Audi SQ8 e-tron 2024 Review

Previously known as the Audi e-tron S, the heavily upgraded 2024 Audi SQ8 e-tron finally lands in Australia this month priced from $173,600 plus on-road costs in SUV wagon form.

A swoopier Sportback version with an amended specification list adds $7000.

At those prices, the SQ8 e-tron sits about $35,000 upstream of the most affordable diesel-powered Audi Q8 50 TDI (from $138,900), and at similar money to its much feistier V8 petrol-powered SQ8 namesake (from $177,800).

Meanwhile, a reshuffle of the Q8 e-tron range has seen the regular SUV wagon version of the Q8 55 e-tron replaced by a lower-output and lower-priced 50 e-tron model, starting at $140,600 – a whopping $33,000 below the SQ8 e-tron.

As for rivals outside the Audi fold, the SQ8 e-tron takes on sports-luxury family EVs like the BMW iX xDrive50 Sport (from $185,400) and Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 (from $189,900).

The 2024 Audi SQ8 e-tron gets a fairly generous spec list out of the box.

Standard equipment on the wagon version includes 22-inch alloys wheels, adaptive air suspension, Matrix LED headlights with front and rear dynamic indicators, an electric tailgate, Valcona leather interior, panoramic sunroof, heated sports front seats, heated steering wheel, quad-zone climate control and wireless phone charging.

Stowed away in the optional extras catalogue is the $9600 Sensory package, which adds trick digital Matrix LED headlights, LED entrance lights for the front and rear doors, soft-close doors, heated outboard rear seats plus integrated sun shades for the rear windows.

Buyers with access to greater charging capacity at home can also pony up an additional $6900 for a 22kW AC inverter.

The Audi SQ8 e-tron wins key points for its aftersales credentials, offered with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty as well as six years’ complimentary roadside assist.

It also comes with complimentary servicing and free public charging via the Chargefox national network for the first six years of ownership.

The 2024 Audi SQ8 e-tron offers a comprehensive list of safety equipment as standard, comprising a full suite of airbags, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go functionality, distance indicator and traffic jam assist, active lane assist with rear cross traffic alert and exit warning system, intersection crossing assist and collision avoidance assist and turn assist.

There’s also a head-up display as standard, tyre pressure monitoring, a 360-degree camera including kerb view function, plus front and rear parking sensors.

A five-star ANCAP safety rating applies to the Audi Q8 e-tron range, based on testing conducted in 2019.

Infotainment tech in the 2024 Audi SQ8 e-tron is headlined by the car-maker’s much-vaunted 12.3-inch virtual cockpit digital instrument cluster, matched by two screens in the centre dashboard fascia: the top 10.1-inch unit controls key infotainment while the lower 8.6-inch screen controls climate.

Those features are backed by a 16-speaker Bang and Olufsen sound system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, and digital radio.

The 2024 Audi SQ8 e-tron takes a fairly complex approach to performance.

Go-forward is supplied via three electric motors – one on the front axle and two on the rear axle – which receive energy from a mammoth 114kWh battery pack.

Total output from the all-paw SUV is rated at 370kW and 973Nm, enough to propel it from 0-100km/h in a claimed 4.5 seconds.

The 2024 Audi SQ8 e-tron offers a WLTP-verified range of 417km – well down on segment leaders.

In reality, we found a figure closer to 370km was more feasible based on the conditions of our launch drive.

Energy consumption is rated at 28.8kWh/100km (WLTP).

Audi is claiming the SQ8 e-tron can be recharged from 10-80 per cent in just 31 minutes under optimal conditions using a DC fast-charger.

You could be easily misled into thinking the 2024 Audi SQ8 e-tron is a hard-core performance SUV, when in reality it’s simply a very polished and adept electric high-rider.

The national launch in Victoria this month revealed the SQ8 e-tron is well balanced in commuting, touring and headier driving alike, offering great balance and control without punishing occupants with an unrelenting ride.

Instead, the cabin environment is serene at all times, and Audi’s minor underbody revisions (faster steering ratio, reworked dampers and stiffer suspension) have wrought a slightly better-rounded driving experience.

We’d be overegging it if we said the differences are night and day, but we came away from the 400km drive enamoured at the SQ8 e-tron’s poise in all scenarios.

Departing Melbourne airport, the SQ8 enamours with the careful tuning of its controls. The steering is light at low speeds and the adaptive suspension hides the SQ8’s almost three-tonne kerb weight over niggles and sharper edges alike, with no crashing or thudding to speak of.

Equally, the brake pedal feels consistently modulated, and Audi’s calibration of the regenerative braking allows the vehicle to simply breathe in the softest coasting setting – or offer car sickness-inducing one-pedal driving in the more aggressive of the three maps offered.

The SQ8’s low-slung weight is easy enough to manage between changes in direction, but ultimately the sheer mass of its battery packs tends to blunt outright performance; acceleration is spritely rather than explosive, while grips levels are satisfying but unlikely to ever trouble dedicated performance SUVs – especially those fitted with a combustion engine.

Instead, the SQ8 takes greater enjoyment in its poise and sensibility on-road much in the same way the regular Q8 e-tron does.

The 2024 Audi SQ8 e-tron interior closely mirrors the e-tron S that came before it, which is no bad thing.

The interior ably blends clever design with premium materials and inherent practicality. It’s pretty, but also pretty practical.

From the driver’s seat, the SQ8 e-tron offers a low seating position that cultivates a genuine feel and confidence for the vehicle and its spatial proportions.

Incidental storage is terrific up front, thanks to cavernous door pockets and the huge central storage bin, which accommodates a vertically positioned wireless phone charger, two cup holders and a small open storage space.

We took no issue with the integration of technology either. The virtual cockpit is legible and logical in its layout and navigation, while the split screens in the centre fascia enable easy, on-the-go navigation of basic controls like climate.

Both centre screens offer haptic feedback, too, vibrating softly upon being pressed in the same way a traditional button would click into place.

Likewise, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are cleverly adapted, with a flank of five different icons on one side of the screen allowing you to quickly toggle back to the native menu.

The screens themselves are a magnet for fingerprints, though no different from any other modern rival.

We reckon the spatial proportions of the rear seat are quite strong, especially considering the SQ8 e-tron’s 4.9-metre length.

Legroom, headroom and shoulder-room are thoughtful and certainly big enough for a couple of adults or forward-facing child seats.

Rear seat occupants get access to separate air vents with fan and temperature controls, with quality soft-touch materials adorning the touch points and a supportive bench seat with a flip-down arm rest bearing a separate storage compartment and two more cup holders.

Elsewhere, the SQ8’s ‘frunk’ area features barely enough space for charging cables, while the boot is accessed by a smallish aperture opening and has a 569-litre capacity. Quick-release split-fold seat levers offer a shortcut to stow the second row if in a hurry.

Another massive boon – and a massive point of difference from most EV rivals – is the SQ8 e-tron offers a space-saver spare tyre, too, rather than simply a puncture repair kit.

Some EVs wow buyers for their outright performance, others pique interest with their clever tech or increasingly long range.

In earnest, the 2024 Audi SQ8 e-tron doesn’t really specialise in any one area. It’s a very polished luxury SUV, it has presence and it offers inherent practicality and a balanced driving skillset.

The other side of the coin is that it doesn’t properly bank on its mammoth battery in terms of range or real-world efficiency.

It means that, unless you’re a dyed-in-the-wool Audi-phile, the SQ8 e-tron’s appeal is limited, and at this money there are much more convincing performance SUVs around – the petrol-powered SQ8 included.

2024 Audi SQ8 e-tron at a glance:
Price: $173,600 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Three asynchronous electric motors
Output: 370kW/973Nm
Transmission: Two-stage ratio planetary gearbox with a single gear
Battery: 114kWh lithium-ion
Range: 417km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 28.8kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2019)