The Everyday EV - Q4e-Tron

With its Q4 e-tron Audi has managed to achieve a normal driving experience that filters out the artificial feel of electric vehicles

- Hormazd Sorabjee

There's an end date for the internal combustion engine in the UK and it's 2030. After that date, all cars will have to be electric. That's just eight years away. In automotive terms, this is next week, given the long lead times and lifecycles with which the car industry operates. With the deadline to ban the sales of all new cars with combustion engines fast approaching, you would expect the UK to have a good charging network by now, in preparedness for the run-up to the total shift to electric cars. But no, the charging network isn't up to speed, which I discovered after spending four days with the Q4e-Tron, Audi's smallest EV.

Peaceful, easy feeling

The first test was of the boot, which is quite generous given the size of the car, and the Q4 swallowed two big bags quite comfortably. The cabin, too, had enough storage and was very practical for long drives.