2024 Audi Q8 and SQ8 Don’t Turn Style into Sacrifice

The only real sacrifice the 2024 Audi Q8 and SQ8 require comes by way of the pocketbook. Audi’s range-topping coupelike luxury SUVs are barely different from the Q7 and SQ7 they’re derived from. The third row gets cast aside in favor of a full-time five-seat layout with a more sharply raked rear end, and the result barely moves the needle.

Aside from some very small differences in packaging and suspension tuning, these fraternal quadruplets offer largely the same driving experience—a good one, thankfully—making price and aesthetic preference the primary differentiators.

Not Too Many Changes

Whereas Audi refreshed the Q7 and SQ7 for the 2025 model year, the Q8 and its hopped-up SQ8 sibling received their own glow-up for 2024. (The 2025 Q8 and SQ8 are forthcoming, and changes are limited to new appearance packages and very minor equipment shuffles.) The 2024 Q8 and SQ8 picked up new headlights and taillights in addition to other small styling tweaks, and certain models gained the ability to choose among several headlamp lighting signatures.

Inside, changes are barely noticeable. As with the Q7, the Q8 gets some new upholstery and trim choices. The MMI infotainment has also been updated with third-party app integration, and new paid themes give buyers the chance to spend $13 on a main-screen wallpaper that pairs with different ambient lighting motifs. That’s about it. No need to reinvent the wheel. It’s a straightforward cabin, if a little heavy on piano-black trim and a little light on stowage cubbies.

Driving the Q8

Given the mild on-paper differences between the Q7 and Q8, it’s no surprise that our on-road experiences with the two are barely different. Our fully loaded Q8 Prestige model carried the same adaptive air springs found on the Q7 Prestige, and we found similar results over some surprisingly engaging Utah back roads. In Comfort mode, the air springs do a commendable job keeping the ride as soft as possible, while switching to Dynamic stiffened everything up and permitted some surprisingly agile antics for what is ostensibly not a performance model.

Any small stiffness discrepancies between models likely comes down to differing wheel sizes. The Q7 we drove rode on its optional 21-inch alloys (19s are standard, and 20s are also available), while the Q8’s optional wheels measure 22 inches. We imagine that with the Q8 on 21s, the two ride nearly identically.

Honestly, the primary difference we noted between the Q7 and Q8 was rear visibility; there’s a little less daylight coming through the Q8’s coupelike rear end. Even so, we had no issues with rearward sightlines, like we do in other automakers’ SUV “coupes” with more aggressively sloped rear ends. The roof doesn’t eat into rear headroom either; we sat just as comfortably in the Q8’s second row as we did in the Q7’s.

The Q8 positions itself as a more premium offering than the Q7. The Q7’s base 45 powertrain, starring a 2.0-liter four-cylinder, isn’t even offered on the Q8. Instead, all Q8s use the 55 powertrain: a turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 producing 335 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque, which route to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. Given their curb-weight delta of approximately zero, both the Q7 55 and the Q8 55 are estimated by their maker to reach 60 mph in 5.5 seconds, a number we expect to beat handily when we get one or both in Michigan for instrumented testing.

Driving the SQ8

If 335 horsepower isn’t enough, look instead to the SQ8. Picking up two extra cylinders and one more turbocharger, the SQ8’s twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 produces 500 horsepower and 568 lb-ft. Here again, the factory-stated 60-mph estimate matches that of the SQ7, at 4.0 seconds, a figure that feels a little poky to us. Based on our time blasting through Uinta National Forest in Utah, we figure the real result is somewhere in the mid-three-second range.

There is absolutely no shortage of hustle in the SQ8. Even with Comfort mode activated and the engine and transmission set to their most chill, the SQ8 offers ample motivation across the rev range. The four-liter’s exhaust doesn’t have any fancy loud-mode valving, but its delightful note still makes its way into the cabin, even as the thick dual-pane acoustic glass tries its best to keep the outside out.

Swapping to the Dynamic drive mode in the SQ8 changes the vehicle’s character in more ways than in the Q8. That’s because the SQ8 is privy to the S Sport package, an upgrade that adds two key components. Active roll stabilization augments the traditional anti-roll-bar setup with an electric motor, changing roll stiffness as conditions dictate to provide flatter handling. A sport rear differential better metes out torque from left to right, aiding lateral grip and boosting confidence when rocketing out of a corner. But even in the SQ8’s most aggressive setting, the air springs and adaptive dampers kept the ride surprisingly comfortable—when we weren’t hurling into corners like we were trying to escape Armageddon.

Once again, we noticed a very small ride discrepancy between the SQ8 and the longroof SQ7. And once again, it likely comes down to tires. The SQ7 doesn’t offer wheels larger than 22s (and ours was on 21s), while our SQ8 rode on optional 23s. Our SQ8 also wore summer tires, which are standard on the 23-inch wheels and optional on the 22s. While the SQ7’s all-seasons did still provide plenty of grip, their limits were lower, and they began to howl much earlier than the summer rubber did.

Making Sense of the Quartet

Despite all the similarities on paper, the Q7 and Q8 prices aren’t that comparable. Ignoring the Q7 45’s smaller engine and lower $61,795 base price, it’s clear that the Q8’s sharper style demands a blood sacrifice. A 2025 Q7 55 Premium starts at $67,095, but a 2024 Q8 55 Premium will ask $74,895. That structure extends to the faster variants too. A base SQ7 will set you back $92,095, while the SQ8 ratchets that up to $97,795.

But if you’re fine with paying a little extra to ditch the third row and pick up a slightly more unique silhouette, the equal blending of comfort and performance in the Audi Q8 and SQ8 will not disappoint.

Source: Reviews - aranddriver.com