Paradise Rediscovered
After experiencing some of the woeful budget options arriving from the Far East, James Fossdyke found the brilliance of the Audi RS Q8 a refreshing reminder that great cars are still out there
Over the past couple of years, I’ve spent a lot of time driving, analysing, and talking about Chinese cars. From the unfathomable success of the four-wheeled dog mess that is the Jaecoo 7 to the extraordinary technological showcases from BYD and others, there’s a buzz about the cars China is exporting right now. And, to a point, I can see why.
First of all, there’s the pile-them-high, sell-them-cheap approach that has historically served Chinese manufacturing so well, and there’s the fact that tireless tech development has allowed China to bring customers shedloads of technology for comparatively little outlay. Then there’s the fact that some Chinese cars are quite good. Even Chery, the company behind the dreadful Omoda 5 SUV and the previously maligned Jaecoo 7, has also built the Omoda 9 hybrid and the Chery Tiggo 7, both of which are three-star products. And the best Chinese cars I’ve ever driven – the Nio EL6 and MG IM5 – are easily four-star cars, even if the styling is a bit dodgy. Nevertheless, it’s a shame the Nio isn’t available in the UK yet.
However, there are concerns surrounding the influx of cars from China. Clearly, it would be ridiculous to tar all cars from a single country with the same brush, and you can’t criticise every Chinese brand for the appalling Skywell BE11 any more than you can criticise every Japanese manufacturer for the terrible Mitsubishi ASX. It doesn’t stop the country from producing great cars. But with concerns around spying, human rights and other political issues, perhaps we should be a little more reluctant to let the Chinese brands proliferate so readily.
Whatever, it has felt recently like consumer motoring journalism has become an exercise in steering customers away from the worst cars, rather than towards the best. So it was quite pleasant to step away from the deluge of Far Eastern cars arriving in Avonmouth, and into something fast, petrol-powered, and German. Namely the Audi RS Q8 Performance.
Admittedly, a £140,000 performance SUV is always going to make a nice change from a £30,000 budget crossover, but the size of the difference is something to behold.
In simple terms, the RS Q8 is simply a high-performance version of the Q8 with which we’re probably all familiar. For those who haven’t made its acquaintance, it’s the slightly chunkier, slightly swoopier version of the Q7. Except instead of some conventional 3.0-litre diesel engine, this one has a 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine with two turbochargers. It goes like the proverbial excrement from a digging implement.
Despite that, the speed, the noise and the performance are only part of what makes this car so good at what it does. From the outside, you can immediately spot the chunkiness and the sense of solidity that Audi carries through to the interior. The cabin is beautifully made, with a bulk to the design that’s backed up by first-rate materials that are perfectly slotted together. It’s hard to think of many cars that are better constructed inside.
Admittedly, it isn’t quite perfect. The touchscreen for the climate control systems is a bit awkward, and that doesn’t really fit with the rest of the car, but I can’t actually think of any other issues. Perhaps there’s an over-reliance on Alcantara – a kind of microsuede material – which is liable to get a bit grubby over time, but otherwise, the Audi’s cabin is just the right balance of high-tech and modern design, mixed with old-school robustness and quality. It’s fabulous.
As is the way the car drives. This is a very big and very heavy SUV, but Audi has managed to overcome those issues with the kind of engineering I expect from the professors at Hogwarts, not a team of boffins in southern Germany. Let’s start with the engine, which is immense. We all expect a 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine to be punchy, but with two turbochargers helping boost output to 631bhp, this is more of a cage fight in Indonesia than handbags in the Premier League. It’s savage in its delivery, catapulting the Q8 from a standstill to 62mph in a barely believable 3.6 seconds, and topping out at 174mph. And it sounds like ripping sailcloth while it does so.
The engine, then, is glorious, but the way the car drives is equally mind-blowing. This thing ought to flop around corners like a wet flannel, but it doesn’t. In fact, it’s almost as good in the bends as the RS 6 Avant – a car with a roofline almost a foot lower. The steering isn’t quite as feelsome as in a Porsche Cayenne, perhaps, but it’s still spectacularly good, particularly in the sportiest driving modes. And the body control is sensational, as is the ability to slow down in a hurry. No RS Q8 customer is never going to take their car on a race track, but you get the impression it would hold its own if the situation arose.
Yet for all that, it’s still quite comfortable around town. Of course, it isn’t as supple as a common-or-garden 3.0-litre diesel Q8, but it’s still cushioned enough. You feel the potholes and speed bumps, but they don’t jolt or jar you too much. And at higher speeds, the ride only improves.
Combine all those qualities with seating for four adults and a massive boot, and you’ve got one of the all-time great do-anything cars. The car has long been the ultimate symbol of freedom, and this one allows you to do anything you want. It’ll even go off-road, if you swap the tyres for something a bit more rugged.
Now I can’t pretend I love the RS Q8 – I’ve never quite managed to connect with it on that level for some reason – and I’m not going to pretend it’s a bargain, but I do respect it enormously. This is one of the best all-rounders you can buy, and while it’s incredibly expensive, particularly in this high-powered Performance form, it is at least a great example of what modern European car makers can still achieve. And just how good a properly considered car can be.
So while I can wholeheartedly recommend the RS Q8 to anyone in the market for such a thing, I would rather we all see this as a technical tour de force. It’s a reminder that you can sell whatever you want at whatever price point you want, but there’s no substitute for utterly brilliant engineering from utterly brilliant engineers. Yes, you might have to pay a bit more for that brilliance, but it’s so worth it.
Audi RS Q8 Performance
Price: From £142,240
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 petrol
0-62mph: 3.6 seconds
Top speed: 174mph
Power: 631bhp
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