Audi RSQ8 review

Audi’s latest crack at the SUV-that-thinks-it’s-a-supercar segment. You know the type – think Aston Martin DBX 707, BMW X6M, Lamborghini Urus, Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid Coupe, Range Rover Sport SV, et al.

Hands up, the uber-SUV is not a genre we’re particularly fond of here at TG, but we’re prepared to keep an open mind for this facelifted RSQ8, given how much we like its RS6 estate-shaped blood brother.

And like all the latest rash of monster trucks, there is fiercely clever engineering and computing power keeping physics (mostly) at bay.

Hit me with the numbers...

7m 36.698s. Those are the numbers that Audi wants to shout about, because that’s the frankly ludicrous Nürburgring lap time set by development driver Frank Stippler in the new RSQ8 Performance. That makes it six seconds faster than the pre-facelift RSQ8 and gave Audi the (frankly rather ridiculous) title of fastest SUV around the Nordschleife.

Hang on, there’s an RSQ8 Performance now?

Yep, with the RSQ8’s facelift in 2024 Audi introduced the Performance model to sit above the ‘standard’ RSQ8. Because that’s exactly what the world needed.

The Performance actually gets the most powerful production combustion engine in Audi Sport's history, with its 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 making 631bhp and 627lb ft of torque. That means 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds and a 174mph top speed in a car that weighs 2,350kg. Insert wide-eye emoji here.

The Performance also adds carbon ceramic brakes as standard to stop the thing, and an RS sports exhaust so that your neighbours will hear it coming. We’re told that there’s reduced insulation for more noise in the cabin too, while the drive modes have a wider spread to offer very different experiences.

The ‘standard’ RSQ8 (and yes, we will be using those scare quotes every time we refer to this car) gets the same outputs as before the facelift, meaning 592bhp, 590lb ft, a 0-62mph time of 3.8 seconds and a limited top speed of 155mph.

Interestingly, while Lamborghini has turned the sibling Urus into a sensible 789bhp plug-in hybrid, Audi has stuck with pure combustion power for its biggest and brashest SUV. We’d have expected the opposite. Although Audi does claim that both the ‘standard’ RSQ8 and the RSQ8 Performance are mild hybrids. A clever 48V system can switch the engine off if the conditions are right when you lift off between 34mph and 99mph, allows stop-start at speeds up to 13mph and it can even shut down four of its eight cylinders under light throttle loads.

But don’t be fooled into thinking these cars will be cheap to run: Audi claims fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of 21.7mpg and 295g/km for the RSQ8 and 21.9mpg and 295g/km for the (ever so slightly lighter) Performance.

Talk to me about the looks…

Owning an RSQ8 isn’t advised if you don’t like unwanted attention. Blistered arches widen the body by 10mm at the front and 5mm at the rear compared to a regular Q8, while chunkier side skirts and classic RS oval pipes at the rear are red flags for people to point and stare. Even the Matrix LED laser head and taillights dance a jig when you turn the car on and off.

As well as introducing the Performance, the facelift brings with it new light signatures, a new grille pattern, a slightly more pronounced goatee up front and a more aggressive rear diffuser with a vertical central reflector. Audi’s about to enter F1 of course, so all of its RS models will soon come with said reflector. The wheels are 22in as standard, but you can spec lightweight 23-inch forged items that reduce the unsprung mass by almost 5kg per wheel.

Despite its size and aggressive detailing, the RSQ8 can be specced to look handsome in a way the closely related Lamborghini Urus simply isn’t, and attention grabbing in a way the RS6 can’t match either. We’d always prefer the understated cool of a fast estate, though…

What’s the interior like?

If you’ve tried the regular Q7 or Q8 – or any of Audi’s larger products for that matter – then there won’t be too many surprises in here. 

It certainly looks and feels the part, from the premium materials to the piano black wraparound dash to the dual haptic touchscreens; a 10.1-inch unit stacked on top of an 8.6-inch screen purely for the climate controls. We can’t help but feel the haptic feedback controls are a bit of an oversight – and the screen’s particularly prone to fingerprints – but otherwise there’s little to complain about.

You do get RS-specific info and graphics (including slightly obnoxious puddle lights), plus a smattering of RS badges dotted around the cabin, including the seats, steering wheel, mats and sills. Head over to the Interior tab for the full lowdown.

Dare I ask the price?

Needless to say, it doesn’t come cheap. Where the standard Q8 starts from nearly £79k, in RS guise you’re looking at £122,280 as your starting point, rising to £137,280 for the Performance. But that’s actually fairly reasonable compared to most of its main rivals.

And if you’re reading this review, it’s likely that you’ve got deeper pockets than most. You're going to need them. As the Buying tab will explain in more detail...

The RSQ8 Performance is an astonishing piece of engineering and you can feel the full might of the VW Group’s tech budget behind it. In isolation it hits its brief square on the nose – to be fast, loud and in-your-face – and possess a remarkable command over the forces of physics. It also remains combustion-only when even the Urus has gone plug-in hybrid. So, the question here isn’t whether it’s a good car, it’s whether driving one makes you a bad person. Unfortunately, that’s for you to decide.

Its main undoing is another car it produces; the RSQ8’s better looking, leaner, more helpful sibling, the RS6. We get that some of you will groan and roll your eyes and point out it’s some kind of car journalism lore to bash fast SUVs and bathe fast estates in praise, but there’s a very good reason for that. The RS6 costs slightly less than the RSQ8, weighs over 300kg less, is faster, more fuel efficient, boot space is near as makes no difference the same and you won’t look like a Premier League footballer when you pull up in one. Your move.