Audi showed off the updated 2024 Q8 coming to our market late last October and the updated 2025 Audi Q7 for US consumption late last month. Neither model made changes to their powertrains. However, in Europe, Audi has just unveiled two plug-in hybrid powertrains for the Q7 and Q8, bringing the PHEV back to market. In 2019, the Ingolstadt brand announced the 2020 Q7 PHEV, but global production issues soon led to it being withdrawn from the market as Audi had to prioritize components. The two new PHEVs build on the leadership and offer big improvements compared to the last attempts.
There are two trim levels for each SUV, the 55 TFSI E Quattro and the 60 TFSI E Quattro (this new naming structure will eventually catch on), both starting with Audi’s familiar 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 that makes 335 hp and makes 379 pounds. Feet of torque over the Atlantic. Both also pack a 25.9 kilowatt hour battery under the loading floor (22 kWh usable). Not only is this larger than the previous 17.3 kWh battery, but the energy-dense chemistry and module configuration ensures that the backpack does not take up cargo space. The purely electric range increases from 26 to 53 miles in combined driving mode in the WLTP cycle or even to 56 miles in the new WLTP city standard. According to Audi, with a relatively low charging power of 7.4 kW, it takes 3 hours and 45 minutes to refill the battery from empty to 100%.
In the 55, a new 174 hp and 339 lb-ft electric motor contributes to a total output of 389 hp and 443 lb-ft. Because the engine is more tuned to driving dynamics, such as filling in gaps when shifting gears and boosting the turbo, the 55 can go from zero to 62 miles per hour, 0.1 seconds behind the gasoline-only versions. In the 60, a new, more powerfully tuned electric motor increases total output to 483 hp and 516 lb-ft, cutting acceleration to 62 mph to five seconds. Both trims are limited to a top speed of 150 miles per hour in hybrid driving mode or 84 miles per hour in electric driving mode.
Audi has tuned the powertrain so that owners can choose which mode the vehicle starts in – EV or Hybrid – this choice remains until the owner changes it (a feature we’d like to see on some cars here). In hybrid mode, an automatic setting lets the powertrain decide how to use battery power and electric motor assistance, a hold setting keeps the battery current using a mix of engine power and regenerative braking, and a charging mode restores the battery to 75% full, “to save the battery and increase efficiency.”
The 55 and 60 variants are quite well equipped, including as standard the S-Line exterior package, LED headlights with high beam assistant, rim designs from 19 to 21 inches and optional rims up to 23 inches, nine decorative inlays for the cabin, contrasting seat stitching and a Charging cable. The 60 also comes standard with air suspension, an evolution of the 55’s steel springs.
Available to order now in Europe, but we don’t expect this to be the same as with previous PHEVs. The Q5 is as high as it gets among Audi’s plug-in SUVs.
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