In a world of eco-hybrids and soft-touch family wagons, one car dares to shout, “I’m wealthy, angry, and probably late to a meeting.” This is the 2025 Audi SQ8. It’s an SUV for people who want practicality, luxury, and just a pinch of V8-fueled rage.
From the outside, the SQ8 is unmistakably Audi, with aggressive lines, massive air intakes, and Audi’s signature grille, now so wide it probably qualifies for its own postcode and enough LED lighting to double as a mobile Christmas display. It looks just like a regular Q8, except it’s been to the gym for a workout.
The 2025 update brings slightly tweaked bumpers, new wheel designs, and—wait for it—blacked-out badges. Because nothing says “serious performance machine” like removing a bit of chrome. Oh, and it sits low. Aggressively low. Like it’s squinting at the road in disapproval. It’s perfect for the school run… if your school run includes the Nürburgring.
Wheels and Tires
These wheels are 23 inches of pure, unapologetic overcompensation and are wearing these 285/35 Continental Cross Sport 6 summer tires. Discs are 15.8 inches at the front and 13.8 inches at the rear.
Under The Hood
It has a 4.0L Twin-turbo direct-injected DOHC 32-valve 90-degree V-8 with 500 hp @ 5,500 rpm and 568 lb-ft @ 2,000 rpm driven through an 8-speed auto. It’s a bit of a porker, though, weighing in at 5,448 lb., but that doesn’t stop it from reaching sixty from a stop in 3.9 seconds.
Rivals
The BMW X6 M60i has 523 horsepower and does the sprint in 4.2 seconds, but it looks like it’s been designed by someone who really likes nostrils. The Porsche Cayenne S will do it in 4.1 seconds but costs more, and you’ll spend every dinner party justifying why you didn’t “go Turbo.”
Driving
The 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 making 500 horsepower isn’t one of those whisper-quiet, virtuous electric motors that sound like a slightly annoyed washing machine. This is a proper deep-chested growl, the kind of sound that would make small children cheer and environmentalists faint. Audi says it’ll do 0–60 in 3.9 seconds. I believe them, because I’ve experienced it, and it feels rather like being hurled down a flight of stairs in a leather armchair—terrifying, yet oddly satisfying.
On the road, though, it’s magnificent. It corners with the grip of a cat on a velvet sofa, turns in with unexpected sharpness for something that weighs almost 5,500 lbs, and if you’re in the right mood, will happily allow the back to step out a touch. On 23-inch wheels, it rides better than it has any right to. Yes, the rear axle does give a bit of a thunk over potholes, but this is a performance SUV, not a magic carpet.
Quattro all-wheel drive, rear-wheel steering, and adaptive air suspension all working together means the SQ8 goes round corners with the sort of irritating competence that makes physics itself roll its eyes. You turn the wheel, and instead of lurching about like an overfed Labrador, it just grips and goes, as if it’s been personally tutored by Lewis Hamilton’s geometry teacher.
Check the box for active roll stabilization, and Audi bolts a motor between the sway bars on both axles, which keeps the body so flat through bends you could serve soup on the dashboard. That same option also gives you a rear sport differential—so you can fire out of corners like an angry badger with somewhere important to be.
Send it down a twisty road, and it’s annoyingly almost perfect. In its natural habitat as a mid-performance, five-seat luxury SUV, there’s very little to moan about. It’s sharp, quick, absurdly comfortable, and even the steering has this delightful little thread of connection you weren’t expecting.
No, it’s not the wild, electrifying, dopamine-laced lunacy of the RS6 Performance but you can definitely tell they shop at the same tailor.
Interior
Inside, it’s typically Audi clean, luxurious, and so well put together it makes IKEA furniture cry itself to sleep. You’ve got dual touchscreens, haptic feedback, more leather than a Victorian whip factory, and mood lighting that can change color depending on how passive-aggressive you’re feeling.
There is that old bugbear, glossy piano-black trim, material apparently designed to showcase fingerprints, dust, and the faint outline of last week’s sandwich. The screens are lovely to look at and are separated by climate control at the bottom and everything else up top.
The stop/start system is the most infuriating thing since someone decided that “low-fat cheese” should exist.. It kills the engine just before you’ve come to a complete stop, turning every red light into a jerky interpretive dance. If this were my car, disabling it would become as much a part of my morning routine as brushing my teeth.
Cargo Space
It’s got a decent-sized cargo area, which is great for storing all the things you’ll never use: yoga mats, overpriced wine, and guilt. Behind the rear seats, you get 30.5 cubic feet, and if you flatten them, you get 60.8 cubic feet.
Pricing
Base price for the SQ8 is $97,600, but this one has the Prestige package for $7,300, which includes dual pane acoustic glass, Heated, ventilated front seats with massage, a head up display, heated rear seats, soft closing doors, and power rear sunshades. Next up is the S-Sport package for $6,000 includes active roll stabilization and red brake calipers. The Bang and Olufsen sound system is $4,900. The luxury package is $3,700 and gives you the Dinamica headliner and leather on the dash, doors, console, and armrests.
Night Vision is $2,500, and the Black Optic Package will cost you $1,110 and gives you anthracite Audi Rings, Black exterior mirrors, Black exterior trim and roof rails, and finally, these black chrome exhaust tips. Once you have finished checking all the boxes, this one totals out at $127,490
Not quite perfect
It’s not perfect, the cupholders are too small, the cargo cover that behaves like it’s welded shut, and the infotainment system requires more finger pressure than some gym workouts, but who cares? You buy this because you want to feel something when you drive.
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Verdict
Even though the design hasn’t changed since it was launched 7 years ago, the SQ8 is still compelling. It’s fast, it’s loud, it’s luxurious, and yes, it’s slightly ridiculous. But it also makes absolutely no excuses for any of it. It’s not trying to save the planet; it’s trying to make you smile like an idiot every time you put your foot down.
2025 Audi SQ8 Numbers
BASE PRICE: $97,600
PRICE AS TESTED: $127,490
VEHICLE LAYOUT: Front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door SUV
ENGINE: 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged DOHC 32-valve V-8
POWER: 500 hp @ 6000 rpm
TORQUE: 590 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode
CURB WEIGHT: 5,500 lbs
0-60 MPH: 3.9 seconds
TOP SPEED: 155 mph
BRAKES FRONT: 15.8-in
BRAKES REAR: 13.8-in
WHEELS: 23-inch with matte titanium finish
TIRES: Continental SportContact 6 285/35
EPA CITY/HWY/COMBINED: 15/17/21 mpg
OUR OBSERVED: 17.1 mpg
CARGO SPACE: 30.5 ft³, 60.7 ft³ with seat area
PROS: Incredible chassis, quicker than you would think, beautiful interior.
CONS: Small cupholders, annoying stop/start system
