Audi SQ8 review

Although the similarly fast BMW X5 M50d is priced rather lower, If you’re already considering a high-spec Audi Q8, the SQ8’s price premium actually looks fairly slim. And, although no SQ8 is short on standard equipment, as you’ll have seen on the previous pages, the leap from “entry-level” spec to the top Vorsprung trim level is a relatively small one that might be worth making.

Vorsprung brings additional high-tech features that make the SQ8 unique in its class, such as the active anti-roll bar, four-wheel steering and sport rear differential that we explained in the driving section . It also adds lane-keeping assistance and a system that warns you if it senses a car approaching from either side if you’re reversing out of a garage or driveway. 

Being diesel-engined, the SQ8 will go further on a full tank than a petrol alternative such as the Porsche Cayenne — we managed a decent 33mpg over some steep mountain roads. We can’t comment on official mpg or CO2 emissions, because Audi hasn’t released them yet. 

In the 2018 What Car? Reliability Survey, Audi finished near the bottom of the table, trailing BMW but placing ahead of Mercedes and Porsche.