Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron review: Valuable joules

JUST minutes into driving the Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron, I discovered that energy efficiency competitions take place on the road to perdition. With its updated flagship electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) now in town, Audi Singapore thought it would be fun to have the press here fight it out to see who among us could wring the most from its newly upgraded batteries.

Just as well that I love a good efficiency challenge as much as the next guy, although it’s more because I’m cheap than competitive – I once won enough fuel vouchers from a similar Audi event to last me a whole year.

Maybe because electricity is harder to give out than petrol, the prize this time was a ball autographed by members of something called FC Bayern, which I figure must be a Bavarian boy band. I tossed my hat into the ring anyway, figuring it would be a good way to get to know the two cars involved in the challenge: the Q8 Sportback e-tron and its less rakish sibling, the Q8 e-tron.