Audi Q8 e-tron - A new name for a new class leader? 

Hello from Denmark. I bought myself a Q8 e-tron 55, precisely for the reason that it gives a natural premium feeling, drives, and handles way better than the other luxury SUVs, and in addition, looks a lot better than the rest of the SUVs. And now with the new massive battery, it gives me a more than fine range. And for many of us, 50+ Q8 e--tron is exactly what we want, an EV in the sweet Goldilocks spot, in a marketplace where it is not too much and not too little. Not looking like a spaceship or is controlled by an Ipad. And an underwhelming, understated EV without Netflix, browsers, and games is in my modest Scandinavian vocabulary something pretty good😉.

Really thoughtful commentary. A Q8 etron owner myself. I’d tend to agree on your criticisms. I’ve always been loyal to the Audi brand and just couldn’t jump to the iX. Brand loyalty shouldn’t be discounted. The car is incredibly refined overall.

Hi there, just ordered one as an upgrade from the original etron and wouldn’t change it for anything. I agree about the virtual mirrors, but I also agree that if it ain’t broke don’t fix it so I’m quite happy that the majority are just subtle changes and I love the look - previous A5 owner and whilst this is not that, it’s very cool whereas I need a sick bag for the BMW!

Audi has been very brave in my opinion to used an exsisting body and make it so refine into an ev that alone is great technology and plus all the extras that comes with it.

yeahh .. the first review talking about the difference in height between the brake and accelerator... Despite this I ordered mine as it's the most confortable I ve tested (Model Y, BMW I4, EQE, Ionic 5 etc ...) that's the king of confort..

I’ve re-watched this a couple of times lately, having previously taken very little notice of the big Audi EV. But I’ve suddenly noticed, as Bryan points out, how gobsmackingly cheap (or at least, reasonably affordable) these £70-100k cars are as Approved Used - low-30s even for a 2022 Etron, sub-£50k for a 9-month-old Q8 that was over £70k new. The Sportback styling suits this too - more than it does the Q4. I’m looking to replace a 2013 Mercedes CLS estate (also bought Approved Used) and looking for some of the same sense of occasion and intangible nice-to-have factor. A BMW iX3 (the iX is too wide to be sensible) would do everything I want but it looks, frankly, horrible and I can’t make myself actively want one. This gives away a lot in efficiency and driving dynamics, but looks great, has comfort and space for four tall adults, and I could probably learn to live with the blackety-black interior. I need to try one but it feels like it might be a bit of a bargain.

Interesting video. I have to say I'm not overly convinced by the Q8 e-tron with it being marketed as you say as a 'new' car... It's more of a mid-cycle refresh and other than the range improvement, I'm struggling to see the other major changes that make it worth it. Granted, I'm not really in the market for the SUV and am very lucky to have owned a GT and have now upgraded into the RS GT Carbon Vorsprung. I'd be interested in testing out a Q8 to see for myself what it offers over and above the existing outgoing e-tron SUV that I drove back in 2021. As you say, it doesn't seem as though Audi have moved the game on enough in this segment since the original e-tron. I don't think in its latest guise that it's worth the premium... The A6 e-tron should be interesting when it hits the market later this year into next year... There are still rumours knocking around about a GT Avant as well having spoken to my Audi dealership today whilst mine was in for a software update (that's another thing Audi need to improve on, with OTA updates rather than having to take time out to visit a dealership for them to do it in the workshop). Great video though, keep up the great work :)

They didn't make many changes because the previous E-Tron was near on perfect to begin with. The build quality is the best in the business, along with the smoothness and ride quality, the noise level inside is also the best, in fact the 2019 E Tron was so far ahead of its time, it's got better NVH (Noise vibration and harshness) reduction than almost ALL new EV's today. The tech is still better than the latest laggy tech from Mercedes etc, The 55 with the 2021 software update is knocking on 270 miles of range in Eco which is fantastic for 99% of people in the UK. It doesn't need to be "dynamic and sporty", it's a 2.5 ton premium SUV that's designed to be comfortable, if they wanted to make it "sporty" they would remove the 100's of KG worth of noise reduction paneling like Jag did with the I Pace, and have a rougher hasher experience inside (which isn't nice). For me the E-Tron is pretty much perfect in my eyes, more than fast enough with the 70mph speed limits here, spacious, supremely comfortable, and cheap to charge. Win win

I’d just like to comment on the lack of comments - I think that entirely sums up your ‘meh’ verdict of the car.

Audi has efficiency issue. Something with the motors. They don't seem to be eliminate front motor losses in highway driving or something. Hard to say.

As you said all the good quality is there and that is 90% of what you need in a ev the next 10% should be the rang because have a long rang and looking attractive with poor quality just dont cut it

The comment on efficiency and range is really without much substance. "Economy is 2. somethingkw per mile" - that's not very informative on a key piece of information that some people will be watching this video to ascertain. I have a 20 plate 55 sportback, it has averaged 2.7 miles per kW over 53,000 miles, winter and summer, winter tyres and summer tyres, all sorts of roads and all on 21' rims. At the moment 100% gets me around 240-250 miles and I did a trip on Saturday, 342 miles, motorway, A roads and B roads and it averaged 3 miles per kW. The etron is nowhere near as bad as many of these reviewers make out. You can't get an idea of range or consumption is a short test drive. Everything needs to be seen in context and there isn't much here in terms of range and efficiency.

it’s especially true re high price as like for the i-Pace there are too many used 2019 and the prices have crashed the last 6 month making the 2019 a real bargain (but I bought a 2019 i-Pace HSE FE recently)

Hi, would you guys be interested in doing a Premium SUV Road test, iX vs e-Tron, i-Pace, EQC/EQS, Porsche CT? For me it would really put the cat among the pigeons and see where we are in this market and if the high prices, technology, equal the PREMIUM price tags these all command?

What is the name of this color? Is it chronos grey?

MBUX and BMW 8.5 visually assaults the driver. I prefer the dated old fashioned Audi UX.

I just went to the Audi dealership to try it on for size Love the looks and it’s a great car However it’s just not big enough in the back for us with 3 big boys 2 over 6 foot the width is too narrow for comfort and the middle seat is really compromised by the centre console intruding into the rear So disappointing Before you ask our boys are tall and skinny but they had bags more room in my BMW iX

just ordered one and the salesmen told me that android auto is not wireless. Can you confirm that it is?

That's it in a nutshell, the screen is far to small, no real thought has gone into it.....

It's a refresh - the new Etron will come on the next gen PPE platform - like the EV Macan next year. Still a great car. But right now I see Hyundai / Kia with better EV tech on the market, if you like the design I mean. If I would buy an EV today and SUV? I would go for the iX today. Tomorrow? Will see. For Tesla I would go if I would live in the US - is the charging network CCS now better in the UK? This would be an argument.

Watched the video only because you had recorded it Brian... personally I am no longer interested in Audi etc...marginally still retain an interest in BMW i5 and ix but otherwise it is Hyundai, KIA, Ionia,,,,,, Genesis al the way!

BMW iX is monstrously ugly, and has a giant iPad for a dashboard (an unfortunate and lazy trend these days). The Benz is nice looking, but has the same dashboard ugliness. What if Audi had the same iPad for infortainment? Then you would say, where did the buttons go, touchscreen controls are so inconvenient...

Give me one example of DE automaker doing REVOLUTION in facelift? Let's cut the obvious stuff from the script