What's the news?
Audi's big news at the Geneva motor show 2019 is this, the Q4 e-tron Concept. It's a big, massive, basically-read-to-buy concept version of a Q4 model that will go on sale late next year. Based on the same MEB all-electric Volkswagen Group platform as the Skoda Vision IV, SEAT El-Born, and Volkswagen ID. Buggy concepts that we saw last night, the Q4 boasts two electric motors giving it a chunky 306hp power output.
Audi says that's good enough for a 6.3 second 0-100km/h sprint, and the 83kWh battery pack can apparently run the Q4 for more than 450km before it needs top-up from a charger. If that charger can pump out 120kW, then you can 'fill' the battery up to 80 per cent in 30 minutes.
Although that battery weighs a hefty 510kg, Audi says that the MEB platform allows it to be mounted so low down that the handling can still be made "sport, and precise" It gets conventional suspension with McPherson struts at the front and a multi-link setup at the rear.
Needless to say, it gets quattro four-wheel drive thanks to each axle getting its own electric motor.
Inside, the cabin looks mildly futuristic, but there's nothing in there that would be too OTT for production. It keeps the current Audi all-screen layout, with a digital instrument pack for the driver, a big central infotainment screen, and a heads-up display. There's also a neat little electric switch for gear selection, which frees up a lot of space in the centre console. As is becoming fashionable, Audi is swerving away from leather for the Q4's interior, and is instead using a lot of recycled materials and microfibre textiles.
On the outside, there seems to be very little that would need to change for production. The big grille will perhaps need toning down, and the snarling LED headlights made a little bigger, but you can tell how production-ready the Q4 is from the fact that it's wearing a standard set of door mirrors.
One aspect we really like is the paint job. The sea-grey colour is called 'Solar Sky' by Audi, and it includes a special treatment that reflects solar energy, meaning that the sun heats the car up much less, and therefore you need to use less air conditioning to keep cool on a hot day, saving the battery. It's a neat idea - one that Skoda has also used in recent concept cars - and hopefully it will be an available option on the finished Q4 next year.