600hp, Audi RS Q8 SUV review

thirteen^th Feb 2020 six:00 am

We head to the volcanic island of Tenerife to examination the similarly explosive RS Q8 – Audi’s latest, fastest and wildest SUV.

The sporty and type-centered Q8 was bound to have sportier versions, and it did – the S Q8 and the speedier even now RS Q8. But the latter, which we have right here, isn’t just Audi’s quickest SUV, it’s also the world’s fastest SUV!

Clocking a time of 7min forty two.253sec all over the Nürburgring, the de facto efficiency yardstick, the RS Q8 bettered the Mercedes-AMG GLC sixty three S file by all over 8sec. Audi suggests it didn’t established out to make a file holder, but as soon as they realised just how rapidly it was, they made the decision to give it a shot. And so, even in advance of its official unveil, Audi examination driver Frank Stippler went and broke the file on a moist working day experienced the situations been best, Stippler reckons a further 5sec were being there to be experienced. In any circumstance, RS Q8 bagged the file and as a result the bragging rights to currently being the world’s fastest SUV. And the superior news is, it’s headed to India.

Bang on

Audi could not have selected a better location for the drive. We were being on the volcanic island of Tenerife, which offers of Spain’s maximum position – Mount Teide – at an elevation of three,718m. The prepare was to drive from the beachfront all the way up to the base of the volcanic cone: from sunlight and sand to snow and by means of a combine of rapidly open highways and very well laid-out twisty mountain roads. It was the best environment to highlight the car’s keep track of-file-breaking strengths of power and poise.

For power, Audi uses the 4.-litre TFSI V8 that is also the motive pressure for the Porsche Cayenne Turbo and the Lamborghini Urus. Beneath the hood of the Audi, it places out 600hp and a large 800Nm of torque a great deal of bang, extra than the Porsche’s 550hp and 770Nm. It, nevertheless, is decrease than the Urus’ output of 650hp and 850Nm.

Fireplace the RS Q8 up and it growls to lifetime. Decibel-clever, the rumble is alternatively very low nevertheless, and at slow speeds, with the drive manner established to ‘Comfort’, you’d be challenging-pressed to tell this edition has some really serious firepower less than its hood. Move into a sportier manner and the mighty V8 will make its arrival regarded evidently there’s also an optional RS sport exhaust program that pipes items a notch increased. Signaling the breadth of its skills, the RS Q8 has fairly a couple drive modes – there’s Car, Consolation, Dynamic, Effectiveness, All-street, and even an off-street manner in which journey peak can be improved by 90mm. There are two extra independently configurable ‘RS’ modes, called RS1 and RS2. RS 1 lets you established up the motor, gearbox, suspension, while RS 2 influences the Digital Balance Plan. The two modes permit you shop your favorite set up for a quick simply call to obligation through the steering wheel-mounted ‘RS’ hot crucial. It is in essence the programmable asterisk button from other Audis, but calling it the ‘RS mode’ is extra enjoyment.

In advance of we can relish the mountains, there’s the city to tackle, and with the vehicle in ‘Comfort’, it’s surprising how conveniently you can potter all over town. The RS Q8 is substantial, of system, but it gets 4-wheel-steering, which gives it some superior manoeuvrability in site visitors and restricted parking places. Offered the SUV’s size, I expected to make recurrent two-position turns, but I actually didn’t have to.

The eight-pace torque converter is sleek and quick, but, at moments, when you have to have to overtake in site visitors, it will take a while to downshift. Moreover, in Consolation manner, upshifts are fairly early as it operates at a pretty economic placing heck, there’s even a gentle-hybrid program with cylinder deactivation. What’s extra, Audi suggests involving speeds of 55-160kph, if the driver lifts off the throttle, the motor can deactivate for up to 40sec, if sure powertrain situations are satisfied. I tried this out but it didn’t shut down. I didn’t try out for very long nevertheless with this currently being an RS-spec Q8, I was not intrigued in driving economically.

Out on the highway, the RS Q8 in ‘Dynamic’ is massively effortless in the way it gathers pace. The wave of torque flowing from the V8 is huge and is accompanied by a great baritone growl from the exhausts.

Comfortable and useful, rear-seat passengers will have minor to complain about.

Gripping Stuff

When we’re in the mountains, my breath is actually taken absent – the RS Q8 has power, sure, but the true showstopper right here is the managing. Highway grip is great, and there is negligible entire body roll – in point, considering the car’s size, I’d say it’s as superior as almost nothing. The steering much too is very well weighted and quick. I’m shortly attacking corner right after corner, and the RS Q8 wants to go speedier even now.

The managing is basically sublime, you will want to press on and on. This isn’t some thing I delight in undertaking in an SUV, even some of the sporty types, as hustling all over all that mass ultimately gets to you. But right here it’s just so phenomenally vehicle-like of system, there’s superior motive for this. Bestowing the RS Q8 with its keep track of-file-busting managing is some really serious hardware. For starters, the entrance and rear keep track of are wider, there’s 4-wheel steering, and it uses the similar air suspension set up as the S Q8 but with the spring and damper rates firmed up for RS obligation. In addition to the Quattro program, there is an option of what Audi calls the ‘Quattro Activity Differential’ for energetic torque vectoring at the rear axle.

Far more magic arrives from the 48V energetic anti-roll bar program that decouples two halves of the roll bar for better journey consolation, but then in corners, an electric motor twists them in the reverse path to counter entire body roll. What’s fascinating is that the motor also functions as a generator, charging the program when the wheels are deflected, like by bumps on the street suffice to say, we’ll generally have a thoroughly charged program in Mumbai.

RS button: a efficiency shortcut crucial.

Rounding off the managing bits are the large 22-inch 295/40 tyres made available as regular – the premier factory-mounted units on an Audi. There is also an option of 23-inchers. Audi suggests the substantial rims were being also a necessity thanks to the substantial disc brakes utilized. The brakes do the job continually, but arresting two tonnes of speeding metallic will tax any program, and on some rapidly downhill driving, the optional carbon-ceramic brakes heated up and started squealing. Backing off for a while delivers items again to usual nevertheless.

Like the city streets, thehighway and mountain roads are so fantastically very well surfaced (even better than these in the Spanish mainland) that they make it challenging to decide in general journey excellent. There is an indicator of a a bit company journey – easy to understand, given the firmer spring and damper rates – but we’ll have to see how it fares on our roads.

Towards the Grain

The Q8 is meant to sign up for the SUV-coupé bandwagon but its roofline doesn’t dip as sharply as its competitors. So, if you love the mash-up of a sharply sloping coupé roof and a superior-sided SUV entire body, then the RS Q8’s competitors would be extra to your taste. To me, nevertheless, the mildly sloping roofline can make it search sporty and purposeful.

Adding to the sporty search are the enlarged entrance air intakes, the glossy black honeycomb grille, and RS-particular roof spoiler, rear skirt and oval tailpipes. Audi has also utilized a whole lot of black in its place of chrome, as witnessed on the common Q8, and, of system, there’s RS badging, both equally on the outdoors and inside.

One particular of the several RS-particular displays.

As with the exterior, the interiors are shared much too. So, you get the touchscreen and touch-surface-intense dashboard but with RS goodies, this sort of as a whole lot of Alcantara and carbon-fibre finish, particular RS displays in the Virtual Cockpit, and multimedia exhibit for power, torque, lap moments and G-forces. The optional head-up exhibit gets RS-particular screens as very well. The whole sprint space looks pretty state of the art, and it’s only the space forward of the entrance passenger that looks much too slab-sided.

Our vehicle experienced the RS sport seats, which were being comfortable adequate and didn’t depart us with any complaints. Just to better the encounter, Audi has even thrown in a massage perform, as very well as heating and cooling. As for other equipment, the RS Q8 arrives loaded with all the goodies you’d anticipate from a superior-close Audi – the Virtual Cockpit exhibit, a killer 23-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio program, and hundreds of driver helps like collision avoidance support and intersection support.

Badge of Honour

Whilst the Audi RS Q8 will keep on being a niche product, it could be among the the better-faring solutions. Its very low roof lends it a sporty adequate search, and by preventing the sharp coupé-like dip at the rear, there’s extra headroom, and as a result it could attraction to a wider viewers. Additionally, in ascending to the altar of pace, Audi hasn’t designed any sacrifices – the RS Q8 is comfortable, useful and very well loaded. You could drive it to your golfing club, choose your family members out on a quick sprint across the nation, or even choose it to the racetrack for a bit of enjoyment.

The RS Q8 isn’t heading to be inexpensive nevertheless, as it will be a whole import and is probable to cost shut to
Rs 2 crore. As a competitor to the BMW X6 M and Mercedes-AMG GLE sixty three Coupe, it would sit very well towards them and the Cayenne Turbo Coupe as very well. Interestingly, nevertheless, search at it towards the Lamborghini Urus and it would be a relative discount. No question the Urus is an really able SUV, with a fancier nameplate to boot, but then again, the Audi has the title of the world’s fastest SUV.

Also see:

2020 Audi A8 L India assessment, examination drive

Audi Q8 India assessment, examination drive