2024 Audi Q8 Review: Practically Stylish

Coupe-style SUVs are less practical and more expensive than their boxier siblings, but that hasn't prevented them from selling up a storm. The Audi Q8 exploits that niche, along with rivals such as the similarly priced BMW X6 and more expensive Porsche Cayenne Coupe. Even Genesis is readying a GV80 Coupe, set to arrive next year. Now that the Mercedes GLE Coupes are only sold as more expensive AMG-fettled models, these are the only three contenders in the USA in this market segment - for now. As coupe-styled SUVs go, the Q8 doesn't have such a severe rake to its rear roofline and is more practical than most, with a large cabin and roomy trunk, so you can still rationalize it as a do-it-all SUV. Still, it's nearly $8k more expensive than that three-row Q7 with the same V6 engine, so you better be sold on the styling and exclusivity to pay more for less. Offered in three trims, all with the same 335-horsepower 3.0-liter turbocharged six-cylinder engine, the Q8 only just undercuts the cheapest X6 on price. To find out which is the best car, read on.

New for 2024

The 2024 Q8 changes mainly in terms of its appearance. It gets an exterior facelift with restyled front and rear fascias and lights, with additional paint colors and wheel designs becoming available at the same time. New matrix-design LED headlights are now available as well - and standard on the Prestige. The cabin is subtly jazzed up with new upholstery stitching.

The standard equipment does get a few tweaks, though. Lane guidance and adaptive cruise control are now standard, and the latter gains a new display mode to show you distance and lane-change alerts, in addition to intersection assistance. Via the infotainment system, you can now also download third-party apps such as Amazon Music and Spotify. There are still three trims in the range - Premium, Premium Plus, and Prestige - and their mechanical specifications stay the same - but the starting price of the new Audi Q8 increases by $900.

2024 Audi Q8 Price: Which One to Buy

The base price of the 2024 Audi Q8 Premium is $73,300, followed by the Premium Plus at $77,800 and the Prestige at $81,800. These prices are MSRP and exclude extra-cost options, packages, and the destination fee; the latter will cost you an additional $1,195.

In our opinion, the Premium Plus represents the best package in the lineup. It has everything the Premium has, but for just $4,500 extra, you get a premium 17-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system, ventilated front seats, a wireless charging pad, four-zone climate control, and a surround-view camera, along with upgraded interior lighting and trim. We might consider adding the $1,450 Executive package with its dual-pane acoustic side glass, traffic sign recognition, heated rear seats, and power rear sunshades.

Interior and Features

The high-tech digital cockpit can be overwhelming at first glance, and the many display screens can be distracting to use.

The Q8 is genuinely premium inside, with all the wood and leather you'd expect at this price level and high-quality, soft-touch materials in evidence almost everywhere. The dashboard has a long horizontal grate sweeping across its width in which the air vents are hidden, with a big digital gauge cluster facing the driver - and that's just one of three digital displays. In the center of the dashboard is the infotainment touchscreen and, below that, a smaller HVAC touchscreen. It represents a bit of overkill at first glance and takes a while to learn. So many functions depend on the touchscreens that you have to take your eyes off the road quite a lot. It's easy to get in via taller doors that you usually find on coupe-style SUVs, especially in the second row, where interior space leads the class. The pillars are thick, and the view out is commanding but a bit restricted, but at least you get the backup camera and parking sensors front and rear. A surround-view camera is optional on the Premium and standard on the rest.

Space

The Q8 has one of the longest wheelbase measurements in the class, and Audi has made the most of the available acreage between the axles to create an interior largely free of the compromises typical of coupe-style SUVs. Rear legroom is genuinely abundant, and the rear roofline does not drop away as dramatically as that of an X6, ensuring much more headroom for the second row. As coupe SUVs go, the Q8's packaging is an unqualified success, making it a properly practical SUV, not just a stylish one.

Cargo

It's a similar story with trunk space, and the Audi again beats all comers with 30.5 cu-ft behind the second row. Total trunk volume with the 40/20/40-split second row folded forward amounts to 60.7 cu-ft - again better than both the X6 and Cayenne Coupe. It would have been even more if the rear seats could fold completely flat. Smaller items can be stored in the two netted compartments in the left sidewall of the luggage area.

Cabin storage is taken care of by a small glovebox, four door pockets with bottle holders, front seatback pockets, two front cupholders next to the shifter lever, a phone rest behind them, which is also the wireless charging pad when equipped, and a lidded storage box behind that. The rear-seat passengers get two cupholders in the center fold-down armrest.

Materials and Colors

All Q8s get leather upholstery, a leather-trimmed steering wheel, aluminum door sills, high-gloss Gray Oak wood inlays, and a leatherette-trimmed dashboard. The Premium and Premium Plus get access to four interior colors - black with Rock Gray stitching, Okapi Brown with Steel Gray stitching, Pando Gray with Rock Gray stitching, and Saiga Beige with Steel Gray stitching. In all four cases, the dashboard and carpeting are black, but the first two come with a black cloth headliner, and the last two have a silver one. The Premium Plus gets illuminated aluminum door sills, adjustable multi-color ambient LED interior lighting, and stitched leatherette on its armrests and center console.

The Prestige gets upgraded Valcona/Cricket leather upholstery with an interior in black with Rock Gray stitching, Saiga Beige with Steel Gray stitching, or Sarder Brown with Rock Gray stitching, all with black for the dashboard, carpeting, and headliner. If you opt for the $3,700 Luxury package, you get a black faux-suede Dinamica headliner and more leather, with the hide extending to the upper door panels.

Features and Infotainment

The Premium trim is well-equipped, as it should be, for well over $70k. Some of its standard features include keyless entry, push-button start, heated power front seats, an electrically adjustable and leather-trimmed tilting/telescoping steering wheel, and a three-zone climate control. Higher trims get massaging and/or ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel and rear seats, four-zone climate control, and more. Options on the base car include some of the items that are standard in the upper trims, such as a heated steering wheel and wireless charging pad. The Premium Plus gets access to some features that are standard on the Prestige, which the Premium doesn't have access to, such as heated rear seats and dual-pane acoustic side glass.

The driver faces a 12.3-inch configurable Audi Virtual Cockpit digital gauge cluster, with a 10.1-inch touchscreen to its right and an 8.6-inch HVAV touchscreen below that. Infotainment features include Bluetooth audio streaming, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Audi Connect services, a Wi-Fi hotspot, traffic-light information, Amazon Alexa integration, navigation, and a ten-speaker audio system. You can also download third-party apps such as Amazon Music and Spotify via the infotainment system. You can add a wireless charging pad to the Premium via the Convenience package, which is standard on the other trims. The Premium Plus gets a 17-speaker Bang & Olufsen 3D sound system with a subwoofer, 16 channels, and a 730-W output. Optional on the Prestige only is a $5,000 Bang & Olufsen Advanced 3D sound system with 23 speakers.

Performance

The sole engine choice is falling a little behind in this class, trailing behind both the Cayenne Coupe and X6 in terms of power output.

The standard engine in the Audi Q8 is a turbocharged 3.0-liter six-cylinder with 335 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque, which carries over unchanged from last year. It sports a 48-volt mild-hybrid system to improve fuel economy and smooth out the stop-start system. There is only one available drivetrain configuration - an eight-speed automatic transmission and quattro permanent all-wheel drive. This combination gives the Audi Q8 a 0-60 sprint of 5.5 seconds on its way to a limited top speed of 130 mph. This is quick, but not as quick as the 375-hp X6, which can get to 60 in 5.2 seconds. Trailering performance is excellent, though, with a maximum towing capacity of 7,700 lbs. Ground clearance is a car-like 5.8 inches, so the SUV moniker is only for bragging rights and not for going off-road.

The Q8 is a fairly sporty SUV to drive, inasmuch as these concepts are compatible. The steering wheel doesn't bristle with a feel, but it's precise, while body roll is contained well, and grip limits are high. The adaptive air suspension works very well but is not needed - the standard steel suspension does an excellent job containing the heavy 5,000-pound SUV's body motions and absorbing bumps, even on the larger available 22-inch alloys. What the air suspension is useful for is for traversing bad roads, where it can be raised to improve ground clearance. The powertrain is a bit laggy both in terms of getting away from the stoplights and when making sudden power demands at speed, but it pulls strongly once it gets going. This state of affairs improves appreciably in Sport mode, blessing the Q8 with far more alert responses.

Fuel Efficiency

The Audi Q8's mpg figures aren't impressive despite the mild-hybrid assistance. Gas mileage, according to the EPA, works out at 17/23/19 mpg for the city/highway/combined cycles - exactly the same as the Cayenne Coupe with the same powertrain. For comparison's sake, the X6 xDrive30i wipes the floor with both with its excellent 24 mpg combined.

The Audi Q8's 22.5-gallon fuel capacity ensures that it can achieve a range of around 427 miles on a tank.

Safety

Safety is improved this year with the addition of adaptive cruise control and lane guidance on all trims, and crash scores are excellent.

Every safety review of the Audi Q8 gives it top marks. The NHTSA gave the 2024 Q8 a five-star overall rating, while the IIHS blessed the 2023 Q8 with a Top Safety Pick+ award and Good scores for most of the tests.

The standard safety specs have been improved this year with the addition of lane guidance and adaptive cruise control to all the trim levels. Besides these driver assists, front-collision alert with automatic emergency braking, Audi pre sense front that readies the car for an accident and closes the windows and sunroof, lane-departure alert, blind-spot monitoring, automatic LED headlights with auto high beams, parking sensors front and rear, and rain-sensing wipers are standard on all trims. A surround-view monitor is added to the Premium Plus but is an option on the Premium via the Convenience package, while the Prestige also gets remote automated parking and a head-up display. Optional on the Prestige only is night vision.

Reliability

JD Power hasn't rated the reliability of the 2024 Audi Q8, but last year's model received a middling score of 74 out of 100 for Quality & Reliability. There have been few recalls, though, with none so far for the 2023 or 2024 Q8. The 2022 model was recalled only for an inoperative backup camera display.

The limited warranty of the 2024 Audi Q8 is valid for four years or 50,000 miles, with the exact same limits applying to the powertrain warranty.

Warranty

Design

The Audi treads a fine line between a dramatically sloped rear roof, such as you'll see on an X6, and a traditional boxy SUV profile. It's sleek enough to pass the style test, yet offers far better second-row space than the BMW. It relies on premium detailing and high-tech LED lighting signatures to drive the point home that this is more Sports than Utility, and Audi has to be commended for creating a shape that is at once beautiful and practical. All trims look identical on the outside, with the same 21-inch alloys and power panoramic sunroof, but if you look closely, you'll see that the bottom two trims' LED headlights are replaced with more advanced matrix-LED headlights with Audi Laser Light on the Prestige. The $2,550 Black Optic package with 22-inch wheels and blacked-out exterior trim is optional on all trims, but only the two top trims get access to the $750 S line style package that applies more subtle exterior enhancements.

Verdict: Is The 2024 Audi Q8 A Good SUV?

The Audi Q8 is an excellent package, combining style and practicality in equal measure in a class where the latter usually takes a back seat. It's roomier in the back than the X6, but at a significant power disadvantage and not as sporty, while the aspirational and superbly handling Cayenne Coupe isn't that much more expensive and more fun to drive. Soon, Genesis will have a high-value offering in the fray, too, but for now, the Q8 does enough to tread the fine line between form and function and remains a very competent option in this market segment.