Verdict
Large luxury SUVs conjure images of hunkering excess - and while the Q8 Sportback e-tron knows more than a thing or two about what it means to live lavishly, its charm also lies in its preference for being subdued.
The Q8 Sportback e-tron marks one of the pinnacles of electric motoring for Audi today. Its mid-life refresh has given it subtly fresher styling in the form of new grille (which now bears a light, elegant touch of illumination), but otherwise, it's still recognisably Audi-like: Clean and sleek, instead of confoundingly foreign. Against the Q8 e-tron (with its more conventional SUV body style), this feels like the more attractive twin too, with its extra curves adding extra sensuality.
The interior experience is likewise comfortingly familiar.
Audi has always excelled in crafting muted yet high-quality interiors with a heavy emphasis on intuitiveness, and the Q8 Sportback e-tron is no different. (Credit is due especially to the MMI infotainment system, with its snappy yet user-friendly tile-based interface.) A number of special elements stand out nonetheless - an eye-catching touchscreen dedicated purely to air-conditioning controls, for one, as well as a hefty gearshift lever that feels sumptuous and pleasant to grasp.
And mind you - because the Q8 Sportback e-tron is no small car, space is fantastic. Asian adults should have sufficient head room on the rear bench despite the sloping roofline - and definitely plenty of shoulder room, thanks to the car's sheer width. A 528-litre boot should also swallow up golf bags and grocery runs at Dempsey with ease.
What's notably different, however - and here's where the Q8 Sportback e-tron takes a leap forward - is when it's on the move. Now powered by a larger capacity 95kWh battery, and with revised electric motors propelling all four wheels, the car promises to go not just further but quicker between charges.
To be clear, it's not that its new name and new upgrades have overhauled the Q8 Sportback e-tron's character. But the car never really needed an overhaul anyway; it's always been an effortless, blistering quick luxe barge - content on pursuing its own quieter, curated ideals of luxury.
Against the competition today, we think that's exactly the sort of quality that continues to help it stand out.