First Drive: 2024 Audi Q8 e-Tron Prestige

This year’s Audi e-tron and e-tron S become the Q8 e-tron for 2024, as it gets a refresh and a name change as Audi establishes its largest battery-electric SUV as its flagship offering to distinguish it from other Audi e-tron models, which currently numbers eight, including the Q4 e-tron and GT.

The new Q8 e-tron is also available in SQ8 and SQ8 Sportback trim are 0.08 inches lower and 1.5 inches wider than other Q8s. Audi is expecting to sell more than 20 battery-electric models by 2026, after which it no longer plans to release vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. The e-tron was Audi’s first EV, released in 2018.

Overview

The Audi Q8 e-tron may have received a name change, but it remains largely what it’s always been: a luxury battery-electric SUV. That’s not to say there aren’t any changes. Audi says it revised the steering for quicker response and better feedback. The new Q8 also boasts increased battery capacity and charging performance.

The 2024 Audi Q8 is offered in Premium, Premium Plus and Prestige trim.

Exterior

As you’d expect of a refresh, the Audi Q8 e-tron wears a fresh face, with a far busier rendition of the brand’s distinctive “Singleframe” grille, LED headlights as well as a new two-dimensional Audi logo. Overall, the aerodynamics have been tweaked, resulting in a 0.29 drag co-efficient thanks to newly designed wheels, larger spoilers ahead of the front axle, the redesigned fascia and electric grille shutters.

Enhancing our vehicle’s appeal was the $2,000 Black Optic Package, which brings with it unique 21-inch wheels, all-season tires and black exterior trim. The “Madeira Brown” metallic paint ­— aka mud — cost an extra $595.

It’s certainly handsome and purposeful, with the Black Optic Package minimizing the more juvenile nature of the Audi’s front fascia. It comes off as adult, upscale and sophisticated. It’s a look that should wear well with time, in the finest Audi tradition. The classicism of Audi design has a timelessness that’s inherent in the finest designs.

Interior

As before, the Q8 e-tron maintains its polished high-tech premium feel, which exudes a sophistication that doesn’t shout. Among the amenities are heated front power seats, a panoramic sunroof, four-zone automatic climate control, natural wood trim, a heated steering wheel, and leather seating surfaces.

Opting for the Premium Plus adds ventilated front seats, illuminated aluminum door sill inlays, power lumbar passenger seat, heated rear seats and glass-optic controls. Prestige models go even further, lavished with power soft-closing doors, front seat memory, massaging front seats, manual rear window sunshades, and leather trim on the instrument panel, armrests and center console.

Dual pane acoustic glass for the side door windows is optional.

The Audi Q8 e-tron’s luggage compartment holds 28.5 cubic feet of stuff, expanding to 56.4 cubic feet with the rear seats folded.

Powertrain

With a net 106-kWh battery pack and an asynchronous electric motor on each axle, the 2024 Q8 is rated at 355 horsepower and 414 pound-feet of torque. Pop it into Sport driving mode and the driveline is briefly boosted to 402 hp and 490 lb-ft of torque. All-wheel drive is standard, as is an air-spring suspension that allows the height to be adjusted by up to 3 inches.

Audi says that the Q8 e-tron accelerates to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds, while towing is rated at 4,000 pounds.

When it comes time to recharge, a 10%-80% fill-up will take 31 minutes using a 170-kW DC Fast Charger. A total recharge using 240 volts at 9.6 kW requires 13 hours. It’s warrantied for 8 years or 100,000 miles.

Audi expects that most Q8 e-tron owners will recharge at home, so it comes with a charging cable capable of both 120-volt Level-1 charging via a standard household socket or 240-volt Level-2 charging outlet. A home charging station is available through Qmerit. 

In addition, the Q8 e-tron’s Plug & Charge function automatically authorizes and confirms billing at Electrify America charging stations, making public charging seamless. 

Safety and Technology

Neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has rated the 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron. The similar 2023 model rated five stars in NHTSA testing for crashworthiness in all categories except frontal crash, where it rated four stars. Similarly, IIHS’s test of last year’s model yielded “Good” ratings in all categories, and yielded a 2022 Top Safety Pick+ designation.

And yes, it has the usual blizzard of driver assistance safety systems, including Audi Pre-Sense. Our test vehicle came with the Rear Side Airbags, which cost an additional $400. Considering this car’s base price, they should come standard.

Audi’s infotainment system, dubbed multimedia interface, or MMI, powers two center-mounted, high-definition displays: an upper 10.1-inch and a lower 8.6-inch display with haptic feedback. They are fairly intuitive to use. A head-up display is standard on top-of-the-line Prestige models.

Audi connect services come standard, and includes a six-month trial subscription to various Car-to-X Services, including traffic sign information, hazard alerts, on-street parking, and traffic light information. It can even recommend destinations based on previously traveled routes. Premium Plus and Prestige models have a Bang & Olufsen sound system. 

Driving Impressions

Drive the 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron for any length of time and it exhibits the best qualities of the brand, possessing the balanced unruffled persona that allows the driver to drive with confidence. It’s extraordinarily well balanced in the finest Audi tradition: sporty yet comfortable. It never hits extremes, confidently cornering without getting ruffled. The revised steering, working in concert with the air suspension, minimizes body roll. Similarly, while the Q8 e-tron is quick, although it lacks the 1-pedal regenerative brake feel that some BEV drivers look for.

The ride that the 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron delivers is hushed, with little noise of any kind making its way into the cabin. Bumps are well-absorbed without muss or fuss, and never make themselves felt by the driver. Relaxed and comfortable, it affords a remarkable amount of speed, agility, comfort, calm and grip. 

Its performance pairs admirably with its interior quality, which has an upscale, techy feel that’s approachable, and lacks the third-world casino feel of a Mercedes-Benz EQ. It’s offset by the matte wood finishes, which may seem old-fashioned to some, but warm up what would otherwise be too stark.

2024 Audi Q8 e-tron Specifications

Wrap Up

While the updates don’t radically change the 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron, they merely make a good thing better. The 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron remains a truly sublime battery-electric flagship, one that you’ll enjoy driving. 

2024 Audi Q8 e-Tron ­— Frequently Asked Questions