Audi Updates Q4 E-Tron in the U.S., Teardown Veteran Sandy Munro Says It's Disappointing

Audi introduced the Q4 e-tron duo in North America in 2021 as a 2022 model year and is now gearing up to start selling the 2023 model. Nevertheless, Audi's push will surely hit a wall, partly because of the more challenging market conditions this year. The Inflation Reduction Act tax credits will not help Audi Q4 e-tron sales since it is imported from Europe. Its sticker price is also higher than expected, starting at $50,995. This is especially true considering the performance and range.

The Q4 e-tron might be an Audi and offer a luxurious cabin, but it's still an MEB-based electric vehicle, which is limited in power and range. The most powerful version, the Q4 e-tron 50 quattro, delivers 299 horsepower thanks to a dual-motor configuration. This might sound like a lot for an ICE crossover, but not enough to compete with other EVs on the market, like the Tesla Model Y. Tesla's EV crossover delivers 507 horsepower in its Long Range AWD configuration, while the Performance version ups that to 527 horsepower.

Also, the estimated EPA range for the 2023 model year is rather disappointing, maxing out at 265 miles (426 km) for the Q4 40 e-tron and dropping to 236 miles (380 km) for the AWD-version Q4 50 e-tron quattro. This compares unfavorably to the 330 miles (530 km) EPA range of the Tesla Model Y LR AWD and even the 303 miles (490 km) of the Model Y Performance. Tesla is more expensive, starting at $54,990, but only if you don't count the $7,500 tax credit. Once you do that, you realize the Audi Q4 e-tron is just a bad deal.

This was obvious to teardown veteran Sandy Munro even without performing all those calculations. Based on his opinion, the Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron he drove is too similar to the Volkswagen ID.4 to justify the added premium. If you can live without the four-ring logo and some unnecessary niceties, you could have the same car for $45,290 or $37,790 when factoring in the tax credit. That's more than a $13,000 difference you could spend elsewhere. The ID.4 also might offer more features as standard, such as the Adaptive Cruise Control.

Even though they are similar, they are not the same, and Sandy actually likes the Volkswagen better, thanks to a more intuitive user interface. The Audi, in his opinion, has just too many physical buttons, like an ICE car, which sometimes can be overwhelming. Sandy appreciates the way it drives, though, but the ID.4 is not that bad, either. You can watch the video below and see what Munro says about the German luxury crossover.