Audi SQ8 review

There’s an extensive range of electric adjustment for the steering wheel and driver's seat, with the latter including four-way lumbar support and an extendable seat cushion. The only issue is that once you're sat on the supportive and heavily bolstered S-specific leather seat, it’s a bit too easy to mistake this sporty model for a regular Q8, so restrained is the design of the interior. 

You can’t fault the build quality, though; everything operates with slick precision, and top-spec Vorsprung models even have generous amounts of carbon-fibre and swathes of Alcantara-suede on the doors.

Digital instruments take the place of conventional analogue dials and also display a multitude of additional data, including sat-nav maps and music playlists.

Unfortunately, while the twin touchscreens in the centre of the dashboard are crystal clear, you have to look down to operate the numerous icons – including for simple things like the climate controls – while good, old-fashioned buttons or knobs would be far less distracting. For that reason, we much prefer the BMW X6 M50i's iDrive system, which combines a touchscreen with a rotary controller and shortcut buttons.

All-round visibility is good in the SQ8, despite its sloping roofline. Also, to further help you out when reversing into a tight spot, the SQ8 gets both a rear view camera and parking sensors as standard, while a 360-degree parking camera is available as an option (this comes standard on Vorsprung models). Matrix LED headlights are included, too, to take the stress out of driving at night.