PHS Automotive Malaysia (PHSAM) today launched the Audi Q8 e-tron, which is offered in two body styles, each with two variants available. The fully electric SUV was formerly known simply as the e-tron when it made its global debut back in September 2018, but was recently renamed so customers can more easily identify its position in the brand’s line-up given the new EVs added over the years. Malaysia is the first market in Southeast Asia to receive the Q8 e-tron, which comes fully imported from Audi’s production plant in Brussels, Germany.
In terms of dimensions, the Q8 e-tron measures 4,915 mm long and 1,937 mm wide and has a wheelbase of 2,928 mm – boot volume is 569 litres. Rivals in the segment that Q8 e-tron competes in include the BMW iX as well as the Mercedes-Benz EQC – the former is slightly larger in size while the latter is smaller by comparison.
With a starting price of RM384,790 on-the-road without insurance, the Audi undercuts the BMW iX that starts at RM385,430 (or RM403,800 if you include the five-year warranty and service package) for the base xDrive40. The same is also true of the Mercedes, as it retails for RM393,888 for the sole EQC400 4Matic.
The Audi’s asking sum mentioned applies to the base Q8 e-tron advanced 50 quattro, which features two electric motors that provide a total system output of 340 PS (335 hp or 250 kW) and 664 Nm of torque. This setup allows for a 0-100 km/h time of six seconds and a top speed of 200 km/h.
Power for the electric motors is supplied by a lithium-ion battery with a gross energy capacity of 95 kWh (89 kWh usable) that provides up to 491 km of range following the WLTP standard. An 11-kW AC charger (Type 2) brings the battery up to a full charge in about 9.15 hours, while with DC fast charging (CCS2) at the maximum supported input of 150 kW, a 0-80% state of charge (SoC) is achieved in 28 minutes.
In terms of equipment, the Q8 e-tron advanced 50 quattro comes with adaptive air suspension, 20-inch Graphite Gray five-arm dynamic style alloy wheels, man-made ‘mono.pur 550’ leather upholstery, LED headlamps with high-beam assist, the High-Gloss styling package, a leatherette dashboard and an aluminium look interior with glossy black operating buttons.
There’s also the Audi virtual cockpit plus (12.3-inch digital instrument cluster) and MMI Navigation plus infotainment system with MMI touch response. The latter consists of dual high-resolution touchscreen displays, with the upper one being a 10.1-inch unit that provides access to the majority of vehicle functions. Just below this is another display measuring 8.6 inches diagonally that handles climate control and selected features.
Rounding up the kit list for the base option is the Audi smartphone interface (Android Auto and Apple CarPlay), powered front seats with driver-side memory function, four-zone climate control, Audi drive select, a powered tailgate, eight airbags, Audi pre sense front and rear (includes AEB), adaptive cruise control (with speed limiter, efficiency assist swerve assist and turn assist), lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring as well as front and rear cross traffic assist.
If you have more money to spare and want more performance and fancier equipment, you can move one step on the variant tree to the Q8 e-tron S line 55 quattro that retails for RM475,790. This variant is dressed in the sportier S line trim inside and out, and its all-wheel drive electric powertrain delivers 408 PS (402 hp or 300 kW) and 664 Nm.
As a result, the century sprint time is reduced to 5.6 seconds, but the top speed remains the same. The Q8 e-tron S line 55 quattro’s battery also has a higher gross energy capacity of 114 kWh (106 kWh usable) that bumps up the range to 582 km. In terms of charging, the higher-spec variant supports AC charging at a higher rate of 22 kW, with a full charge taking six hours. The DC fast charging rate is also increased to 170 kW, and a 0-80% SoC is reached in 31 minutes.
The Q8 e-tron S line 55 quattro improves upon the base variant’s kit list by including 21-inch five-arm black turbine style alloys, Valcona leather upholstery, matrix LED headlamps, an illuminated Singleframe grille, a panoramic glass sunroof, illuminated S line scuff plates, a three-spoke flat-bottomed steering wheel, air ioniser and aromatization for the climate system, power-assisted door closing and virtual exterior mirrors (cameras in place of traditional side mirrors).
So far, we’ve covered the regular Q8 e-tron, but what if the traditional SUV body is a little too stale for your taste? Well, the Q8 e-tron is also available in Sportback form, and the two available variants for this coupe-esque body style mimics the regular model.
You do sacrifice a bit of boot space for a more dynamic shape, as the Q8 Sportback e-tron offers 528 litres at the rear. Pricing starts at RM390,790 for the Q8 Sportback e-tron advanced 50 quattro, which nets you the same powertrain as the regular-bodied equivalent mentioned above. The performance figures are the same, although range is slightly better at 505 km, likely due to the vehicle’s profile – charging specifications are identical.
Similarly, the equipment you get with the Q8 Sportback e-tron advanced 50 quattro mostly mirrors the non-Sportback variant, but there are some glaring differences. As standard, the base variant of the Q8 Sportback e-tron comes with sport adaptive air suspension, 20-inch Graphite Gray five-arm Aero ring style alloys, Valcona leather, matrix LED headlamps, the Black Styling package, red-painted brake calipers and dark Matte Brushed decorative inserts – these aren’t offered for the Q8 e-tron advanced 50 quattro.
Moving on to the final variant of the Q8 e-tron range, we arrive at the Q8 Sportback e-tron S line 55 quattro that is priced at RM485,790. As with the previous variant we talked about, the powertrain is similar to the non-Sportback equivalent above, and you also get slightly more range at 600 km. The 22-kW AC charging and 170-kW DC fast charging is also shared.
This extends to the kit list, with the range-topping Q8 Sportback e-tron mimicking the Q8 Sportback e-tron advanced 50 quattro, save for one notable difference: the Audi Sport 21-inch Black Metallic five-arm Aero structure style alloys.
Each Q8 e-tron purchased comes with a standard two-year warranty and five-year roadside assistance, while the EV battery is also covered by an eight-year, 160,000-km warranty. All variants can be optioned with the Audi Assurance Package (AAP) for an extra RM13,000 that adds another three years to the vehicle warranty for a total of five years.
All e-tron models sold will come with an e-tron Charging System Compact that consists of an intelligent compact charger and power cables. This can be used with a standard household power socket with an output of 1.8 to 2.3 kW, or via a three-phase power supply with an output of 11 kW.
Charging can be set to 100% and 50% percent charging power on the charging unit to avoid potentially overloading the home’s electrical system. As an additional benefit, owners will also receive complimentary RM1,000 JomCharge credits with a validity period of one year.
Here’s a simplified overview of the Audi Q8 e-tron line-up:
- Audi Q8 e-tron advanced 50 quattro – RM384,790; RM397,790 with AAP
- Audi Q8 e-tron S line 55 quattro – RM475,790; RM488,790 with AAP
- Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron advanced 50 quattro – RM390,790; RM403,790 with AAP
- Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron S line 55 quattro – RM485,790; RM498,790 with AAP
GALLERY: 2023 Audi Q8 e-tron S line 55 quattro
GALLERY: 2023 Audi Q8 e-tron advanced 50 quattro
GALLERY: 2023 Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron advanced 50 quattro
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Better than GLC300 and uglier EQC300
Nice! But I think it looks somewhat dated, or shall I say ‘conservative’, both in and out.
At least more details and cleaner look than benz
Paultan you forgot to mention another glaring differences between the suv and sportback style is the sport seats
People who thinks this looks good probably dont know how the cheap Audi looks. Try Google la how the petrol Audi Q3 and Q8 looks. They think the name Q8 means flagship and high class.
Or maybe they just think it looks good because the taillight is one long strip. Gosh
Surprisingly, this is probably the bargain of the century for Malaysian.
Very unlikely for an Audi!
now, this is the proper byd atto.
Nice
VAG lux product (audi/porsche) hv a more mature and stately look compared to other lux brand. Which our tax rate for cars are not to sky high like nowadays
Perfect looking car
Later, mercedes fanboys will come here to say bad things about this car but didn’t bother to check out more on why mercedes have so many missing things and also have poor quality compare to this brand as audi. Mercedes fanboys are very good annoying by disturbing peace to everyone and have been doing to so many brands. So I hope no more mercedes fanboys will come here to talk bad about this brand.
But you already accuse others when you don’t even have proof that they’re so called fanboys. Others talk about the car, you provoke others. Well done, car hater.
FYI, Mercedes owners are generally not single make owners. Most of them also have BMW, Porsche, Audi, VW, Mazda, Honda, etc. We don’t diss other brands. I guess fanboys only hope to be owners, one day.
I am not the one who did. You don’t know much on what Mercedes fanboys who are responsible for all sort of wrongdoings since beginning of this year. Ok since you think that mercedes fanbois have done nothing wrong, look at what mercedes fanbois have done by making trying twisting story for hiding for mercedes problems and making too many dislikes on people’s opinion on why mercedes is really bad while doing many likes for defending mercedes, same goes to what mercedes fanboys have do. Bro, please. You should know on why mercedes fanboys have been talking bad on other brands including Audi, Volkswagen, Volvo and Porsche since you don’t know really much or either that you are really new to this. There is no point to be angry with me and others. Mercedes fanbois are the one who have causes us big problems since beginning of this year. If mercedes fanbois didn’t do this, then we won’t able to do that back on what mercedes fanbois have done wrong and will have better peace but now….nothing to say. Just look on why mercedes have becoming failure by not improving on something including quality already missed out, instead of bashing other brands without any proof.
If you don’t believe me on why mercedes quality is really bad, you can go google search about reliability position on why mercedes in other countries proven to be poor, not only just malaysia. You can cry whatever you want but customer experience tells the truth. Even Mercedes looks too ugly and already lose to other brands. Btw, if you stop trolling on other brands and also without any proven, then mercedes will improve better rather than trolling on other brands by protecting mercedes sales and afraid that mercedes sales will lose to other brands
this is genuinely good value when compared against its competitors. hope this revives the Audi brand in Malaysia. their cars are rather conservative in design but damn are they fun to drive.
front look like new audi q3. back look like new audi q5. btw, the new audi q5 should have rear lamp like this. the current one look so weird.
Checked it out in the flesh in Audi Glenmarie and this is a really handsome car. Good space ergonomics too.
One poor decision they made was the dash material. The entire plastic length of the dash is so hollow sounding that it reeks of cost cutting. You wouldn’t even find that hollow sound in a Perodua or a Proton. Funnily enough, the first gen BMW X1 had the same plasticky hollow sound from the meter cluster dome. Horrid.
But overall, this is definitely a bargain. Now, if only government can change the laws about EV chargers in strata properties…..
Definitely the most handsome looking EV SUV to date.
2 year warranty is a warning sign
The car for the price looks good. Too bad Audi Malaysia sales team is horrendous. Selling away customer’s paid booked allocation to other people then feigning ignorance of their act will costs Audi any chance of revival in the country.
Until they can find truly proper dealers, avoid it like a plague!!