Audi says new Q4 will 'stand out' from rest of range

Audi Q4 Autocar render
The upcoming Audi Q4, as imagined by Autocar
SUV will be inspired by the Audi TT Offroad concept from 2014 and will feature a plug-in electric powertrain

Design work on the Audi Q4 has finished, ahead of the coupe-SUV’s reveal next year.

Audi exterior design boss Andreas Mindt said that the model was “a bit more than a coupe version of the Q3, to my eyes a lot more”. He confirmed the designers had finished the styling last year, and that it had one feature in particular to really set it apart from other Audis.

The car maker previously confirmed the Q4 would be produced in 2019; production will take place at Audi's plant in Győr, Hungary.

It'll be part of a growing line-up of style-led SUVs, spearheaded by the electric Q6 and plush Q8, and is confirmed by Audi to take a coupé-like profile, albeit on a high-riding SUV body. 

The rakish five-seater has been conceived to compete against the upcoming BMW X2, Range Rover Evoque and Mercedes-Benz GLA.

The Q4 will sit on the same MQB underpinnings as the second-generation Q3. It is scheduled to follow the Q6 and Q8 into showrooms in 2019 at a price expected to start about £28,000.

With the next generation of the Q3 growing in size in order to provide space in the range for the recently unveiled Q2, the Q4 looks set to trump its closest rivals on outright dimensions.

Audi insiders have revealed to Autocar that the Q4’s overall length will be at least 4500mm — about 110mm longer than today’s Q3. The Q3 is currently built in Seat's Martorell facility, but production will move to Győr in 2018.

Plans for the Q4 were originally revealed by Audi in the form of the TT Offroad concept, which first appeared at the Beijing motor show in 2014. As with that car, the design of the production Q4 is set to include a heavily curved roofline and a liftback-style tailgate.

Inside, the Q4 is set to benefit from a range of developments already under way at Audi and parent company Volkswagen for inclusion the next generation of MQB-based models.

These include full-HD instrument displays, gesture control functions, a 9.2in touchscreen navigation monitor, inductive smartphone charging and the latest connectivity features.

Among the powertrains earmarked for the Q4 is a new generation of four-cylinder petrol and diesel units that have a common 1.5-litre capacity.

They will be joined by updated versions of today’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, as well as an all-new 2.5-litre fivecylinder petrol unit with up to 400bhp in a range-topping RS Q4 model.

The new Q4 line-up will also feature a plug-in petrol-electric Q4 e-tron model with an electric-only range of up to 31 miles — as prescribed by China’s green vehicle regulations.

READ MORE

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