The same applies to the new Audi Q8: Size matters

Things have been quiet around Audi in recent years. Here is a subtle update, there is a different equipment line and there are different engines. Here’s how you can broadly describe the development of the Ingolstadt VW subsidiary over the past 18 to 24 months.

Well, that changes this year – because the brand with the four rings has certainly not worked, in fact it has carefully prepared an offensive model and the top is the main symbol of the brand, the height of 4.99 meters Q8 .

Audi recently sent this updated version to dealers with an open design and updated technology. The revised exterior design and new front and rear aprons emphasize the SUV’s strong coupé character. The Ingolstadt company also equipped the Q8 with HD matrix LED lights for the first time with a laser as an additional high beam.

This headlight also features digital daytime running lights with selectable light signatures. Digital OLED taillights with four selectable backlight patterns complete the extended lighting array, but that’s just a hint of the options the premium five-seater has to offer.

Lots of space inside

Audi has redesigned the interior only slightly; as a quick test drive shows. Size means something. Space for up to five passengers is luxurious, the driver-oriented cockpit is well equipped and the infotainment system is intuitive to operate.

It is interesting that Audi does not keep up with the growth in the size of the main touchscreen. Compared to the first competitors, this is almost the smallest in the top SUV of the brand at 12.3 inches. And the fact that the volume control is not fully developed keeps the picture a little balanced.

The Q8 with a diesel engine was a guest for a short time in the VOLKSBLATT editorial team. To be precise, a three-liter V6. This expansion stage produces 286 hp and delivers 600 Newton meters of torque. This means that the nearly five-meter-long SUV accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 6.1 seconds and continues to a top speed of 241 km/h.

A brief technical note: The diesel engines on the Q8 work with an eight-speed tiptronic, quattro permanent all-wheel drive and a mild hybrid system that can reduce consumption in customer driving to 0.5 liters per hundred kilometers of Ingolstadt. The most important components for this are the lithium-ion battery and the starter belt generator (RSG), which provides the SUV coupé’s 48-volt main electrical system with power. During deceleration, the RSG enables regenerative power of up to eight kilowatts and feeds this into the battery.

Ride nice and smooth

In practice, the agile diesel engine with its precise steering allows itself a long time to think before getting to go. And speaking of gears: the interaction between the engine and the transmission does not work evenly and smoothly. In any case, the car can’t jump hard and the Q8 drives well for the most part. This means the Q8 has better body control than you might expect.

Even in Convertible mode, it won’t be fun to throw this car around a twisty road – it’s too heavy, too high and too wide for that. It is not an athlete, but it is a modern friend, confident and low consumption: a two and a half ton truck usually uses about seven and a half liters.

On the plus side, the Q8 also has comfortable seats, perfect fitment and of course first-class design and luxurious space. Size dictates.

Written by Oliver Koch