Audi Q8 55 e-tron quattro (2023)

LATE and lost I need the skills of my 15-year-old wingman to sort out the technology that is leaving me bewildered.

How do I use the satnav as I can’t find a keyboard on the touchscreen and the voice recognition hates my accent – made even worse when I start to speak Anglo Saxon forcing the lady to go into a sulk before switching off completely.

He comes back with vital intel…press the box with the magnifying glass but then look down. The second touchscreen which had been showing the climate control goes blank. Then you can use your finger to write the postcode – how cool is that? But be warned, don’t do it while you are driving or you will crash, plus you’ll probably need to use your right hand rather than your left.

Postcode in, destination located, crisis over and I can start to enjoy the rest of the Q8 e-tron and there’s plenty to love.

Look at it. Menacing or what? Wide, sleek, muscular, with coupe silhouette and huge alloys, it oozes presence. Slim lights, bold grille and sculpted lines make Q8 a real looker. Then at the back, neat lights that stretch right across its haunches form the perfect rump.

Oh no, someone has knocked off the mirrors…oh no they haven’t, they have been replaced by cameras.  They pick up what is behind and project that onto small colours screens housed in the door trim. Doesn’t suit me as I wear varifocals so they are just a blur, but very cool.

Q8 e-tron is fully electric, of course, with all-wheel-drive thanks to twin motors. There’s plenty of power – 408PS and 664Nm of torque – so the sprint time is a rapid 5.6 seconds to 62mph and mid-range is lusty for safe overtakes.

Range? Well that very much depends on the driver’s right foot and the type of roads you are on – and it varies hugely. Official figures say an optimistic 330 miles. But the best I can manage is a creditable 275.

But what shocks me the most is how far you can go is down to driving style. There are two ways to school, a 60 mile motorway option and a 60 mile cross-country blast. First day sees the fast option used and I’m surprised to see that 110 miles of charge is used in 60.

But take the slower way home (and it has to said much more enjoyable route) and the Q8 only uses 45 miles to cover 60. That’s because the regenerative brakes work so well. Going on and off the throttle and applying the regen using the two paddles on the steering wheel works brilliantly well. It stops it using as much charge in the first place and puts it power back into the battery when you slow down. I barely touch the brakes, use the regen when approaching bends to slow the Q8 down and it works a treat – and I’m only 10 minutes later home than going the quick way.

Inside is lavish with a wealth of new technology. There are excellent multi-adjustable front sport seats and high quality fixtures and fittings.

Cabin ambience is quiet and peaceful thanks to acoustic windows, double-layer windscreen, high degrees of insulation and great aerodynamics until you crank up the superb hi-fi, that is.
There’s the latest infotainment, the two glass touchscreens I already mentioned that come with ‘haptics’, so they click when you prod your instructions. The clocks can be conventional or display the satnav, which itself looks real-time, like Google Earth. It fair bristles with technology, in fact, which my teenage wingman loves so that’s good enough for me.

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