Audi Sq8 E-Tron vs Mini 3D Hatch

What's the difference?

Late last year, Audi gave its large SUV range a freshen up by stocking its showrooms with the Q8 55 e-tron model; a rebadged, facelifted full-sized electric SUV designed to go head-to-head with things like the Mercedes-Benz EQE.

As it turned out, the Q8 55 was destined to become the mid-spec model and now Audi has book-ended the Q8 range with the entry-level Q8 e-tron 50 and the flagship SQ8 e-tron.

And while the previous 55 model was available in Sportback and SUV (station-wagon) forms, the latter has now been dropped.

That leaves the 50 model as an SUV only, while the headline act – and the vehicle we’re testing here – the SQ8 can be had in either body style.

The reason we’re concentrating on the biggest, baddest, most expensive variant, is that’s precisely what Audi is tipping the Australian market will gravitate towards.

In fact, as many as 70 per cent of Q8-platform sales could be the SQ8. That’s in line with the Australian market’s fondness for spending up big on the sportiest version of many makes and models, but it remains a bit of an anomaly in the rest of the car-buying world. Nevertheless, it remains the reason we’re focussing on that variant here.

Of course, electrification has never been more important for a carmaker operating here since the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard was announced recently, and even though the Q8 range will be a small percentage of Audi’s sales here, any EV represent progress towards meeting corporate targets.

Coincidence is a funny thing. The same week I had the Mini Cooper S 60 Years, the last VW Beetle rolled down the line in Mexico. VW blamed its mammoth €25bn investment in electric, but the reality is that nobody was buying that nostalgia trip anymore.

The story of Mini is quite different. BMW's aggressive expansion of the range beyond the three-door hatch has breathed all sorts of life into a brand that could have disappeared up its own Union Jack. Instead of sticking to the formula, the brand tried all sorts of things but has since settled on the hatch (three- and five-door), the Cabrio, the wacky Clubman semi-wagon and the Countryman SUV. BMW is now making lots of cars on the same platform, a nice two way street.

The Mini Cooper S is 60 years old and unlike the Beetle, it's powering on past its birthday and the company - no stranger to a special edition - has slapped together a classic combo of colours, stripes and badges.