Audi Q8 officially revealed to take on the BMW X6

The all-new Audi Q8 has finally been revealed as the flagship of the German automaker’s SUV range, which is currently populated by the Q2, Q3, Q5 and Q7. Audi says the Q8 “combines the elegance of a four-door luxury coupé with the practical versatility of a large SUV,” and it will be launched in European markets starting from the third quarter of 2018.

In terms of dimensions, the Q8 measures 4.99 metres long, two metres wide and 1.71 metres tall, making it wider, shorter and lower than its sibling, the Q7. The wheelbase spans nearly three metres, which isn’t unlike the Q7, and Audi claims this offers a spacious interior that bests direct competitors like the BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe.

According to Audi, the Q8 is the new face of the Q family, and it’s clear the final design didn’t stray too far away from the Q8 concept and Q8 sport show cars that previewed the model. Up front, there’s a new octagonal-shaped Singleframe grille that is flanked by standard LED headlamps (Matrix LED available as an option).

The latter features blacked out portions just below them that accommodates what should be headlamp washers and the fog lamps. Further down, the front spoiler leads into two air inlets, with a skid plate nestled just below it. Other touches include bonnet creases that differ from the two bulges seen on the show cars.

The Q8’s profile is highlighted by a sloping roofline that leads to a rakish rear window as well as frameless side windows to further emphasis its sporty persona. The wheel arches are also clearly flaunted here, and wheels of up to 22 inches in size can be fitted. This particular colour you see here is called Dragon Orange.

Moving to the rear, the taillights are connected by a light strip, which is similar to what we’ve seen on the A8. On the Q8, a black surface below this strip is meant to pay tribute to the original Audi quattro. Unlike the previews, the design of the lighting array within each cluster follows a vertical arrangement rather than a horizontal one, which is more in line with the latest A6 and A7 Sportback.

In other areas, the lower “diffuser” plays host to faux exhaust outlets and are painted in a contrasting colour to the body. This is also seen on the front spoiler and side door trims, which help to emphasise the off-road look.

Yes, contrary to what you might think, the Q8 is capable of doing the city run and heading off the tarmac if required. Characteristics that help support this capability include a ground clearance of up to 254 mm, short overhangs and hill descent control. Adaptive air suspension with controlled damping is offered as an alternative to the standard suspension with damper control, allowing drivers to adjust the ride height by as much as 90 mm.

Other mechanical bits include the option of all-wheel steering, whereby the rear wheels are capable of turning by as much as five degrees for better agility at low speeds. As for the powertrain, Audi hasn’t provided detailed information about the topic but states that all drive systems will feature its 48-volt mild hybrid technology (MHEV).

The system incorporates two important aspects, namely a lithium-ion battery and a belt alternator starter. We’ve already seen such an approach in Audi’s recent four-door sedan models, with the system being able to recuperate energy during braking (up to 12 kW), as well as allow coasting with the engine deactivated (from 22 km/h).

In leaked photos, we know that there is a 50 TDI quattro variant with a 3.0 litre turbodiesel V6, and this has been confirmed by Top Gear. Other variants coming soon include a 45 TDI and a 55 TFSI (3.0 litre turbo V6 petrol) – rear-biased quattro all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic gearbox both come as standard.

Despite the rugged and sporty image being portrayed, the Q8’s interior is typical Audi luxury. There’s clearly lots of influence from its more recent introductions, most notably the dual-screen setup on the centre stack and console.

The upper touchscreen is a 10.1-inch unit that handles the MMI infotainment and navigation systems, while the lower 8.6-inch one deals with the climate control, convenience functions and text input. There’s also voice control that can better decipher natural phrases via machine learning, so there’s less need to talk like a robot to get your “robot” to send suggestions. For instance, rather than saying, “find me a restaurant,” you’ll only need to tell the system, “I am hungry.”

A third display is located in the instrument binnacle and it is the Audi virtual cockpit, which allows drivers to have different information presented to them. If that isn’t enough, there’s also a head-up display projecting information onto the windshield like lane guidance for navigation.

As there is still a need to be practical, Audi says the Q8 will be available with a third row of seats upon request. With the seatbacks folded down, there is up to 1,755 litres of storage space under the powered rear hatch. The second-row seats are set up in a 40:20:40 split.

The list of equipment available is similarly as expansive, including powered contour seats with massage and ventilation functions, four-zone climate control, ambient lighting, Bang & Olufsen sound system and a remote garage pilot (coming in early 2019). Connected services like Audi connect and myAudi app are also tailored to meet the driver’s preferences.