon will cost you $105,900 and the Sportback $107,500.
Among others, the e-tron 45 lines up against the BMW iX1 and iX2 the Mercedes-Benz EQA and the Volvo EX30.
What equipment comes with the Audi Q4 45 e-tron?
Standard 2025 Q4 45 45 e-tron exterior equipment includes 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights with daytime running lights, high beam assist and range control, aluminium roof rails, a power tailgate with gesture control and access to the interior via a remote comfort key.
Metallic paint is a $1350 option.
In the cabin you’ll find tri-zone climate control, seats appointed in leather and power adjustment of the driver’s seat only (but no memory). Both front seats do get heating and manual lumbar adjust.
It’s not an especially generous list, but as we keep getting told, EVs are expensive because of their big batteries and keeping that price under the LCT is critical.
Like all new Audis, the Q4 e-tron comes with a five-year warranty, while the high-voltage battery is protected by an eight-year warranty. An Audi six-year service plan is only $1900.
Five-year roadside assistance comes standard with all new Audis.
How safe is the Audi Q4 45 e-tron?
The 2025 Audi Q4 45 e-tron is covered by a five-star ANCAP rating based on superseded (but still relevant) 2021 protocols.
It performed best in adult occupant protection (93 per cent) crash testing and in vulnerable road user protection (66 per cent).
Standard 45 safety equipment includes front- and front-side airbags as well as curtain airbags that protect passengers in both compartments.
Driver assists include autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control with stop and go capability, turn and swerve steering assist, lane departure warning, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic warning, driver monitoring, front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.
Tyre pressure loss is also monitored, but there is no spare tyre.
Safety stuff you must pay more for includes active lane assist, a 360-degree camera and auto parking assist. Again, a bit shy for the money.
What technology does the Audi Q4 45 e-tron feature?
Audi virtual cockpit is standard in the 2025 Audi Q4 45 e-tron. This includes a 10.25-inch colour display that can change the size of the speedo and power meter to grant the centre info readout more or less prominence.
Sitting separately plugged into the dashboard you’ll find an 11.6-inch infotainment touchscreen that includes an embedded navigation system and from where you run your audio systems and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The standard sound system is an eight-speaker set-up with a total output of 180 watts. A 580-watt Sonos system is optional for the Q4 55 only. A head-up display is added to the 55, along with a digital cluster that includes an e-tron-specific screen.
What powers the Audi Q4 45 e-tron?
The Q4 e-tron was updated with fresh e-motor battery tech before it launched in Australia in early 2025.
The Q4 sits on the Volkswagen Group MEB platform – like the Volkswagen ID.4 and Skoda Enyaq – and the 45 e-tron sites its single permanently excited e-motor on the rear axle driving via a single speed reduction gear.
Rear-wheel drive Audi road cars have been as rare as rocking horse doo-doo up until the EV age.
Permanently excited means the e-motor uses permanent magnets rather than electromagnetic windings to generate the magnetic field in the rotor. This has space and performance efficiency advantages very helpful to EVs.
Anyway, as employed by the Q4 45, the e-motor produces a hefty 210kW and 545Nm. That equates to a 6.7 second 0-100km/h dash. In real life, it feels stronger than that (see below).
How far can the Audi Q4 45 e-tron go on a charge?
In all fuel consumption ratings, be it ICE or EV, there’s usually a gap between what’s officially claimed and what real-world driving delivers. Almost always, the official figure is more optimistic than what’s achieved in reality.
Not with the Q4 45 e-tron. The official claim is 17.4kWh/100km, while our average over a week and more than 600km of varied driving emerged at 16kWh/100km (according to the trip computer).
Some of that can be put down to the incredible stinginess of the powertrain when in efficiency or range modes and when brake regeneration is activated – you get three-step steering wheel paddles to do that (hooray!) – or you can leave it to manage itself.
During a slow stop-start 60km drive in peak hour freeway traffic the range dipped only five km. Obviously, you’re going to use more electricity if you work the system harder, but that’s impressive and really underlines the huge advantage of EVs over ICE in urban scenarios.
The real-world range allied with the 77kWh (usable – 82kWh gross) lithium-ion battery pack is going to get you close to the claimed 524km. Again, impressive.
When you do plug in your looking at a maximum 11kW AC (for which you require three-phase power) or 175kW DC fast charge. Sadly, given the paucity of fast chargers in our neck of the woods we were limited to 50kW recharging and couldn’t test that claim out.
What is the Audi Q4 45 e-tron like to drive?
Like so many Volkswagen Group products, the 2025 Audi Q4 45 e-tron makes you feel instantly at home when you slide in and press the start button.
There’s a comfortable and welcoming solidity here that is very familiar whichever VW group badge the car is wearing. In fact, the Q4 is even built in a Volkswagen factory (Zwickau alongside the ID.4), rather than an Audi plant. Comfort is very much the focus of the Q4 45 driving experience.
Sure, it’s smoothly, quietly, effortlessly quick from tip-in throttle in that typical e-motor way, but all that power and torque and rear-wheel drive doesn’t translate into a truly engaging drive. Some cars shrink around the driver as they become more engaged with the road. The Q4 doesn’t do that. You are always conscious of substance.
Partly that’s the 2145kg kerb weight (not excessive for an EV, but still heavy), the long-ish 2771mm wheelbase necessary to accommodate the battery pack between the axles and electro-mechanical power steering that stays resolutely remote. It just changes weight depending on the drive mode.
Brake feel is somewhat of a mixed message. Soft stops are no problems. But then you do really have to push through to the mechanical brake when needing to stop more urgently, because it all feels a bit vacant and lifeless.
Bottomline? Enjoy the overtaking urge for the open road and the supple ride for long-distance cruising and urban life. The Q4 rewards a more relaxed attitude.
How good is the Audi Q4 45 e-tron off-road?
If you’re buying the 2025 Audi Q4 45 e-tron to go off-road then you’ve bought the wrong car.
Sure, it’s an SUV, but like many SUVs these days it has no practical off-road abilities.
What is the Audi Q4 45 e-tron like inside?
The 2025 Q4 45 e-tron is a blockier thing than the Audi exterior norm. It has a bluffer front-end than you would expect from an EV. Having said that the drag coefficient (Cd) is still a respectable 0.29.
The Q4 measures up at 4588mm long, 1865mm wide and 1632mm tall. That’s neatly splitting the Audi Q3 and Q5 ICE SUVs and very similar to the current Mazda CX-5.
But there the similarity ends with the popular Mazda, which is squeezy inside. The squared-off shape and EV powertrain provides the Q4 45 with a really generous amount of interior space for its size. The back seat has a huge amount of head and kneeroom for two adult passengers and the middle-rear seat isn’t as bad as some. Not great, but liveable.
Creature comforts include two string nets, two USBs, adjustable air-con vents with temperature controls, door bins with secondary armrest pockets, overhead grabs, a fold-down armrest with a double cupholder and a reclinable seatback.
The boot offers 520 litres of load space before the rear seat slit-folds and expands to 1490 litres. Features include an elasticised floor net, storage bins on either side and underfloor storage as well. Luggage is hidden away under a parcel board.
Surprisingly, there is no frunk.
Driver comfort is aided by a steering wheel that manually adjusts for rake and reach through a huge range. The seat is also highly adjustable and substantially sized and comfortable.
Initially, the digital screens look intimidating to operate but turn out to be straight-forward by modern standards. The infotainment screen is turned slightly toward the driver. Thankfully, permanent touch points are retained to adjust the key air-con and audio settings.
Storage is generous in both the centre console and the doors. There’s even a second smaller pocket great for tucking away your wallet in the doors. The lower, bigger bins swallow large bottles.
The console protrudes from the dash and has a diving board look going on. Key controls are located at the ‘10 metre’ level and more storage is tucked away at the ‘5 metre’ level on a smaller board, as well as two USBs and a wireless phone charger.
It’s all very well done in that exceedingly efficient Audi way. The letdown is the variation in trim qualities. In some places, such as the doors, it seems totally in keeping with its high pricing.
But through the centre console of our test car was a swathe of mundane grey. It was interrupted by the dashboard but then stretched the miles out to the windscreen.
Should I buy an Audi Q4 45 e-tron?
The 2025 Audi Q4 45 e-tron presents as a bit of a mixed bag.
The powertrain is the star attraction with its combination of performance and frugality. The interior packaging is also exceedingly impressive, bar the curious lack of a frunk in a dedicated EV architecture.
It drives well in a comfortable, relaxed way, too.
But there’s a hefty price to pay here that doesn’t quite stack up when it comes to the level of equipment. The compensation is the FBT exemption and the savings that delivers over time.
With that taken into account it’s a smart buy, just lacking some equipment expected at this price.
2025 Audi Q4 45 e-tron at a glance:
Price: $84,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Single permanently excited motor
Output: 210kW/545Nm
Transmission: Two-stage planetary gearbox with single gear
Battery: 77kWh lithium-ion
Range: 524km (ADR)
Energy consumption: 17.4Wh/100km (ADR)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2021
Related: Audi Q4 e-tron 2025 Review
Related: Audi Q4 e-tron joins EV price cut rush
Related: Audi Q4 e-tron 2023 Review
- The powertrain is very impressive. Its economy is outstanding
- The interior space and packaging are generous
- Pricing undercuts the luxury car tax and makes it eligible for FBT exemption
- Pricing is substantial if you can’t exploit FBT exemption
- Equipment levels aren’t generous considering how much you are paying
- Less-than-premium swathes of grey in our test car
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