SUV? Coupe? The Audi Q8 doesn't care what you call it

Friday, 18 January 2019

AUDI Q8

Base price: $149,900

Powertrain and performance: 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6, 210kW/600Nm, 8-speed automatic, AWD, Combined economy 6.3 litres per 100km.

Vital statistics: 4986mm long, 1705mm high, 2995mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 605 litres, 20-inch alloy wheels with 275/50 tyres.

We like: Looks sensational. Amazing interior. Haptic touchscreen is brilliant.

We don't like: Feels big, is big. Turbo lag off the line.

Out of all the not-really-a-coupe SUV coupes, Audi's Q8 is… the newest. It is also the least coupe-like and easily the best looking, as well as sitting at the top step of Audi's Q family.

They are really stretching the coupe definition beyond its limits with this one, aren't they?

Oh yes, they certainly are. Clearly the Q8 is the least coupe-like of all of the hunched oddities in this segment, which is very good thing in terms of its looks, but does make Audi's claim of it combining 'the elegance of a four-door luxury coupe with the practical versatility of a large SUV' harder to swallow.

Big grilles are the order of the day with the German manufacturers. Audi does make it work rather well on the Q8.

* A fast wagon for the gamer generation

* Audi SQ7 super-SUV finds success in excess**

But whatever they want to call it, the Q8 is a sensational looking thing that is packed with technology with generous layers of luxury draped over top.

The beautifully built interior is dominated by the two massive touchscreens that you use to operate almost everything.

The interior is simply remarkable, dominated by two big touchscreens and very few buttons. But unlike most attempts to replace buttons with touchscreens, Audi has largely got it right. Mainly down to the fact that the screens are so massive that most things that need to be immediately accessible are available on one or the other.

The Q8 has nicely avoided the awkward looks of its German 'SUV coupe' competitors. Still not a coupe though...

The brilliant haptic feedback (the screen gives your finger a little 'thump' when you touch it) also adds a new dimension to screen-only controls, with a physical confirmation you have pressed something.

As well as being impressively high-tech, the interior is also deeply comfortable and faultlessly made.

It looks nicely sportier than a Q7. Does it drive like it is?

Yes and no. While the lower, wider Q8 feels more planted and betrays less roll than the Q7 (not the SQ7 with its remarkable active anti-roll bars though) it is still a big, hefty thing and feels it through the corners.

It is decently quick and impressively confident, but you are always very aware that it is a big, blunt weapon, rather than a razor sharp precision instrument.

The biggest obstacle to the Q8 feeling sporty, however, comes from the noticeable lag off the line. Once it is up and running the 3.0-litre V6 mild-hybrid (it has the 48-volt electrical system from the SQ7, just not the active anti-roll bars) is a punchy and strong performer, but the delay from a standing start is frustrating. Roll on the RS version…

Any other cars I should consider?

Obviously the two cars that inspired it - the BMW X6 and the Mercedes-Benz GLE coupe - are the obvious competitors, but the Q8 is far cooler looking both inside and out than either, although a new X6 is due soon.

Other options could also include the Range Rover Sport or a top-spec Velar, which are similarly priced, while a Q7 or its platform-mate VW Touareg could also be alternatives if you don't hold with this whole 'coupe SUV' thing.

Range Rover Velar aside, however, none of those vehicles have the brutally cool presence of the Q8.