Audi Q7 e-tron quattro arriving January 2018

Audi Australia has finally put a sticker price on its second ‘e-tron’ plug-in hybrid vehicle, the Q7 e-tron full-size luxury SUV. Priced from $139,000 when it arrives locally from January 2018, the advanced Q7 is capable of driving of 56km using only its 94kW/350Nm electric motor and 17.3kWh Lithium-ion battery pack.

In EV mode, the Q7 e-tron has a maximum speed of 135km/h. The batteries take around 10 hours to recharge fully when plugged into a normal wall socket, or round three hours using a fast-charge setup.

Audi has a dedicated partner to install fast charge systems at customers' homes and offices – for a price, naturally – but says it won't release details until the Q7 e-tron arrives in January.

Driving on pure electricity, the Q7 e-tron is almost silent in operation, like most electric vehicles, and when the e-juice runs out, Audi’s 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 diesel engine chimes in, providing 190kW/600Nm. Drive is via a conventional eight-speed automatic transmission.

Total combined power and torque from the diesel engine and electric motor is 275kW/700Nm while overall fuel consumption is claimed at 1.9L/100km, considerably less than a Toyota Prius. And the upshot certainly allows the Audi Q7 e-tron to get its skates on: zero to 100km/h takes just 6.2secs and the academic top speed is 230km/h.

The full-size luxury SUV has a number of fuel-saving tricks up its sleeve too, including an ability to heat the cabin by leeching the excess thermal energy generated by the electric motor and the automatic transmission can disengage from the drivetrain, enabling a free-wheeling mode.

Audi Australia is backing the Q7 e-tron with a battery warranty of eight years or 160,000km, whichever occurs first.

Not the first, nor the cheapest
The Audi Q7 e-tron is not the first prestige plug-in hybrid SUV in its segment, with the likes of the BMW X5 40e ($119,900), Mercedes-Benz GLE 500e Hybrid ($129,500) and Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid ($145,500) delivering similar functionality.

These types of vehicles have not been huge sellers in Australia where the take-up of electric vehicle and plug-in hybrids has been slow.

"Clearly in Australia there is still some work to be done in terms of supporting infrastructure and also in terms of government incentives to encourage greater uptake – we're not there yet," Mr Shaun Cleary, Audi Australia’s corporate communications manager, told motoring.com.au.

"But at the moment, it's about showing our customers how good the technology is and how this critical shift in drivetrain technology over next decade is worth embracing on its own merits."

Originally planned to launch in Australia more than a year ago, it's understood Audi held back introduction of the Q7 e-tron to ascertain local prices of its rivals.

Audi Australia has specified the vehicle with all the usual goodies, from autonomous driving aids, including automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection at up to 85km/h, not to mention adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist. The car has a blind spot detection system and will steer by itself to maintain its position within a lane. It also has a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Things like parking proximity sensors and a rear-view camera make parking easier, and an exit warning system will alert occupants not to open the doors when vehicles or even cyclists are approaching from behind.

The Audi Q7 is a large SUV but the total seating has been reduced to five in two rows, as the battery packaging deletes the pair of third-row seats which usually pop out of the boot floor.

Regular models start at $97,800 and max out at $155,511 for the triple-turbo V8 diesel SQ7. This puts the Q7 e-tron's $139,900 price at the higher end of the scale, but Audi Australia says the vehicle "combines the outstanding luxury, accommodation and practicality of the Audi Q7, with the extraordinary efficiency of hybrid technology."

Some of the convenience technology includes an 8.3-inch high-mount infotainment screen running Google Earth mapping overlays (and Google search functionality) with live traffic flow, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, not to mention the virtual cockpit. The latter is basically a digital instrument panel, replacing the traditional analogue dials with customisable layouts.

Standard equipment includes quattro all-wheel drive, 19-inch alloy wheels, adjustable air suspension, LED headlights with dynamic LED indicators at the rear, heated front seats, and a 180-Watt sound system.

The next cab off the e-tron rank is expected to be the A8 e-tron, a large limousine. Audi’s global leadership group has previously stated that, by 2025, two-thirds of its vehicles will be "partly electrified" and one-third will be full EVs.

Pricing:
Audi Q7 (TDI 160): $97,800
Audi Q7 (TDI 200): $106,900
Audi Q7 e-tron: $139,900
Audi SQ7: $155,551