Vehicle Overview
| Vehicle segment | Full-size luxury SUV with a coupé roofline |
| Body style | Five-door, five-seat SUV (no third row — that is the Q7) |
| UK line-up (Audi UK, 1 Oct 2026) | Q8 SUV · SQ8 SUV · Q8 SUV e-hybrid · RS Q8 SUV · RS Q8 SUV performance |
| Variant this review is built around | Q8 SUV TFSI quattro 340 PS tiptronic — the volume petrol |
| When it arrived | IIHS records that “the Audi Q8 was introduced in the 2019 model year” and applies its crash ratings to 2019–26 cars; we have not found a primary Audi UK statement of the UK on-sale date, so no launch year is asserted here |
Key Specifications
Audi UK publishes power in PS and quotes one performance set per model; the economy and CO2 figures below come from the two UK retail sources we read the same day, because Audi UK’s own Q8 model pages do not publish them. Where those two disagree, both are shown.
| Variant | Power | 0–62 mph | Economy (WLTP) | CO2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q8 SUV TFSI quattro 340 PS tiptronic | 340 PS, 500 Nm | 5.6 s | 27.4 mpg (Auto Express) · 26.6 mpg (Carwow) | 234 g/km (Auto Express) · 240–248 g/km (Carwow) |
| Q8 SUV e-hybrid quattro 394 PS tiptronic | 394 PS, 600 Nm | 5.7 s | Up to 49 miles electric (official test value); 35 mpg weighted (Carwow) | 28 g/km (Carwow) |
| Q8 3.0 TDI quattro 286 (see the diesel note below) | 286 bhp (Auto Express) | 6.1 s | 34.9 mpg (Auto Express) · 25.9–35 mpg (Carwow) | 212 g/km (Auto Express) · 217–223 g/km (Carwow) |
| SQ8 SUV TFSI quattro 507 PS tiptronic | 507 PS | 4.1 s | 23 mpg (Auto Express) | Not published by either source |
| RS Q8 SUV | 600 PS, 800 Nm | 3.8 s | 21.4 mpg (Auto Express) | 301 g/km (Auto Express) |
| RS Q8 SUV performance | 640 PS, 850 Nm | 3.6 s | Not published by either source | Not published by either source |
Power, torque and 0–62 mph times are Audi UK’s own figures for the five models it lists, read on 1 October 2026. Auto Express quotes the same cars in bhp (340, 500, 600 and 631 bhp) — PS and bhp are not the same unit, so the two sets are shown separately rather than merged.
The diesel question, unreconciled
Audi UK’s Q8 range page lists five models and none of them is a diesel. Both UK retail sources we read the same day still carry one: Auto Express (10 February 2026) specifies a Q8 3.0 TDI quattro 286, and Carwow’s UK price list (15 January 2026) puts the range’s cheapest car, at £81,295, on the 3.0 TDI quattro 286 S Line — the very figure Audi UK quotes as the Q8 SUV’s “starting at OTR” price while promoting the 340 PS petrol. We have not reconciled that: if a diesel Q8 matters to you, ask a dealer what is actually orderable this month rather than trusting either page.
Boot space is 605 litres on all three sources we read; Carwow adds that it varies between 439 and 680 litres depending on trim.
Exterior Design
Audi’s boldest SUV design to date – wide stance, short overhangs, sloped rear
Massive octagonal grille, HD Matrix LED headlamps, and signature light bar taillights
Frameless doors, strong shoulder line, and aggressive wheel arches
Available with S line styling package for a sportier look
20" to 22" alloy wheels; dual exhaust outlets; panoramic sunroof standard on upper trims
Interior, Comfort & Materials
Dual touchscreen layout with haptic feedback (10.1” upper, 8.6” lower)
Clean, futuristic design with ambient lighting and contrast stitching
High-grade leather, real wood or aluminum trims, Alcantara roofliner
Spacious for 5 passengers, though no third row (unlike Q7)
Heated and ventilated front seats, massage functions available
Extremely refined cabin with excellent sound insulation (NVH)
Features & Infotainment
Audi MMI Touch Response with dual HD touchscreens
12.3” Audi Virtual Cockpit (digital instrument cluster)
Standard Apple CarPlay / Android Auto (wireless in some markets)
Natural voice commands, handwriting recognition
| Premium audio options | Bang & Olufsen 3D Sound System |
| Connected car tech | remote lock, geo-fencing, real-time traffic, OTA updates |
Safety & Ratings
Standard safety features
ABS, ESC, traction control
6+ airbags, Audi pre-sense front & basic
Blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert
| Optional | Lane departure warning, adaptive cruise, 360° camera, night vision assist |
Crash test ratings — and why the Q8 no longer has a current one
The Q8 was crash-tested by Euro NCAP in 2019 and scored five stars. That rating expired on 1 January 2026. Euro NCAP’s own assessment page sets out the whole life of the result: published 18 December 2019, annual reviews on 14 December 2020, 4 December 2021, 7 December 2022 and 10 January 2024, then expiry on 1 January 2026.
| Euro NCAP result | ★★★★★, 2019 protocol — expired 1 January 2026 |
| Adult occupant | 93% |
| Child occupant | 87% |
| Vulnerable road users | 71% |
| Safety assist | 73% |
| Car actually tested | Audi Q8 50 TDI quattro, left-hand drive, 2,220 kg |
| Variants the rating was applied to | 45 TDI quattro (3.0 TDI, 170 kW) · 50 TDI quattro (3.0 TDI, 210 kW, the tested car) · 55 TFSI quattro (3.0 TFSI, 250 kW) |
Two things follow from that variant list. The 250 kW petrol it names is the 340 PS car Audi UK still sells, so the expired result did cover today’s volume engine — but it never covered the e-hybrid, the SQ8 or the RS Q8, and no diesel in the list is on Audi UK’s current range page. Expiry is not a downgrade and it is not evidence that the car became less safe: it means there is no Euro NCAP result for the Q8 that can be compared with cars assessed under the current, harder protocols. Judge it on the standard equipment instead.
One correction to an earlier version of this page: it claimed the Q8 was a “Top Safety Pick in some regions”. The US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety lists no award of any kind for the 2026 Audi Q8. Its published ratings are Good for small overlap front and side, Marginal for the updated moderate overlap front test, Good or Acceptable headlights depending on trim, Poor for vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention and Acceptable for the pedestrian test. Those are US-market results on a US-specification car and do not transfer to a UK Q8, but the award claim was simply wrong and has been removed.
Driving Performance & Handling
Audi UK quotes 0–62 mph in 5.6 seconds for the 340 PS petrol, 5.7 seconds for the 394 PS e-hybrid, 4.1 seconds for the SQ8, 3.8 for the RS Q8 and 3.6 for the RS Q8 performance.
Smooth power delivery thanks to mild-hybrid 48V system
Air suspension (optional) ensures a comfortable ride across surfaces
quattro AWD gives planted, confident handling in all conditions
| Drive Select modes | Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, Off-road |
Rear-wheel steering (optional) improves low-speed maneuverability
Fuel Efficiency / Range
| 340 PS petrol, combined | 27.4 mpg (Auto Express) · 26.6 mpg (Carwow) |
| 286 diesel, combined | 34.9 mpg (Auto Express) · 25.9–35 mpg (Carwow) |
| 394 PS e-hybrid, electric range | Up to 49 miles, official test value (Audi UK) |
| e-hybrid battery and charging | 22 kWh usable; maximum 7.4 kW AC; 0–100% in as little as 3 h 45 min (Audi UK) |
There is a plug-in hybrid Q8, and on Audi UK’s own pages it is the most interesting version of the car for anyone with a driveway: 394 PS, 600 Nm, and an official test range of up to 49 miles on the battery. Worth knowing before you quote that number at a dealer — Audi UK’s three Q8 pages state the electric range three different ways on the same day, as “up to 48-51 miles” on the range page, “up to 46 - 49 miles” on the Q8 SUV page and “up to 49 miles” on the e-hybrid page itself. The e-hybrid charges on AC only at up to 7.4 kW, so a full charge is an overnight job rather than a coffee stop, and Audi UK was offering new customers either an Ohme home charger worth up to £999 or £500 off the list price.
Practicality & Everyday Usability
605 L boot space, with flat load floor and power tailgate
Rear seats slide and recline; fold 40:20:40 for added flexibility
| Plenty of cabin storage | center console, door bins, wireless phone charger |
Rear parking sensors and camera standard; optional park assist
Wide door openings and comfortable ingress/egress
Family-friendly but lacks third row (unlike Q7)
Warranty & Maintenance
| New-car warranty (Audi UK) | Up to 3 years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first |
| Plug-in hybrid battery | Battery degradation warranty 5 years or 100,000 miles |
| Transferable? | Yes on sale — except the plug-in hybrid battery degradation cover |
| Longer cover | Four- or five-year warranty available as an upgrade when buying new; Audi Extended Warranty from £129 a year afterwards |
| Approved Used | Cars up to 8 years old carry a minimum of 12 months’ warranty |
| Service intervals | Not published on the Audi UK pages read for this review — confirm the schedule and any service-plan price with the centre |
These are Audi UK’s published terms, read on 1 October 2026. An earlier version of this page quoted a four-year/50,000-mile warranty, which is a United States figure and has never applied to a UK car.
On-Road Price & Value for Money
Audi UK’s own “starting at OTR” prices, including VAT, read on 1 October 2026:
| Model | From (OTR, inc. VAT) |
|---|---|
| Q8 SUV | £81,295 |
| SQ8 SUV | £104,310 |
| RS Q8 SUV | £127,240 |
| RS Q8 SUV performance | £142,240 |
| Q8 SUV e-hybrid | No price published on the Audi UK e-hybrid page; Carwow lists the 3.0 e-Hybrid quattro 394 S Line at £86,140 and the Vorsprung at £109,425 |
Carwow’s UK price list spans £81,295 to £109,425 across diesel, petrol and plug-in hybrid trims; Auto Express quotes roughly £81,000 for an S Line, £86,000 for Black Edition and £104,400 for Vorsprung, with the RS Q8 performance Vorsprung at £161,000. Audi UK’s option packs are priced separately and change the car materially: the Technology Pack is £2,995 (360-degree camera, Parking system plus, Bang & Olufsen 3D sound, ambient lighting, head-up display), the Technology Pack Pro £5,295 (adding remote park assist plus, heated rear seats, rear USB-C charging, four-zone climate and the panoramic sunroof) and the Tour Pack £1,950 (lane departure warning with emergency assist, adaptive cruise with speed limiter, turn assist, swerve assist). Add the Technology Pack Pro and the Tour Pack to a Q8 SUV and you are past £88,500 before colour.
UK road tax: the number that separates the Q8s
First-year VED is charged on CO2, and on a car offered as a petrol, a diesel and a plug-in hybrid that is where the running-cost gap actually opens. Applying the GOV.UK rate tables for cars registered on or after 1 April 2017 to the CO2 figures our sources publish:
| Variant | CO2 (as published) | VED band | First-year VED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q8 e-hybrid 394 PS | 28 g/km (Carwow) | 1–50 g/km | £115 |
| Q8 3.0 TDI 286 | 212 g/km (Auto Express) · 217–223 g/km (Carwow) | 191–225 g/km | £3,420 |
| Q8 3.0 TFSI 340 | 234 g/km (Auto Express) · 240–248 g/km (Carwow) | 226–255 g/km | £4,850 |
| RS Q8 | 301 g/km (Auto Express) | Over 255 g/km | £5,690 |
The two retail sources disagree on the exact CO2 of the petrol and the diesel, but not enough to matter here — each pair of figures falls inside the same VED band, so the first-year bill is the same either way. The diesel row assumes an RDE2-compliant engine, which pays the same column as petrol; a non-RDE2 diesel would pay one band more, £4,850. The SQ8 is missing from the table because neither source published a CO2 figure for it, and we are not going to estimate one.
Then the part that applies to every single Q8: all of them list well above £40,000, so from the second time the car is taxed each one pays the £200 standard rate plus the £440 additional rate — £640 a year for five years — whichever engine you chose. Over those five years that is £3,200 on top of the first-year figure. The e-hybrid’s £115 first licence against the petrol’s £4,850 is a £4,735 swing in year one, and it is comfortably the largest single cost difference in the range. Our guide to the April 2026 VED changes covers how these bands moved, and the road tax, MOT and insurance connection explains how the three renewals interact.
Comparison with Rivals
| Model | Power | 0–62 mph | Economy / CO2 (WLTP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audi Q8 SUV TFSI quattro 340 PS | 340 PS (Audi UK) | 5.6 s | 27.4 mpg / 234 g/km (Auto Express) |
| BMW X6 xDrive40i M Sport | 386 bhp (Auto Express) | 5.4 s | 32.8 mpg / 195 g/km (Auto Express) |
| Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 d 4MATIC Coupé | 367 hp + 23 hp mild hybrid (Mercedes-Benz UK) | 5.3 s | 38.2 mpg / 194 g/km (Mercedes-Benz UK) |
| Porsche Cayenne Coupé | 353 PS (Porsche GB) | 5.7 s | 24.2–26.3 mpg / 265–243 g/km (Porsche GB) |
| Q8 excels in | Interior tech, design, ride comfort |
| Falls short in | Boot space against the Audi Q7, and there is no seven-seat option |
Every figure above is quoted as its named source publishes it, and all were read on 1 October 2026. They are not a like-for-like comparison: PS and bhp are different units, each manufacturer tests to its own option and wheel specification, and the Cayenne row is Porsche GB’s span across the Coupé model range rather than a single car. All four are all-wheel-drive five-seaters. If you want the Q8 shape without the engine, the Audi Q8 e-tron is the battery-electric car in the same family.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Bold, futuristic exterior design
- Top-class interior fit and finish
- Advanced tech stack with dual MMI screens
- Comfortable ride with optional air suspension
- Strong performance and quattro grip
Cons
- No third-row seating
- Higher price than Q7 with similar equipment
- 26.6–27.4 mpg from the petrol, against 32.8 mpg for a more powerful BMW X6 xDrive40i and 38.2 mpg for the Mercedes GLE 450 d Coupé
- No current Euro NCAP rating — the 2019 five-star result expired on 1 January 2026
Overall Rating
| Rating | ★★★★☆ (4.4 / 5) |
True Motion Auto has not independently road-tested this vehicle. Specifications, pricing and performance figures are compiled from manufacturer technical data and published independent tests, and are attributed where quoted. Our score reflects a structured research assessment of specifications, pricing, safety data and owner feedback for the segment — not an independent road test. Read how we review cars.
A bold and luxurious flagship SUV that delivers style, substance, and next-gen tech—though not ideal for larger families.
Final Verdict
The Q8 is the Q7’s style-led sibling: the same footprint, a lower roofline, two rows instead of three, and a cabin that still feels special several years into its life. What has changed is the shape of the decision. Audi UK now fronts a five-model range in which the plug-in hybrid is the sensible one, and the difference between it and the petrol is £4,735 of first-year road tax rather than a rounding error. The things to check before ordering are unglamorous: which engines a dealer can actually supply (Audi UK and the retail price lists disagree about whether a diesel is still on the table), what the option packs add to the OTR figure, and the fact that there is currently no Euro NCAP result for this car that can be compared with anything rated under today’s protocols.
More Audi reviews: Audi A1 Sportback Review, Audi A5 Sportback Review and Audi A7 Sportback Review.
Buyer checkpoints
| Buyer checkpoint | True Motion Auto view |
|---|---|
| Best for | Buyers who want a Q7-sized Audi with a coupé roofline and do not need the third row of seats. |
| Body style | Five-door, five-seat SUV. 605-litre boot on all three sources; Carwow puts the spread at 439–680 litres by trim. |
| Powertrain focus | Audi UK lists petrol (340 PS), plug-in hybrid (394 PS) and the SQ8 / RS Q8 performance cars. A 3.0 TDI 286 diesel is absent from Audi UK but present in both retail price lists — ask the dealer. |
| Ask about the e-hybrid specifically | 22 kWh usable battery, 7.4 kW AC only, 3 h 45 min for a full charge, up to 49 miles official test range, and a battery degradation warranty of 5 years / 100,000 miles that does not transfer if you sell the car. |
| Price the tax, not just the car | First-year VED runs from £115 (e-hybrid) to £5,690 (RS Q8), and every Q8 pays £640 a year for the five years after that because they all list above £40,000. |
| Safety, honestly | No current Euro NCAP rating; the 2019 five-star result expired on 1 January 2026 and never covered the e-hybrid, SQ8 or RS Q8. Check which assistance systems are standard on the trim you are quoted — several sit in the £1,950 Tour Pack. |
Frequently asked questions
Does the Audi Q8 have a current Euro NCAP safety rating?
Is the Audi Q8 a Top Safety Pick?
How much is road tax on an Audi Q8?
Can you still buy a diesel Audi Q8 in the UK?
How far does the Audi Q8 e-hybrid go on electric power?
Sources
All pages below were read on 1 October 2026 and every figure in this review is taken from one of them.
- Audi UK — Q8 range, Q8 SUV, Q8 SUV e-hybrid, SQ8 and RS Q8 model pages (line-up, PS, torque, 0–62 mph, electric range, battery and charging, starting OTR prices, option packs, standard equipment)
- Audi UK — new-car, plug-in hybrid battery, extended and Approved Used warranty terms
- Euro NCAP — Audi Q8 assessment (five stars, 2019 protocol; the rating-validity timeline showing expiry on 1 January 2026; the tested car and the variant list)
- Insurance Institute for Highway Safety — 2026 Audi Q8 ratings page (US market; no award listed)
- Auto Express — Audi Q8 review, 10 February 2026, Shane Wilkinson (mpg, CO2, prices, 4.0/5)
- Auto Express — BMW X6 review, 15 December 2025, Shane Wilkinson (rival-table figures)
- Carwow — Audi Q8 review, 15 January 2026, Jamie Edkins (UK price list by trim, CO2 spans, boot-space range, 7/10)
- Mercedes-Benz UK and Porsche Great Britain model pages (rival-table figures for the GLE Coupé and Cayenne Coupé)
- GOV.UK — vehicle tax rate tables (first-licence bands, £200 standard rate, £440 additional rate over £40,000)
Change log. 1 October 2026 — rebuilt from the sources above. Replaced EU-market units (litres per 100 kilometres, kilometres per hour and euro pricing) with UK figures; replaced a United States warranty (4 years / 50,000 miles) with Audi UK’s terms; recorded the Euro NCAP rating as expired on 1 January 2026 instead of current; removed an unverified IIHS “Top Safety Pick” claim the IIHS does not list; corrected the BMW X6 rival figure from 335 hp to Auto Express’s 386 bhp; replaced the single-variant spec table with the current five-model Audi UK line-up including the plug-in hybrid the page previously said did not exist; added a per-variant road-tax section; stated the Audi-UK-versus-retail diesel disagreement rather than reconciling it; removed an unsourced “(2018–)” generation claim from the headline and byline.
Specifications, prices and equipment were current at publication and vary by model year, trim and market. Verify final details with a franchised dealer before ordering. Read how we review cars and our editorial policy.