2024 Audi SQ8 e-tron

December 30, 2022

2024 SQ8 e-tron a kick in the pants and a credible place among the brand's hotted-up models. Based on the comfort-oriented Q8 e-tron SUV and available in two wholly conventional looking body styles squareback and fastback (called the Sportback) the SQ8 e-tron duo offers much the same luxury treatment as their tamer cousins but with a sportier look and more go-power. A 106-kWh battery pack should deliver decent driving range, although not as much as rivals such as the BMW iX and the Tesla Model X. The SQ8 e-tron can be charged quickly via a DC fast-charging station.

EV Performance

While the SQ8 e-tron shares its platform with the Q8 e-tron, it sports a more powerful three-motor electric powertrain that makes 496 horsepower. We haven't tested it yet, but Audi estimates it can arrive at 60 mph a full second sooner than the Q8 e-tron. Based on our test of an e-tron Sportback, that means the SQ8 could reach 60 mph in roughly four seconds—but our testing will confirm if that's the case once we run it against the clocks. Because there are two electric motors on the rear axle rather than one, the SQ8 e-tron can mimic a torque-vectoring differential by sending more power to the outside rear wheel as needed to enhance cornering We drove a prototype on a race course back when it was called the e-tron S and found it easy to execute tire-destroying, smoke-tastic drifts.

Battery Life

All SQ8 e-tron models come with a 106.0-kWh battery pack that can be charged up utilizing 170 kW DC fast-charging connection. Audi says this battery should give the SQ8 e-tron a range of 307 miles per charge, but that's according to the European WLTP test cycle which is notoriously optimistic. We think the EPA will give it a rating of about 240 miles, but that's not official yet.