REVIEW | Why the Audi RS Q8 is one of the best performance SUVs money can buy

High-powered, modern SUVs such as the revamped Audi RS Q8 Performance on test this week add to life's glamour.

The Audi SUV with a part-hatch-part-coupe silhouette isn't coveted quite like its many rivals, especially the German triumvirate of Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-AMG. Can the new exterior and technical enhancements boost its social standing?

The new grille with broader honeycomb meshing is a bit fussy but it works for cooling the big engine. Playful headlights and an OLED rear light bar are part of the deal, and the test unit is perched on the standard six Y-spoke alloy, painted in Daytona grey paint. It's also fitted with the matt carbon on the nose, mirrors and rear valance for R116,000 more.

You can style the RS Q8 to individual tastes thanks to a revised colour pallette and four 23-inch alloy wheel options. Past the signature frameless doors, the interior wraps you in quality surfaces of leather and Alcantara.

The details and digitalisation are exceptional and colourful, but the stacked pair of glassy infotainment and climate control screens and separate driver's information binnacle is an oddity in these days of large, combined and curved displays.

Audi persists with its haptic menus, and they remain an ergonomic nuisance on the move. Luxury features are plentiful, though, and include head-up display, seat ventilation, heating plus more as standard. Passenger space is generous front and back, with a deep enough boot for family luggage or a set of golf clubs.

The tailgate is powered and you touch the door handles to lock or unlock while the mirrors splash the Audi RS logo as puddle lights in the dark.

Despite its being a performance SUV with a brash character, it's the lush driving quality that draws you in first. The car is wonderfully relaxed and quiet at real-world speeds, especially in its Comfort damper settings. Other modes found in the Audi Drive Select program include Efficiency, which netted me a low 7.5l/100km, an impressive fuel consumption for a fire-breathing hulk of an SUV that weighs 2.3 tonnes. Speed is the main drawcard, however.

Fully wound up, the 4.0l twin-turbo V8 engine now outputs 471kW, up from 441kW in the previous generation car while torque remains at 850Nm. The quattro all-wheel drive system and eight-speed automatic transmission produce a phenomenal acceleration from 0-100km/h in a claimed 3.6 seconds. It drinks beyond 20l/100km in this state and sounds amazing right up to 250km/h, optionally 305km/h with the Dynamic Package Plus.

The funky Audi SUV is primed for above-average sporty driving treats. It has two Sport modes: RS1 and RS2 where the dampers stiffen, the exhaust butterflies open and the eight-speed transmission has sharpened responses. The RS2 mode unshackles the traction control system when selected.

Every sports driving component is in sync, and the quattro AWD system and other functions like torque vectoring manage the physics for impressive clawing in corners while the communicative steering makes it easy to point and place the wide car anywhere on the road. It’s no wonder the RS Q8 is the fastest SUV on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

In 2024 the SUV blitzed the 20.832km track in just 7 minutes 36.698 seconds, some six seconds faster than the previous generation model. The RS Q8 has an off-road setting that raises the suspension rising to clear obstacles, but let’s be real; the low-profile rubber contradicts such ambitions.

Relatively it's a bargain buy compared to rivals, respectively costing R76K and R552k less than the BMW X6M and Mercedes-AMG GLE Coupe 63 SE. The Audi RS Q8 is also a whopping R1.2m saving on the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT, formerly the fastest SUV at the Nurburgring.

After spending a week with the SUV my verdict is it’s one of the best-built, best looking, sweetest handling, satisfyingly comfy, fast and charismatic luxo-speed barges money can buy.

Tech Specs

ENGINE

• Type: Eight-cylinder petrol twin-turbo
• Capacity: 4.0l
• Power: 471kW
• Torque: 850Nm

TRANSMISSION

• Type: Eight-speed Auto

DRIVETRAIN

• Type: Quattro all-wheel drive

PERFORMANCE

• Top speed: 250km/h (opt 305km/h)
• 0-100km/h: 3.6 secs (claimed)
• Fuel consumption: 12.2l/100km (claimed)
• Emissions: 277g/km

STANDARD FEATURES

Park distance control with camera front and rear, hill descent control, lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise, daytime driving running lights, auto on/off and adaptive laser headlights, panoramic roof sliding, navigation, keyless access, adaptive rain sensor wipers, driving modes, head-up display, tyre pressure sensor, electric tail gate, leather upholstery, ABS brakes, stability control, six airbags.

COST OF OWNERSHIP

• Warranty: One year/unlimited km
• Maintenance plan: Five years/100,000km
• Price: R3,266,100
• Lease: R71,108 per month (at 11% interest over 60 months, no deposit)

Audi RS Q8 quattro Performance

• WE LIKE: Speed, styling, doors, quality, handling, price
• WE DISLIKE: Haptic buttons
• VERDICT: Best bang for buck 

Motor News star rating

• Design *****
• Performance *****
• Economy ****
• Ride *****
• Handling *****
• Safety *****
• Value For Money *****
• Overall *****

The competition

• Porsche Cayenne S e-hybrid coupe, 382kW/750Nm — R2,980,000
• Mercedes-AMG GLC63 S AMG Edition 1, 350kW/500Nm — R2,982,243
• BMW X6M Competition, 460kW/750Nm — R3,341,901
• Defender 110 Octa Edition One, 467kW/750Nm — R3,749,100
• Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S 4Matic+ Coupe, 450kW/850Nm — R3,799,000
• Range Rover Sport P635 SV Edition Two, 467kW/750Nm — R3,971,500