2023 Audi Q8 Overview

What’s new:

  • Minor feature updates are available
  • The Prestige trim comes with Remote Park Assist Plus as standard.
  • The first generation of the Q8 will come out in 2019.

The top-of-the-line Audi Q8 SUV is the most expensive non-electric SUV the company makes. Even though it is a sportier version of the Q7 with three rows of seats, it only has two rows. Not only is the Q8 stylish and comfortable, but it also has a lot of power, space, and cutting-edge technology. The digital instrument panel and dual-touchscreen infotainment system add to the modern and high-tech look of the interior. The Q8 can also pull a lot of weight behind it. Both the SQ8 and the RS Q8, which have their own reviews, have more power and speed.

The Q8 is a good luxury SUV in most ways, but there are some things to think about. It doesn’t have as many seats as the Q7, and some people might find it hard to use the information and entertainment system. During testing, poor gas mileage and bad visibility were also found to be problems. If you want to know who the Q8’s main competitors are, they are the Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe, the Porsche Cayenne Coupe, and the Genesis GV80, which is the newest car on the market.

Pros:

  • It comes with a lot of things and is well-equipped.
  • a comfortable ride
  • The front and back seats are made of high-quality materials that keep you comfortable all day.

Cons:

  • The Q7 Touchscreen interface, which is not as useful, can be a pain to use.
  • In the default driving mode, the response of the throttle is slow.

How does the Q8 move? When pushed, the Audi Q8 shows that it has enough power to go at a good clip. During the “Invoice Pricing” tests, it took 5.6 seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph. Even though other SUVs in the same class with similar engines are as fast or faster than this one, it is still a fast car. But given how much power the car has, the throttle response in normal driving mode seems strangely weak. In Sport mode, the response gets to a good level.

The Q8 can do both wide and tight turns well. In Sport mode, the suspension is tightened down and body roll is well controlled. Only in faster turns does the Q8’s weight become a problem. The steering effort is just right and very accurate.

How comfortable is the Audi Q8? The Q8 has a lot of comfort, just like any good luxury SUV. The front seats are great because they can be moved in a lot of ways and have soft armrests. The padding on the seat is firm but gives support. Heating and cooling work in a subtle way, but in the end, they are effective.

The Q8’s suspension does a great job of keeping the body in place and making the ride smooth. Even though the seats aren’t the softest, this Audi is a comfortable car to ride in. At highway speeds, both the noise from the road and the noise from the wind around the windshield are about the same volume. All other sounds in the background are effectively muted.

How does the inside look? Audi’s bold choice to make its latest infotainment system a full touchscreen has caused a lot of debate. Some people on our team thought the interface was too busy and confusing, but others liked how clean and simple it looked. When it came to how hard it was to see out of the Q8, we agreed more. The front and back roof pillars are thick, and the front windshield and back window are angled in a way that makes it hard to see out.

But there is a lot of space in the Q8. Even though the lower roofline makes it look like there is less headroom than there is, there is plenty of room in the front. The back seats are surprisingly comfortable, with lots of space for your legs, feet, and head. Three adults can sit comfortably on the large back bench.

How good is the tech? Some people don’t like the MMI interface, but there’s no denying that the Q8’s cabin tech is sleek and well-equipped. The Digital Cockpit instrument panel is both useful and nice to look at, and we like that you can connect your phone to it wirelessly.

The voice control system is less impressive because it doesn’t have as many features as Mercedes’ MBUX system. Audi hid almost all of the controls under the annoying infotainment system, so it should be able to do more. The driver assistance systems in the Q8 work well, but Audi put adaptive cruise control in an optional mid-trim package.

What about putting things away? The design of the Q8 keeps most of the space for cargo while also giving people something cool and attractive to look at. With the optional air suspension, you can lower the back to make it easier to get into the large cargo area. When the split seats are folded flat, they can hold a good 30.5 cubic feet of stuff. Aside from the large door pockets, there isn’t much room to store small things. Because there is a lot of legroom, any size car seat will fit, and the car seat anchors are hidden under covers that can be taken off.

With the optional towing kit, the Q8 can pull up to 7,700 pounds, which is the most in its class. By swiping on the bottom MMI infotainment screen, the driver turns on the trailer manoeuvre assist feature, which automatically steers the trailer while the car is in reverse.

How well does it use gasoline? Even though it has a mild hybrid drivetrain, the Q8 is not as fuel-efficient as many of its competitors with similar engines. It gets 20 mpg (18 city/23 highway) on average, which is about 2 mpg less than the average. On our highway-heavy test loop, we got 19.5 mpg, which was a little less than we had hoped for. This could be because Normal mode was too slow, so Sport mode was used to make up for it.

Is the deal good, Q8? From top to bottom, the Q8 is all about quality. The Q8 feels special not just because of its beautiful materials, but also because of how well it was designed and how well it was put together. The use of frameless windows in the shape of a sports car is an interesting part of the design. Unusually for an SUV, the doors are strong and keep out air.

High-quality buildings are too expensive for most people to afford. Our fully loaded test vehicle cost just under $100,000, which is a lot for a midsize V6 SUV. The warranties that Audi offers are typical for a luxury car company.

The Q8 gets a lot of points for how sporty it looks, and it also does a great job on the road. Even if it were possible, this car wouldn’t be able to beat sports sedans in a race. But for dropping kids off at school, you’ll have one of the coolest-looking SUVs on the market.

The best trim level for the Q8 is the Premium Plus level. It comes with all of the standard features of the base Premium trim as well as the parts of the convenience package. The heated steering wheel and air vents in the front seats make the car more comfortable, and the Bang & Olufsen audio system with 17 speakers will not let you down. Adaptive cruise control that keeps you in your lane is also included to make driving on the highway safer.

Audi Q8 models

There are three versions of the Audi Q8: the Premium, the Premium Plus, and the Prestige. A turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 engine makes 335 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque with the help of a 48-volt hybrid assist system. The Q8 only comes with one engine, which is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission that sends power to all four wheels.

2023 Audi Q8 Video Review

Invoice Pricing

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