2025 Audi SQ8 e-tron

The Audi SQ8 e-tron is the more powerful version of the Q8 e-tron. The midsize SUV is all-electric and seat up to five passengers. It's mostly carried over for 2025, with updates mostly to its features. Audi also offers the similarly-named SQ8 for 2025, which is powered by a gasoline engine – the “e-tron” is the indicator for electric here. Going forward, Audi will be altering its vehicle names, and while “A” still indicates a car and “Q” an SUV, the number following will be even if it’s electric, and odd if it runs on gasoline; and so expect the gas Q8/SQ8 to eventually get a new moniker.

Competitors to the Audi SQ8 e-tron

Rivals to this all-electric Audi can include the BMW X1, Cadillac Lyriq, Jaguar I-Pace, Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV, and Tesla Model Y.

What’s new with the Audi SQ8 e-tron for 2025?

The SQ8 e-tron got a makeover for 2024, and so changes to the 2025 version are mostly in some new features. These include wet-arm windshield wipers, a second AC charging port on the passenger side, heated front and rear seats, leather-clad dash and arm rest, multi-colour ambient lighting package, rear window sunshades, dual-pane acoustic front windows, soft-closing doors, intersection assist, and Asterisk Appstore in the infotainment system. There are also new 21- and 22-inch wheel designs.

New available options include a Class 3 trailer hitch, front and rear traffic recorder, 19.2-kW onboard charger, remote parking assist, air ionizer, digital matrix headlights, and a Black Optics Package with black grille, window trim, mirrors, and roof rails.

2025 Audi SQ8 e-tron Performance

The SQ8 e-tron models employ three electric motors, one at the front and two at the rear, spinning out a combined 496 horsepower and 718 lb-ft of torque. That gives it 94 more horsepower and 228 more lb-ft of torque than the Q8 e-tron, which has a single motor at the rear. In addition to the extra grunt, the SQ8 e-tron models also have a more advanced torque-vectoring system. The Q8 achieves it by braking the inside wheel on a curve; the SQ8 does also, but in addition it powers the outside wheel as well. The electricity comes from a lithium-ion battery – 114 kWh gross, 106 kWh net. It has a top speed of 210 km/h (130 mph). With a curb weight of 2,775 kg (6,118 lbs), this Audi’s acceleration is quick but not neck-snapping.

In a first-drive review of the 2024 Audi SQ8 e-tron, Jil McIntosh said, “The SQ8’s system really shone on some ferociously-winding roads... Audi says it takes about five milliseconds for the torque vectoring to respond, so it’s tucking into the corner as soon as you’re steering into it. Coming back out is just as smooth, and there’s virtually no body roll; this thing is wonderfully planted-flat around corners…if I’d gone off the pavement and into some of the tough-stuff paths that wound their way into the woods, those rear motors can also work together as if they were a locking rear differential for any necessary traction.”

2025 Audi SQ8 e-tron Efficiency

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) rates the SQ8 e-tron at 388 km of range with 20-inch wheels, which drops to 332 km if you opt for the 21- or 22-inch wheels. With the 20-inchers, it’s rated at 3.4 Le/100 city, 3.3 highway, and 3.4 combined, which stands for litres equivalent, the comparison of electric energy to gasoline energy; and an estimate annual charging cost of $1,080. Audi estimates it’ll take 31 minutes on peak 170-kW charging capacity to go from 10% to 80% of battery power. On a Level 2 home charger at 40 amps, expect to fill it in 13 hours.

2025 Audi SQ8 e-tron Safety

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) hadn’t finished up all of its crash tests on the 2025 SQ8 e-tron at time of writing, but on those it had, the vehicle earned the top five stars for rollover protection, but four stars for front crash. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) tested the not-quite-as-quick Q8 Sportback e-tron and named it a Top Safety Pick for 2024. It got the highest “Good” in the updated side crash, which better simulates being struck by a large SUV. It also earned “Good” in the original moderate front overlap, but hadn’t yet been crashed in the updated test, which now assesses potential injury to a rear-seat passenger as well as to those in front.

Standard driver-assist technologies include emergency front braking, blind-spot monitoring, door exit warning, adaptive high-beam headlamps, adaptive cruise control, tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), and mandatory rearview camera. Intersection assist, which brakes to avoid vehicles turning in front of the vehicle, is now standard instead of optional for 2025. An available Technology Package, at $2,350, adds a 360-degree camera, remote parking assist, and a head-up display.

2025 Audi SQ8 e-tron Reliability

Consumer Reports gave the 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron a “Recommended” badge, along with a predicted reliability score of 41/100, saying it expects it to have “about average reliability when compared to other new cars,” based on similar Audi electric vehicles plus its brand scores. J.D. Power wasn’t as confident, though – in its 2024 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study, which looks at three-year-old vehicles, Audi was ranked second-last among all automakers, topping only Chrysler.

2025 Audi SQ8 e-tron Interior

Standard features on both models include heated front sport seats in quilted leather, heated rear seats, auto-dimming mirror with compass, three-spoke heated and power-adjustable steering wheel, four-zone climate control, garage door opener, illuminated sills, 10.1-inch infotainment screen with navigation, and satellite radio. An optional Contour Seat Package, at $1,700, adds massaging and ventilation, four-way lumbar support, and passenger-seat memory.

In a first-drive review of the 2024 Audi SQ8 e-tron, Jil McIntosh said, “The shift lever is an unusual design, and I prefer it to the upright nubbins or twist-stalks that some other automakers use on their EVs. In this case, you rest your hand on the S-branded leather pad on the console, and slide the bar under it forward or back for a gear. Overall, the SQ8’s interior looks, well, normal, as if you’re getting into a regular gasoline-powered Audi that just happens to run on something other than gasoline. And I think that’s great; just because something’s electric, it doesn’t always need to look like it’s part of an outer-space mission.”

2025 Audi SQ8 e-tron Dimensions

The SQ8 e-tron has an overall length of 4,914 mm (193.5 in). Front-seat headroom is at 968 mm (38.1 in) and 980 mm (38.6 in) of headroom in the rear. Legroom is at 1,036 mm (40.8 in) in front and 993 mm (39.1 in) in the back. The straight-roofed SQ8 e-tron has 807 litres (28.5 cu.ft.) of cargo space with the rear seats upright, and 1,957 litres (56.4 cu.ft.) when they’re folded. It also has a small front trunk, or “frunk” under the hood, offering 62 litres (2.1 cu.ft.) of space; and can tow up to 4,000 lbs.

2025 Audi SQ8 e-tron Canadian Pricing

It comes in a single trim line with available options. The SQ8 e-tron is priced at $112,550, before a delivery charge of $2,850 and any additional fees and taxes.