Audi RSQ8 review

Whether you go for either the RSQ8 or RSQ8 Performance, both are fairly astonishing. Nothing this size and shape has any right to corner, sprint and generally behave like this when you prod it. It’s a back row forward with a winger’s footwork. A barely contained ball of densely packed horsepower, metal and leather.

From the accurate but anaesthetised steering to the mighty carbon ceramic brakes, there’s never a feeling of intimacy or connection to the car; this is a snorting, stampeding bull that smothers everything with power and technology. You offer up the bare minimum of inputs then cling on and admire what’s unfolding in front of you. It’s total overkill, but inescapably exciting. From the outside it sounds like a NASCAR Cup Series car.

Anything else I need to know about that engine?

We’ve seen this 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 deployed on many occasions in many different applications, but in the RSQ8 Performance it shows just how much bandwidth it has. Stick the uber-SUV into Efficiency mode and the engine settles to a supremely quiet cruise at motorway speeds while shutting down a bank of cylinders and even switching off entirely to coast.

In its most aggressive mode, the V8 will launch the fastest Q8 from 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 174mph, all while barking and popping like an Alka-Seltzer Alsatian. It’s truly wild.

How does it ride?

Beneath you there’s adaptive air suspension with an impressive breadth of character – from acceptably squidgy for family duties when you dial everything down in Comfort mode (a substantial achievement on 23-inch wheels), to noticeably more brittle and flatter in the corners when you explore the top-shelf settings. An RSQ8 in Dynamic mode looks surprisingly slammed from the outside.

Having the ability to toggle between two individually-configurable RS modes – ‘RS1’, ‘RS2’ – and ‘Auto’ via a button on the steering wheel is a nice touch, and saves you having to stretch to prod the Drive Select ‘button’ on the move. Needless to say, the powertrain and exhaust dialled to maximum attack, the steering somewhere in the middle to avoid it becoming too twirly and the suspension set to comfort was our go-to ‘RS1’.

What part does all-wheel steering play?

Twofold, helping to bolster stability at high speed, but it’s when you’re crawling around town, trying to park or pull a three-point turn, that you feel the benefit of a tight turning circle on a car this big.

Special mention to the 48V active-roll stabilisation system that’s standard fit in the UK. We’ve seen it on many other VW Group super SUVs and it’s pure witchcraft. The RSQ8 can’t deny all physics so when it does get really twisty you might get thrown around a bit in the cabin, but somehow the car itself still remains ridiculously flat and composed.

There’s all-wheel drive of course, but the sport differential can send up to 85 per cent of power to the rear axle (standard split is 40/60) but, on public roads at least, there shall be no slidey shenanigans here. This car is all about grip, grip, and just when you think you’ve reached the limit of adhesion… more grip. It’s impressive, no doubt.

Anything you don’t like?

It may be ridiculously impressive, but the RSQ8 is still a giant SUV and an RS6 would be much more engaging to drive. That’s hardly a Lotus Elise, either.

Oh, and it’s probably worth pointing out here that after some spirited driving we saw an average of just 11mpg, though we averaged 20mpg day to day. And we weren’t fans of the shunt that has been engineered into downshifts when the 8spd auto gearbox is in RS mode. It’s too much.