Audi RS Q8 2025 review – an RS6 on stilts?
The Audi RS Q8 is the firm’s most powerful petrol car ever in Performance form. But is it one of the best?
Audi’s RS Q8 is known by some as ‘the cheaper Urus’, but that description doesn’t quite do it justice. For one, it’s traditionally been better to drive than its more expensive Lamborghini relative. It also isn’t cheap by any measure, coming in at £122,280 – or £137,280 for the top-spec, 631bhp Performance. For that you get Audi’s baddest, most powerful SUV – the Performance is the most powerful petrol Audi ever, in fact – and one that’s recently been updated to take on the likes of the BMW X6 M, Mercedes-AMG GLE63 S and Porsche’s Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid.
As you can probably tell, the RS Q8 is a big hitter in every sense. It weighs 2.3 tons, has an outstandingly large grille, uses a remarkable amount of fuel and includes pretty much every element of Audi’s technical armoury, from rear-wheel steering to active anti-roll bars and more.
Not the makings of a typical evo favourite, then, but Audi Sport is on a bit of a roll these days – the RS6 GT and RS4 25 Years edition are some of its best performance products in years. The question is, has the latest RS Q8 adopted some of that magic?
Audi RS Q8 in detail
- Engine, gearbox and technical highlights > The twin-turbo V8/eight-speed auto combination is well proven, and there’s a raft of clever chassis systems
- Performance and 0-60mph time > Acceleration is monstrous, and about as quick as a BMW M3
- Ride and handling > You’d never mistake it for a sports car, but the RS Q8 can decimate a road
- MPG and running costs > Not much, and lots. But if you can afford it in the first place...
- Interior and tech > Every surface is a finger print magnet, but build and material quality are top notch
- Design > Imposing but fussy nose aside, it’s one of the more palatable coupe-SUVs out there
Price and rivals
Prices start at £122,280 for the ‘basic’ RS Q8, with Performance beginning at £137,280. Things go skywards from there, with the Performance Carbon Black trim coming in at £149,980, and the fully loaded Performance Carbon Vorsprung costing a heavy £156,630.
It would be ridiculous to say that a £122k starting price seems reasonable, but in context, the RSQ8 is actually priced rather sensibly, coming in at £22k cheaper than the more powerful but less accelerative Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid Coupe. BMW’s X6 M Competition, meanwhile, is more powerful yet slower than Audi on paper, and to drive, makes the Audi feel positively genteel and sophisticated. It's also nearly £10k more expensive.
Then there’s a band of more expensive and luxurious fast SUVs in the form of the Range Rover Sport SV, Aston Martin DBX707 and Bentley Bentayga. Each of these is more sumptuous than the RS Q8, and in the case of the Range Rover and Aston, more accomplished on the road. But they’re also substantially more expensive, sitting closer to £200k than they do the Audi.
