2019 Audi Q8

The 2019 Q8 is available in 3 trims- Premium, the Premium Plus, and the Prestige. Premium trim starts at around $67,400 which gets Full LED headlights, 20-inch rims, a panoramic sunroof, Audi’s virtual cockpit, and the latest MMI system. Upgrade to the Premium Plus and you get a Bose surround sound system with 17 speakers, a 360-degree virtual camera, 21-inch rims, and some more. 

And if money is no limit then the Prestige trim gets you adaptive cruise control, HD Matrix LED headlights, Audi active lane assist, and several features. And obviously, there is a never-ending list of optional extras to make the prices go even higher. Optional features on the Prestige trim include 23 speakers Bang & Olufsen sound system, Valcona leather upholstery, Alcantara headliner, massaging front seats, and a few more.

We Recommend

This is a special car and we feel if you want to buy one, no stones should be left unturned. So we believe the best trim to go for is the top-of-line Prestige trim cause then you get a host of safety equipment as standard which otherwise you’ll have to add as an optional extra to the other trims. And though we do disapprove of Audi’s decision to not put those features as standard fitment across the range, it is what it is and we feel that it should be a must in the cars that cost upwards of fifty grands.

There is only one powertrain option available in the 2019 Audi Q8. It comes equipped with a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 that makes 335 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque. It is paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission and the power is fed to all four wheels via Audi’s Quattro AWD system. This system is also complemented by a 48-volt mild hybrid system which can be found on other Audi cars as well. Now the power delivery is silky smooth and there are no jerks or any harshness felt from the engine whatsoever. 

While driving in the city, the engine is all calm and relaxed and there is barely any noise that seeps inside the cabin. At lower RPMs, the engine is barely audible and it feels super refined and comfortable. But it is when you hit the freeway speeds and the motor has space to stretch its legs, that is where the car feels at home. It is an excellent mile muncher and it can go on and on without breaking a sweat. The eight-speed gearbox is also super responsive and among the best in the business. One thing though the car does feel a bit heavy while starting from a standstill but once on move, it masks its weight quite well.

And though this is quite a heavy car, the engine still managed to push the car from 0-60 mph in just 5.5 secs which is one-tenth of a second quicker than the supercharged V6 powered Velar. BMW X6 comes in an Inline-6 configuration while others come in V6 configs. X6 offers the least power and torque figures on paper and remains half a second slower than the Q8 in the 0-60 mph run.

Ride and Handling

The 2019 Q8 is an absolute delight to drive. Being a coupe SUV it is a performance-oriented version of the normal SUVs. Well good for you, it comes with Audi’s legendary Quattro all-wheel-drive technology. It makes sure that you never lose grip out of any corner and provides great drivability. Also, the car comes with rear-wheel steering so at slower speeds it turns the back wheels in the opposite direction as the front to make the turns faster, and then at higher speeds, it turns the wheels in the same direction as the front for increased stability.

There is a lot of witchcraft going on to make sure the car handles like a dream. This is a heavy car and you can feel the weight while pushing the car hard around the bends but still it never feels like the car will lose its line. The car has stiffer suspension than the Q7 which can make the ride a bit harsh but then again that is a small compromise in making the car don’t lose its composure even while thrashing around the corners.

Braking Performance

The 2019 Q8 is a seriously fast car and it needs some really good braking hardware to make sure the car can stop in time under emergency scenarios. Well, you are in safe hands as the Q8 comes with massive 14.8-inch discs at the front and 13.8-inch discs at the back. The Q8 in panic braking can brake from 60-0 mph in 121 feet.

The 2019 Audi Q8 comes with the biggest set of brakes in the competition and they are pretty much needed as well because it is the heaviest car in the bunch. It stops in just 121 feet from 60 MPH when the brakes are slammed, which is the smallest distance that none of the rival SUVs could achieve.

One thing that the 2019 Q8 is not good at is being kinder to mother nature. The engine though has a lot of techs to make sure it sips less fuel as it has got a 48V mild-hybrid tech that shuts off the engine as soon as you lift off the gas pedal and also has an auto start-stop feature. All this means that the 2019 Audi Q8 gives EPA estimated fuel economy figures of 17 mpg in the city, 22 mpg on the highway, and a combined mpg of 19. With a fuel tank of 22.5-gallon, it manages a range of 382 miles in the city and 495 miles on the highway from a full tank of gas.

All cars in the competition offer almost similar fuel economy but when it comes to driving Mercedes GLE takes home the win; thanks to its large 24.6-gallon fuel tank and higher highway gas mileage compared to the Audi Q8. As for the other two, the Velar and the X6 offer the best 18/24/20 mpg of gas mileage in city/highway/combined respectively.

So just like any other Audi, it’s like pure business here inside the 2019 Q8 as well. The layout of the dashboard is just brilliant and it feels very premium and sophisticated. The very first thing you are going to notice inside are the three massive displays that control pretty much all the functions of the car. We will talk about this in a while but first, let’s shift our focus on the overall feel of this cabin. This is a stylish coupe SUV and Audi has left no stone unturned to make it feel special.

There is a slab of shiny piano black trim on the dashboard and it looks rather premium. The whole dashboard is wrapped in leather and there is an option to replace the aluminum inlays with much expensive wooden trim. The steering wheel is also leather-wrapped and behind it are aluminum paddle shifters. It is a very nice and chunky one to hold. 

The front seats as standard are wrapped in leather and are quite comfortable to sit at. But we would recommend getting the optional sports seats that are wrapped in Valcona leather. They are nicely contoured and are very supportive and comfortable. The seats also offer heating and ventilation and are fully electric adjustable. Also, there are seven color combinations to choose from to give the cabin a more personalized touch.

At the back, there is a bench seat, and even though they are very supportive and comfortable, we prefer the front seats over them. The Q8 is quite a wide car which means the back seat can accommodate the third passenger easily and there is also loads of space inside. The back seats also have slide and recline functionality which makes them even more comfortable over the longer journeys. Talking about more specific details, BMW is the one with the most spacious front row seats as always. But the rear seat comfort is the best in the Q8. Also, the Q8 is the one with the most practical cabin due to its dimensions. The Q8 boasts a cargo volume of 30.5 cubic feet which is still lower than the GLE’s massive 38.2 cubic feet and Velar’s 34.4 cubic feet of boot space.

Standout interior features:

• Valcona leather upholstery (available)
• 12-way power-adjustable front seats
• Massaging front seats (available)
• Ventilated front seats
• Heated rear outboard seats
• Heated steering wheel
• Tri-zone automatic climate control

How intuitive is the car’s infotainment system?

Well, the latest Audi cabins have been more like a stall at CES as there is a lot of technology going on over here. There are as many as three high-definition screens that control pretty much everything about the car. The most important one is a 10.1-inch infotainment screen which comes with Audi’s latest generation of MMI interface. This is a very intuitive system and we particularly love the way Audi has changed the small icons and logos to match the exact spec of the car you are driving. The display is super crisp and readability is very good even under direct sunlight. Below that is an 8.6-inch touchscreen for all your vehicle settings like the climate control, driving settings, temperature gauges, and other stuff. 

The screens have haptic feedback to them which also can be changed depending on how hard you press, to reassure you that you are pressing the right buttons. The infotainment system can be paired to an optional 16-speaker Bang and Olufsen 3D Premium Sound system or a 23-speaker Advanced sound system. The system comes with all the features like Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth, Sirius XM, Radio, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Audi Phone Box, Garage Open Link, which are available as standard. 

Standout infotainment features:

• 12.3-inch Audi virtual cockpit digital gauge cluster
• Dual-screen infotainment system (a 10.1-inch upper touch screen and an 8.6-inch lower touch screen)
• MMI Navigation
• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Audi phone box
• 23-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system (available)

The 2019 Audi Q8 is by far the best-looking coupe SUVs we have seen as the design is not as much coupe-ish as some of the other cars. It is much more balanced and looks quite pleasing to the eyes. From the side, you can make out that swooping roofline and long tail. Also, we would highly recommend going for the black optics package as they come with beautiful 22-inch alloy black 5 spoke alloy wheels, and also the window surrounds are done in black trim. One of the best styling cues though has to be the frameless windows as they look super sexy to us.

At the front, the car has the biggest grille fitted to any Audi car ever and that is enough to let the world know that this is their flagship SUV. In the black optics package, the front grille is also done in black which otherwise has a satin chrome finish. The headlights also have a de-chromed effect; you get HD Matrix lights in the top-of-the-line Prestige trim while the lower ones only get regular all LED units. The rear profile has to be the most stylish one with the taillights being joined together by a strip of LED. There is a roof spoiler and the lower bumper which houses fake exhaust tips and a fake diffuser. 

The 2019 Audi Q8 is pretty much the heaviest car here and that too by quite some margin. It also happens to be the longest and second widest and tallest. It is a big car and those proportions make the other cars in the competition look quite tiny. When you want maximum headroom you can get in a vehicle, then the GLE is your best bud. It stands tall at 70.7 inches. While the longest 117.9-inches wheelbase of the Audi Q8 ensures you have enough legroom in both rows.

Standout exterior features:

• 21-inch alloy wheels
• HD Matrix-design LED headlights (available)
• LED taillights with dynamic animation
• Adaptive suspension
• Roof spoiler
• Heated and power-folding outside mirror

The 2019 Audi Q8 has been awarded 5 stars for all-around safety by the NHTSA and has also been presented with the “Top Safety Pick” award by the IIHS. It comes with a lot of safety tech as standard and for every modern safety tech you can think of, the car is loaded with it. So much so that, you also get night vision with pedestrian detection on the topmost trim as a part of the driver-assist feature.

Standout safety features:

• Front and rear parking sensors
• Lane departure warning
• Lane keep assist
• Adaptive cruise control with Traffic Jam assist
• Head-up display
• Traffic sign recognition
• Audi Pre Sense Rear (blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert)
• Night vision camera with pedestrian detection (available)

2019 Audi Q8 vs 2019 BMW X6

The BMW X6 is the car that introduced the coupe-SUV segment to the world and now it somehow has been beaten by the new kid in town. The biggest reason is that the X6 looks quite old and bulbous in front of the Q8. We know it is due for an update and it is just around the corner but in its current form, it is no match to the Audi be it in terms of design or performance, or technology. Except for better gas mileage, the X6 is neither spacious nor as quick as the Q8. So until BMW makes some changes to the aging X6 the Q8 will dominate the segment without a doubt.

2019 Audi Q8 vs 2019 Mercedes Benz GLE-Class

The GLE-Class has always been a beautiful car to look at but just like the X6, it is also due for an update. And though we know there is less than a year for that to hit our shores, the current generation GLE is just not enough to justify its price tag. Though the Mercedes-Benz is certainly the best to be behind the wheel, that is not just the only thing that matters. In simpler words, except for the spacious cabin and bigger boot, there is hardly anything that the GLE-Class offers better than the Q8. So till the GLE-Class gets an update the Q8 would be a better choice between the two.

2019 Audi Q8 vs 2019 Land Rover Range Rover Velar

Range Rover Velar is the most gorgeous SUV and there is no doubt about that as it won the World Design of the Year award. But one thing the Range Rover cars have always been plagued with is reliability issues. Owning a Range Rover is not exactly what you can call a fuss-free experience. Although the Velar offers lower MSRP, better gas mileage, more cargo space, and a similar performance courtesy of the supercharged V6 engine compared to the Audi Q8. So if you don’t mind the reliability ratings of the brand then the Range Rover Velar is a decent choice.

Well if you want the best-looking coupe SUV in the town, crave for ballistic performance, love to go on long comfortable drives, also want to be chauffeur-driven on days where you don’t feel like driving the car, then we would suggest nothing will excite you as much as the new 2019 Audi Q8. It is the best-looking coupe SUV ever made, the powertrain is brilliant, the cabin space is generous, and it is such a beautiful car to drive. Thus we would suggest you give the Audi Q8 a try in case you are planning for a coupe-SUV as your next steed.