Audi RS Q8 review

You don’t need to go for the priciest trim level to get all the fancy chassis and suspension technology – it’s standard on the ‘entry-level’ RS Q8. Mind you, with a six-digit price tag, most would agree that it ought to be.

However, although it costs as much as a three bedroom house in Yorkshire, the RS Q8 represents good value against the more expensive BMW X6 M Competition. The Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupé is also more costly, and requires you to make merry with the options list in order to spec it up to the level of the RS Q8.

Still, for those who crave even more features, Audi offers the Carbon Black edition, which liberally applies Alcantara-suede trim to the steering wheel, gear selector and headliner, and brings extra USB charging ports and a pair of electric sun blinds for the rear side windows. There’s also a fruitier sounding sports exhaust and a carbon exterior styling package.

Range-topping Vorsprung models, meanwhile, add an upgraded Bang & Olufsen sound system, a panoramic glass roof, a head-up display for the driver, and heated rear seats. You’ll also get Audi’s full suite of safety technology, including front and rear cross-traffic alert, blind spot monitoring, speed limit recognition software and a 360-degree bird’s-eye view camera.

Given the RS Q8’s 2.4-tonne weight and hugely powerful V8 petrol engine, it’s perhaps not surprising that single-figure fuel consumption figures are entirely possible if you make full use of its performance. However, even with your sensible trousers on, when you’re employing the mild hybrid and cylinder deactivation tech, the official average of 20.5mpg (for cars with the smaller 22in alloy wheels) is nothing to write home about.

Audi finished in a slightly disappointing 20th place out of 31 car manufacturers in the latest What Car? Reliability survey. Mind you, its rivals performed even worse: BMW was 21st, Porsche 23rd and Alfa Romeo 25th.

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