Driving along in the 2025 Audi SQ8, I feel conspicuous thanks to the bright metallic paint, blacked out trim, and the sinister coupe-like profile. In traffic, the SQ8 hasn’t impressed me yet, at least not enough to justify its $127,490 sticker price. The cabin is muted in black and I have yet to tap into the power or stress the handling enough to make a judgment. Is this thing only about style? Is there a good reason to want one?
But then I find a country road that’s not only twisty but also rough. It’s a true test of the suspension and a chance to unleash the power away from traffic. I switch to Dynamic mode and have at it. Dynamic mode immediately wakes up the 4.0 liters of German V8 under the hood, raising the revs by holding gears longer, hastening the throttle response, and opening a butterfly valve in the mufflers to bypass the baffles and let the engine sing its deep and soulful tune at a volume above library quiet.
The twin-turbo V8 spins up 500 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque smoothly and confidently. The power arrives early, delivering a jolt from a stop when I step into it as all four wheels hook up thanks to the standard quattro all-wheel-drive system. The 0-60 mph sprint takes just 4.1 seconds, and the SQ8 builds speed easily. With so much power on tap, it’s hard to believe the RS Q8 sits above this model and turns up the wick to 617 horsepower.
The smooth-shifting eight-speed automatic transmission proves responsive as I link corner to corner. It downshifts to tap into the power coming out of the turns without overdoing it with extremely high revs and hard, disruptive shifts. The sport differential that’s included along with active anti-roll bars in this tester’s optional S sport package also apportions the power side to side at the rear for best traction on corner exit.
Opting for Auto or Comfort modes calms the powertrain, muting the sound, relaxing the throttle, and grabbing the next gear earlier. In these modes, the engine only makes itself known when my right foot gets too frisky. The downside of twin-turbo V8 is fuel economy. It’s EPA rated at 15 mpg city, 21 highway, and 17 combined. I’m only averaging 16.4 mpg per the trip computer.
Dynamic mode also stiffens the chassis. The SQ8 has five-link independent suspensions front and rear, adaptive dampers, a four-corner air suspension, and rear axle-steering. While that’s all pretty advanced stuff, It’s the effect of the active anti-roll bars I feel most. When I toss 5,269 pounds of luxury SUV into a 180-degree lefthander, the anti-roll bars doggedly fight lean to keep the attitude flat, despite 8.2 inches of standard ground clearance and 6.6 inches in Dynamic mode. It feels like it’s defying physics. Not only that, but it rotates well, with just a touch of understeer that’s remedied easily by lifting off the throttle. The rear-axle steering likely doesn’t come into play here. It can turn the rear wheels up to five degrees opposite of the fronts, but that’s at parking lot speeds.
The hefty steering feels stable and the SQ8 reacts directly to my inputs. I’m getting pretty good feedback through the steering wheel, too. I can feel the bumps and ruts of the patchwork pavement without disrupting the ride quality. This is some deft suspension tuning as only the deeper potholes send a shock into the cabin, despite low-profile 285/35R23 Continental SportContact 6 summer performance tires. That’s a lot of unsprung weight to harness, but the SQ8 does it well. Braking is strong, too. Audi outfits the SQ8 with 15.8-inch front rotors with six-piston calipers and 13.8-inch rear rotors with single-piston calipers. The pedal remains firm throughout my shenanigans, but this isn’t a long and winding road and I’d be leery of them holding up on a track.
A closer look at the cockpit reveals well-chosen, high-quality materials and technology that while aging still looks cutting edge. The SQ8 comes with the screen layout introduced in 2019 with the redesign. It includes a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and stacked touchscreens on the dash and center stack. The top screen measures 10.1 inches and the bottom screen stretches 8.6 inches. Both provide haptic feedback to confirm touch inputs.
The bottom screen is for climate control functions, and the top screen and handles the typical infotainment controls: phone, navigation, and audio. It allows access to apps through the Audi Connect Plus subscription and can be controlled with voice commands. However, those commands can’t control vehicle functions like climate controls or lighting, which means the system is slightly behind the times. The system in the new Audi A5, for instance, incorporates ChatGPT into the navigation system, has even bigger screens, and offers a passenger screen.
While a color other than black (red is available) would create a more visually interesting interior atmosphere, the SQ8’s cabin materials are top notch. It comes standard with diamond-stitched Valcona leather upholstery, carbon-fiber trim, and aluminum and piano black surfaces. The $3,700 Luxury package included on my tester extends the leather to the dash, upper doors, center console, and armrests, and ands a synthetic suede headliner. Spending another $4,900 brings a bangin’ 19-speaker, 1,820-watt Bang & Olufsen Advanced 3D audio system, though the standard system is also from Bang & Olufsen and has 17 speakers base and 730 watts.
The Q8 family shares its platform and 118-inch wheel base with the Audi Q7. The Q7 cuts a more traditional SUV profile, though, and offers three rows of seats as well as more cargo space. The SQ8’s coupe-like rear roofline cuts into cargo space and precludes the third row. Still, the SQ8 has good second-row room for up to three adults, though two will be far more comfortable, and cargo space is decent at 33.7 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 60.8 cubic feet with rear seats folded down.
The 2025 Audi SQ8 starts at $98,895, including a $1,295 destination fee. That money gets you some of the equipment that makes this such an appealing luxury SUV, including the V8 goodness, the adaptive dampers, the air suspension, sporty suspension tuning, and the rear-axle steering. Inside it includes the screens, leather upholstery, four-zone automatic climate control, heated front sport seats, and wireless smartphone charging. Spending an extra $7,300 for the Prestige package, which is essentially a trim level, adds such niceties as dual-pane acoustic glass side windows, front seat ventilation and massage, Matrix LED headlights, a head-up display, heated rear seats, soft-close doors, and remote parking.
A full suite of active safety features is standard on all SQ8s. It consists of automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitors, rear cross-traffic alerts, traffic sign recognition, front and rear parking sensors, automatic high beams, and a surround-view camera system. Many of my test vehicle’s options are what make it so good. The $6,000 S sport package improves the dynamics, as does the $2,500 for the 23-inch wheels and summer performance tires. The Prestige package also adds features most buyers will find indispensable.
The 2025 Audi SQ8 may be aging, but it still has swagger to back up its style. It’s powerful, agile, and luxurious—especially if you pick the right set of options. It sacrifices some utility for its dashing good looks, but that’s part of the swagger, too. You don’t buy a luxury vehicle because you need one. You do it because you want to, and the Audi SQ8 makes me want one.