The 2025 Audi Q8 edits the Q7 into fighting form by cutting out the third-row seat and pasting in scintillating V-8 power. The Q8 is Audi’s flagship crossover SUV, a five-seat luxury vehicle with a ritzy option for four-person seating. It’s not just comfortable; it’s exceedingly quick, fast, and plush, which makes it a rival for vehicles like the Porsche Cayenne Coupe, the Range Rover Sport, and the BMW X6 and Benz GLE-Class Coupe.
It’s mostly equipment changes for the new model year. All Q8 models now get traffic-sign recognition as standard; the SQ8 adds standard LED interior lighting (across all trims) plus front occupant memory & massage functions on the Prestige trim. On the electric Q8 e-tron side, all variants now include Homelink buttons in the rearview mirror, upgraded Park Assist Plus now includes Remote, access to the Audi App Store, and new appearance/package options like Black Optic with Anthracite Gray rings, a new 21-inch wheel design, and a Magnesium Package with matte gold wheels and special exterior accents. In any version, Q8 drivers get a handsome SUV that’s not too adventurous in its styling, but replete with technology and luxury fittings from quilted leather to massaging seats.
It’s handsome, conservatively so. While some SUVs built from the same mechanicals offer more body sculpting, the Q8 simply traces a coupe-like silhouette and underscores a few details to let you know it’s sinfully fast. Where it works best is at the wide nose, where equally wide air intakes brace the world for the ginormous wheels tucked into muscular arches. The Q8 has Olympic haunches and a sexy roofline, that will easily last the test of time.
The Q8 storms out of the gate, even when it’s powered by a 335-hp twin-turbo V-6. With all-wheel drive and an 8-speed automatic, this version can dropkick itself to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds, and that’s the slower version. All Q8s sport an 8-speed automatic with quick and seamless shifts, as well as a full-time all-wheel-drive system with a rearward torque bias that helps give it a surefooted feel. The thrills get more fierce with the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 found in the SQ8 and RS Q8, which punish the ground with 500 or 631 hp, respectively. The 0-60 mph sprint takes just 4.3 seconds in the former, 3.6 seconds in the latter.
Blisteringly quick acceleration couples with an air suspension that smothers bumps without jostling the passengers much even when rolling on 23-inch wheels. With electronically controlled anti-roll bars, the RS Q8 remains shockingly, almost alarmingly confident, no matter what the road—and those manners can extend in large part to the more basic Q8, if it’s configured with the air suspension and grippiest tires. In any trim the Q8’s an SUV that does its best to defy its height and weight and succeeds. Every Q8 comes with all-wheel drive, but one look at its high-performance tires should deter you from planning any overlanding in it.
The Q8’s gas mileage is about what you’d expect. Even in base trim, the Q8 only earns EPA ratings of 18 mpg city, 23 highway, 20 combined. It only does downhill from here; The SQ8 checks in at 15/21/17 mpg, while the scorching RS Q8 only merits 13/19/15 mpg. What did you expect for stunning SUV performance?
The Q8 aced its safety tests. The NHTSA gives it a five-star overall rating, and the IIHS says it’s a Top Safety Pick when outfitted with better LED headlights in the Premium Plus and Prestige trims. Base Premium and Premium Plus headlights were “Poor,” and thus don’t earn the award. The Q8 also comes with standard automatic emergency braking, rear side airbags, blind-spot monitors, and active lane control. An available safety package adds adaptive cruise control and a surround-view camera system. Audi’s driver-assistance suite works well to reduce fatigue on long highway drives and in stop-and-go traffic.
The Q8 wraps up to five people in lavish comfort. Audi takes the Q7 and deletes the skimpy third-row seat, then plushes up nearly every surface not made of glass, all to fabulous effect. Good front and back seats, and good cargo space, combine with exceptional fit and finish. The Q8 measures 117.9 inches in wheelbase, and 196.6 inches overall. It’s a big SUV, and with all the space devoted to five people (or four with the Executive package), it’s spacious in every dimension. The front seats have great support and adjustments, and come with heating and available cooling and massaging.
Inside it’s tranquil, even elegant. Passengers bathe in ambient lighting in a rainbow of tweakable shades, and touchscreens brighten up the interior as they cast reflections in stretches of piano-black trim. At the Prestige level, special color combinations create visual delights all their own, from silver headliners to gray leather dashboards to brown leather seats. Every Q8 comes slathered in soft quilted leather and trimmed in wood and brushed aluminum, while the most expensive versions wear fire-engine red leather, if you like, and a sueded and stitched steering wheel.
In back, the Q8 offers copious head room and more than 40 inches of leg room. It can seem dim thanks to thick roof pillars, but the panoramic sunroof has a sliding cover to let in the daylight. Three adults can fit in reasonable comfort in the rear seats of the Q8, but the Executive package treats us the way we’d like to be treated: regally. Fold down the rear seats and the Q8 can hold more than 60 cubic feet of cargo; leave them upright and the storage space still exceeds 30 cubic feet.
All versions sport 21-inch wheels, a panoramic sunroof, a 10.1-inch touchscreen, a 8.6-inch ancillary function touchscreen, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, wireless Apple CarPlay, wood trim, leather upholstery, and navigation. This year the Q8 gains standard rear side airbags, while its available adaptive cruise control system adds traffic-jam assist. The optional Executive package adds cooled front seats, and the Prestige version gets a standard adaptive air suspension, with optional all-wheel steering.
The Q8 sits in the flagship position in Audi’s crossover lineup, and it’s lavished with standard and optional equipment as a result. It also has Audi’s excellent infotainment interface, but it doesn’t come with free maintenance along with its 4-year/50,000-mile warranty. The $70,345 Q8 sells in Premium, Premium Plus, and Prestige trim levels.
The $74,400 Q8 55 Premium comes with a panoramic sunroof, 21-inch wheels, leather upholstery, wireless Apple CarPlay, and a trio of digital displays: a 10.1-inch central touchscreen, a 8.6-inch ancillary function touchscreen, and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. For $78,500 Q8 55 Premium Plus gains better LED headlights, four-zone climate control, premium audio, a surround-view camera system, and it can be configured with the air suspension. The SQ8 starts at $97,600 only coming in Premium Plus and Prestige trims. While the top-gun RS Q8 rings in starting at more than $136,000.
The 2025 Audi Q8, SQ8, and RS Q8 represent the pinnacle of Audi’s SUV lineup, blending luxury, cutting-edge technology, and performance into a package that feels both modern and purposeful. The Q8 delivers refined comfort and strong everyday capability, the SQ8 sharpens the driving experience with greater athleticism and premium touches, and the RS Q8 pushes the limits of what a performance SUV can be with supercar levels of speed and presence. Subtle equipment updates and expanded standard features for 2025 make each model more compelling than before, ensuring a Q8 variant ready for every buyer’s needs.
