Audi Q9 Ditches Electronic Door Handles for Traditional Design After CEO's Poor Test Drive Experience

After test-driving the vehicle, Audi CEO Gernot Döllner concluded that electronic door handles offer a less practical and satisfying user experience in daily use compared to conventional mechanical ones. As a result, Audi has abandoned its original plan to equip the Q9 with electronic door handles and will instead use traditional mechanical handles. The vehicle was initially designed with small touch-sensitive winglets integrated into the top of the doors, allowing users to unlock the doors by touching an感应 area to activate an electric mechanism. Döllner emphasized that this change was not influenced by China's recent ban on such electronic handles but was based entirely on real-world customer usage scenarios. Despite the development process already being in an advanced stage, Audi’s body engineering team successfully implemented the modification. The Q9 will still feature high-tech amenities such as power-operated doors, a panoramic glass roof, and curved OLED taillights. Positioned above the Q7, the Q9 will be offered in both six- and seven-seat configurations. In Europe, it will be powered by a 3.0-liter inline-six diesel engine producing 295 horsepower, while the U.S. market will receive a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 gasoline engine delivering 429 horsepower. The high-performance SQ9 variant will come with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine generating 591 horsepower.