AudiQ8SLine

Whatisit?

The Q8 50 TDI Quattro 286PS, S line, tiptronic, giving it its full title, is quite a statement. And so it should be seeing that it’s the range-topper for their Q-brand. Audi wanted to combine the elegance of a luxury coupé with the comfort, convenience and versatility of a large SUV, a bit like BMW’s X6, or the Range Rover Velar, it’s certainly a well-established and lucrative market.

Ontheroad

The last time I borrowed the big Q8 we spent most of the time travelling to, and around Scotland, where it ate up the miles with ease. During the long motorway stretches Muddy Madam either tapped away on her laptop beside me, or snoozed. The quiet ambience and soft air suspension didn’t cause her to be nauseous once.

In comfort mode the huge Q8 wafts along nicely which is pretty much how I drove it all week; it suits it. However this time around I spent more time commuting and partaking in more local adventures.

Although it’s still a big car, it’s actually 66mm shorter and 35mm lower than its Q7 sister car, though the Q8 is 27mm wider in the body. This became all too real as I nervously shoehorned its wide girth into an incredibly tight underground car park in central Manchester. I thought I wasn’t going to make it, even after I’d folded the mirrors in.

Out on the open road the Q8 loves to glide along in an unhurried manner, things are just chill, as the young‘uns say. The steering is on my preferred side of weighty and the whole experience is delightful.

Switching to Dynamic mode, that drops the suspension 40mm and offers a firmer ride and that’s when the fun begins. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a huge car, but it’s a fast huge car, and one that holds the corners incredibly well thanks to its grippy 285/45 R21 tyres, and of course quattro permanent all-wheel drive. I’m not going to say that it transforms the Q8 into an exciting driver's car, but it certainly livens things up.

Fuel wise, in ‘economical’ mode whilst driving at typical motorways speeds, the Q8 returned just over 33mpg, and pootling around town you can expect between high teens and mid twenties. The last Q8 I borrowed managed 41.8mpg after 6 hours at 60mph.

Offroad

As I mentioned, the Q8 comes with a Quattro transmission as standard, as well as an ‘off-road’ setting which raises the body just shy of 2”, or 50mm if you’re young and haven’t learnt imperial.

Raising the suspension to ‘off-road’ mode gives you quite a bit of confidence off the beaten track, but those tyres take it all away as there isn’t much in the way of sidewalls to flex.

I’ll be honest, the green lanes I took it down were quite damp after a few days of heavy rain and I did wonder how the huge tyres would cope in mud. I needn’t have, the clever all-wheel drive system kept us going forward, even after stopping on a hill to take photos didn’t prove a problem.

With the suspension of full height it can be a bit ‘thumpy’ at speeds over 10mph, but that is the nature of air suspension, it was exactly the same in the brand new Range Rover.

Like the Octavia elsewhere in this month’s mag, I feel the Q8 would rather use its AWD system to get you out of trouble rather than playing. That said, fit some decent tyres and I have no doubt you will be surprised at where it’ll take you.

Interior

There’s no doubt that it’s a lovely place to be, quiet and comfortable, but some of the functions on the double monitors aren’t easy to navigate, or find.

Like most vehicles with touchscreens, they can be difficult to use whilst on the move - simply finding the heater controls was a task in itself whilst negotiating twisty roads. For me, this is where the Q8 is deducted a significant amount of points.

Just because you have the means to make a flash interface doesn’t mean you should, just give us knobs, dials and proper switches, they're easier to use and a damn sight safer.

Now I’ve got that off my chest the rest of the Q8 feels as it should. There is ample elbow and leg room for all passengers, and a capacious 605 litres of boot space behind the back seats.

Something to bear in mind is that the Q8 is only a 5 seater, if you want 7 seats then go for a Q7. Oh, and much to the annoyance of my rear seat passengers, this particular Q8 didn’t have any USB or USB-C points in the back, only two 12v sockets.

Engine’n’transmission

There’s only one engine is available in the Q8 for those ordering this year: Audi’s 282bhp 3.0-litre ‘50 TDI’ diesel. It’s hooked up to a 48V electrical and mild-hybrid large-capacity battery and advanced engine starter-generator that helps keep it on the green side.

Conclusion

Despite my utter dislike for double touchscreens and no dials, the Q8 is on my favourite car list for 2022. Yes it’s huge, but driving it both on and ‘off-road’ simply made me smile, and doesn't it look resplendent in Matador red?

Price; £70,550 (as tested; £75,045)