RE: Audi Q8: Driven

Friday 22nd June 2018

Audi Q8 | PH Review

Audi's attempt at an X6 arrives a decade after its BMW rival - has it been worth the wait?



Although you and I might look at a BMW X6 and wonder 'why?', if we worked in the product planning department at a rival premium car-maker such as Audi, 'wow' might be nearer the mark. Not because we'd have been caught in the tractor beam of the BMW's staggering kerbside allure, obviously. You don't need warp nacelles to escape that one.

No - you simply have to doff your cap to any manufacturer who's first to a profitable niche, and cleans up to the tune of nearly half-a-million units over ten years as a result. Believe it or not, the X6 has been a bit of a smash hit. Puzzling, isn't it?

It's perhaps less puzzling, in light of that success, that some of BMW's opponents have launched X6 rivals since 2008, in an attempt to steal a bit of extra-juicy 'sports utility coupe' pie. Audi's the latest, having just introduced its new top-of-the-range Q-car SUV: the Q8. Which used to be an unusually pricey place to buy your four-star, didn't it? Well, now it's an SUV-cum-GT-four-door.


The Q8 is, of course, another of those large VW Group SUVs. Its sister car, the Q7, was the first big 4x4 to adopt the group's 'MLB-Evo' platform in 2015, but there have been no fewer than four others to use it since (Bentley Bentayga, Porsche Cayenne, VW Touareg, Lamborghini Urus). And that's not counting the Audi Q5, which uses 'MLB-Evo' too.

Should we allow that fact to detract from the Q8's desirability, given how differently sister brands can apply the same model platforms these days? Maybe not; but perhaps the platform doesn't matter so much in this case. Because the fact that the Q8 looks so much like the Urus, at least from certain angles, will be the main reason people have that deja-vu moment when they first lay eyes on it.

Audi isn't coy about the particularly close relationship between the Q8 and Urus, by the way. The VW Group politics defining who made which decision and why will likely remain unknown to us; but according to designer Frank Lamberty, Audi set out on the Q8 project first - and if they hadn't "there's no way the Urus could ever have existed."


The Q8 is marginally shorter than a Q7, with a lower, swoopier roofline - but one of Audi's design departure points for the car was to do more than simply reprofile the Q7's silhouette. And so the Q8 gets frameless doors; a lower bonnet and wider singleframe grille than the Q7; wider front and rear wings, complete with what Audi calls 'quattro blisters' (inspired by those of the 1980s Sport Quattro homologation special) above the arches; and a 'faster' (read more steeply raked) rear windscreen.

Though it sounds like a lot of effort to have gone to, I'm not sure it looks like it. To my eyes a Q2 is a more distinctive and better-looking car than this. I'm sure few would object to the look of the Q8 in the same way they might have to the original X6 a decade ago; it's nice enough. It's just not brilliant to look at. It's another Russian doll Audi SUV, dare I suggest it.

On the inside, however, the Q8 looks and feels particularly plush and expensive. Over and above the perceived quality standard of a Q7 (not shabby), the Q8 adds a load more satin chrome and 'piano' black trim, and manages to deploy the latter in a way that isn't too vulnerable to fingerprints and dirty smudges.


But what distinguishes the Q8's cabin principally are the double-decker touchscreens of Audi's new 'MMI Touch' infotainment system to be found on the car's centre stack, as seen in the A8, A7 and the recent A6. I'm not the biggest fan of touchscreens in cars, but I found them fairly easy to use and low on distraction factor.

Passenger space is good: there's no third row of seats, of course, but there's plenty of room for taller adults in the second one, with headroom feeling lightly trimmed but not in particularly short supply. And boot space is a very healthy 600-odd litres.

And what of the driving? Does the Q8 struggle to set itself apart from the Q7 on the road, as well as elsewhere? The short answer's yes, for now - allowing for the fact that there's only one engine on offer until the beginning of 2019, and even then things don't get much more interesting.


Audi's launching the Q8 with its familiar 286 horsepower 3.0-litre '50 TDI' diesel lump, which is coupled to the extra-large lithium-ion battery, engine starter-generator and 48-volt electrical system of its mild hybrid powertrain. Next year there'll be a 340-horse '55 TFSI' V6 petrol and a 231hp '45 TDI' diesel on offer as well - but as yet there's no sign of the sort of engine that might lift a cultured but becalmed performance level to greater and more exciting heights.

And they're heights the Q8 could certainly do with hitting. As it stands, I dare say you'd be a touch underwhelmed to have given up a Porsche Cayenne, or a more expensive Range Rover Sport or BMW X6, for this car. That diesel engine's fine - torquey, smooth, remarkably quiet, and good for a very reasonable turn of speed. But it lacks a bit of richness and star quality - and I think Q8 owners will probably expect some of that.

The Q8's chassis, meanwhile (sports-tuned air springs and centre diff-based torque-vectoring four-wheel drive both standard; four-wheel steering optional; active anti-roll bars absent) is more firmly sprung than a Q7's, and feels it regardless of your selected drive mode. 'Comfort' mode still offers nicely cushioned bump absorption, good road isolation and a light, easily twirled steering wheel. But in 'dynamic' mode, the steering weights up notably, body control doubles down and, at low speeds, you can feel the Q8's four-wheel steering system adding a little bit of pointiness into the handling mix.


But, while the car turns in level and medium-hard and grips pretty well mid-corner too, it never surprises you with its agility. The Audi's balance feels a touch inert and stability-biased as the car's hold on the road runs short, and its driveline never seems either willing or able - on the road, at least - to shunt the kind of torque to the rear axle that might give it the throttle-on handling poise that one or two of its rivals can come up with.

Roll on Audi Sport's 'RS' version of the car, then (which you might have seen in our spy photos last week). Because with some more lively suspension tuning, a proper performance engine and a more aggressive styling makeover, the Q8 might yet represent a more attractively sporting proposition than a Q7. As it is, however, it feels as if it's only part of the way there.

Matt Saunders



SPECIFICATION - AUDI Q8 50 TDI QUATTRO S LINE

Engine: 2,967cc, V6 diesel
Transmission: 8-speed automatic, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 286@3,500-4,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 442@2,250-3,250rpm
0-62mph: 6.3sec
Top speed: 144mph
Weight: 2,145kg (DIN)
MPG: tbc
CO2: tbc
Price: £65,000 (tbc)












Author
Discussion

Digger

Original Poster:

14,588 posts

190 months

Wednesday 20th June 2018
quotequote all
Warp nacelles ?

We should not have google such nonsense to make sense of a PH Audi article

Turbojuice

598 posts

88 months

Wednesday 20th June 2018
quotequote all
Audi, Why?

frankenstein12

1,915 posts

95 months

Wednesday 20th June 2018
quotequote all
Ummm isn't that an Urus?

gigglebug

2,611 posts

121 months

Wednesday 20th June 2018
quotequote all
Are there some inconsistencies with the photos? I'm viewing on a phone for clarity but some make the Q8 look like it's got quite a narrow but tall frontal area where others make it look like it has a lower but wider stance. One looks better than the other but which is accurate?

Edited by gigglebug on Wednesday 20th June 23:42

Shiv_P

2,724 posts

104 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
That interior cloud9

Fastdruid

8,623 posts

151 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
frankenstein12 said:
Ummm isn't that an Urus?
Not quite...but it's very obviously the same "base". The body on the Urus while substantially in many places is totally different shares a number of commonalities.

sidesauce

2,456 posts

217 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
Turbojuice said:
Audi, Why?
Money. As the article said, 500k BMW X6 sales are not to be sniffed at.
My question is "what took you so long?"

Nerdherder

1,773 posts

96 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
gigglebug said:
Are there some inconsistencies with the photos? I'm viewing on a phone for clarity but some make the Q8 look like it's got quite a narrow but tall frontal area where others make it look like it has a lower but wider stance. One looks better than the other but which is accurate?

Edited by gigglebug on Wednesday 20th June 23:42
Just wait until all of the photos are loaded, then the problem disappears. Does show that PH can optimise serving it's website to phones on slower connections.

Nerdherder

1,773 posts

96 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
Ps think this car is very well proportioned and styled but the scale of these things is abominable.

spookly

4,011 posts

94 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
Much better looking than the X6 or the Merc. Still gopping and pointless though.

arkenphel

484 posts

204 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
Nerdherder said:
Ps think this car is very well proportioned and styled but the scale of these things is abominable.
I agree. Either that or this country is too small.

I like it though.

David87

6,648 posts

211 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
Far less offensive to the eyes than the X6 and whatever the M-B equivalent is called, probably because it looks more like a normal SUV and less like a weird giant hatchback than the others.

It’s about the last car I’d ever buy, but an RS Q8 would appear to be a something similar to a half-price Urus, so I would imagine it’s not just the diesel ones that’ll do well.

And I’d say the scale is just right. They’ll sell a bunch of these in the US, where the roads are full of Ford F-150s and Chevy Suburbans.

Burwood

18,709 posts

245 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
It looks a lot nicer than the bmw. Article says it’s a st st to drive. Why can’t a company of Audi’s size and expertise get it right.

E65Ross

34,945 posts

211 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
Is this truly an X6 rival? It has 2 extra doors, for starters. Is it not the rival to the upcoming X7?


E65Ross

34,945 posts

211 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
Burwood said:
It looks a lot nicer than the bmw. Article says it’s a st st to drive. Why can’t a company of Audi’s size and expertise get it right.
I'm pretty sure 99% of buyers of this type of car (and most cars, for that matter) don't give a st about the weight and feel of the steering system when going flat out around a country road. They'll probably care more about what it's like when they're driving to/from work, whether it's roomy enough for the family, whether it's a nice place to be and that it generally drives well. I'm pretty sure it'll be very good for its intended market.

GranCab

2,902 posts

145 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
E65Ross said:
Is this truly an X6 rival? It has 2 extra doors, for starters. Is it not the rival to the upcoming X7?
So ... has the Q8 got 6 doors or the X6 only got 2 doors ? wink

David87

6,648 posts

211 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
E65Ross said:
Is this truly an X6 rival? It has 2 extra doors, for starters. Is it not the rival to the upcoming X7?
Have you counted the number of doors on an X6? hehe

E65Ross

34,945 posts

211 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
David87 said:
E65Ross said:
Is this truly an X6 rival? It has 2 extra doors, for starters. Is it not the rival to the upcoming X7?
Have you counted the number of doors on an X6? hehe
Doh hehe

It's early and I haven't had my caffeine fix yet boxedin

MrBarry123

6,025 posts

120 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
It doesn't look great in the Autocar review in the gold/orange colour of their test car however I quite like the look of it in these pictures...

getmecoat

wab172uk

2,005 posts

226 months

Thursday 21st June 2018
quotequote all
Too big
Too heavy
Too expensive

They'll not be able to build them fast enough !!