A TRIP TO Q8(some text hidden)

By Jonathan Crouch

Ten Second Review word count: 50

The Audi Q8 is one of those large coupe-style SUVs, part of a genre pioneered by BMW a decade ago with their X6 and subsequently copied by Mercedes. Audi's considered solution for fashion-orientated folk browsing in this segment is Q7-based and very Vorsprung durch technic. Especially in this updated form.

Background word count: 205

In this century's second decade, the Volkswagen Group's MLB Evo platform spawned lots of luxury SUVs. First, we had the Audi Q7, then the Bentley Bentayga, the Porsche Cayenne, the Volkswagen Touareg and the Lamborghini Urus. Finally, in 2018, we came back full circle to another Audi, a derivative of the Q7, this swoopier Q8, first launched in 2018. The Q8 was Audi's entry into the large sector SUV-coupe market, started in the Noughties by the BMW X6, which was then followed by the Mercedes GLE Coupe. The latest versions of both of those two rivals have received facelifts in recent years, so the Q8 has had one too, a car that these days sells alongside a completely separate EV model, the unrelated Q8 e-tron. Here though, we're looking at the combustion Q8, which continues to roll of the VW Group's Slovakian Bratislava production line (alongside the Q7, the Cayenne and the Touareg) and shares the same wheelbase and cabin width as its large Audi stablemate. The driveway demeanour though, is very different here, the emphasis on fashion, rather than family. It's pointless asking whether we really need this kind of car. People want them. Audi's made one. Is it any good? Let's find out.

Driving Experience word count: 437

The intended emphasis with this Q8 is far more on comfort and luxury than it is on lithe handling. Which is why Audi uses the full-length version of the Volkswagen Group's MLB-Evo architecture for this car, rather than the slightly shorter, more agile design of this chassis fitted to a rival Porsche Cayenne. As you'd expect, it's the same platform as features in the Q7, though here, the Ingolstadt engineers have fitted it out with shorter springs and larger wheels - which is unfortunate because both detract from the supple ride that ought to have been this Q8's calling card, fitted out as it is with standard air springs for the aluminium five-link front and rear suspension. To be frank, we've tried passively-suspended luxury-segment SUVs that have handled poor surfaces better. We'd hoped that the brand might have addressed this issue as part of this facelift, but as previously, unless you stretch to the six-figure sums required for the fastest SQ8 and RS Q8 versions, the drive dynamics of the mainstream models fall into that no-man's land between comfort and sportiness. Yes, as before, at speed through the turns you get excellent traction and decent body control. But this Audi's still much happier when you're not throwing it about. Or when you're towing; it can tug along up to 3,500kgs and 'off piste', the air suspension can raise the car as much as 254mm off the deck. Given that the brand is no longer developing combustion engines, it's no surprise to find that there are no changes to the two conventional powerplants that lie beneath the bonnet of this revised Q8. They're both 3.0-litre V6s, a 55 TFSI petrol unit with 340PS and the 50 TDI diesel with 286PS that we tried. As before, both models are fitted with the brand's 48V mild hybrid system with its belt-driven starter motor. And drive via an 8-speed Tiptronic auto. Plus of course there's standard quattro 4WD, which divides torque front-to-rear in a 40:60-split. When required, it transfers the majority of power to the axle with the better traction. The mainstream alternative is the 394PS petrol Plug-in Hybrid 55 TFSI e model, now improved with a larger 25.9kWh battery which improves EV driving range substantially to 51 miles. Your two other Q8 model options both use a sonorous but thirsty 4.0-litre petrol V8, which offers 507PS in the SQ7 and a prodigious 600PS or 640PS in the RS Q8. These variants get the All wheel steering (also available with top 'Vorsprung' trim on an ordinary Q8). And can also be fitted with a 'sport differential' and electromechanical active roll stabilisation.