Possesses The Soul Of A Sports Car
Slap an RS badge on an Audi, and it has to live up to a higher standard. During development, RS models have to endure 8,000 kilometers (almost 5,000 miles) of testing on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. That’s a lot of stress on tires, brakes, and cooling systems, especially for a heavy SUV, but that’s what you get with the 2025 Audi RS Q8 Performance. It’s a crossover SUV with the soul of a sports car.
The RS Q8 Performance is a crossover coupe in the mold of the BMW X6 M, an with the change for 2025 to the Performance model, it boasts the most power and performance capability an Audi SUV has to offer. I recently drove it for a week, after driving the step-down SQ8 this past summer. The SQ8’s capability snuck up on me, but the RS Q8 couldn’t hide its performance intent.
Like the SQ8, the RS Q8 rides on front and rear five-link independent suspensions cushioned by adaptive dampers and air springs. The air springs give it the same 8.2 inches of standard ground clearance that drops to 6.6 inches in Dynamic mode, and the standard rear-axle steering has the same ability to turn up to five degrees opposite of the front wheels at low speeds.
The differences, however, are in tuning and additional performance equipment. While the SQ8 drove like a mainstream luxury crossover the vast majority of the time, the RS Q8 wears its sportiness on its sleeve. From the first turn to the first bump, I could tell it’s different. It felt stronger in the knees, fighting body lean noticeably even in neighborhood driving, and the suspension felt firmer over bumps.
When I took it on what passes for a twisty road in southeastern Wisconsin, its sportiness became even more apparent. The standard active anti-roll bars doggedly fought body lean, making this 5,467-pound crossover feel like a raised sport sedan. It rotated predictably through a 180-degree switchback, much like a rear-drive vehicle, thanks to a standard 40/60 front/rear power split for the Quattro AWD system. I was able to balance understeer and oversteer simply with the throttle. The 295/35R23 Pirelli P Zero summer-performance tires gripped the road with tenacity, and the quick-ratio 13.3:1 electric-assist power steering provided a pleasingly weighty heft, right-now responses, and good road feel.
The RS Q8 also comes with a set of some of the biggest brakes on the market. The carbon-ceramic rotors stretch 17.3 inches in diameter up front, and they’re pinched by huge 10-piston calipers. The 14.6-inch rear rotors have six-piston calipers. That’s a lot of braking power, enough to arrest this beast from racetrack speeds time and time again.
The power is also stronger and even more immediate than in the SQ8. In that vehicle, a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 cranks out 500 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque. Here, however, the same engine spins up 631 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque thanks in part to 24.7 psi of turbo boost versus 18.9 psi in the SQ8. Reduced back pressure in the lighter exhaust system also helps the engine in the 2025 RS Q8 Performance make 14 more horsepower than the 2024 RS Q8.
The wide and sticky Pirelli tires and standard quattro all-wheel-drive system put the power down efficiently, unlocking a stunningly quick 0-60 mph time of 3.4 seconds, according to Audi, 0.7 seconds quicker than the SQ8. It also keeps going all the way to an electronically limited top speed of 190 mph, which you should try on a track, the Autobahn, or on your way to prison.
The way the power arrives is quite satisfying. The turbos give it robust low-end grunt, so the power feels like it’s almost immediate. From there, speed builds quickly as the eight-speed automatic fires off quick, crisp shifts to keep the Teutonic V8 in its power band.
How rambunctious the power delivery is depends on the drive mode. Keep it in Auto or Comfort, and the powertrain is happy to remain in the background and toddle along in traffic. Go for Dynamic mode, however, and the transmission holds its gears longer, keeping the power on boil for quick response at any moment. The baffles in the exhaust system also open in Dynamic mode, letting the deep thrum of the silky V8 come for the fore. The little crackles between shifts are the cherry on top of the delicious sound quality.
With more power comes worse fuel economy, but not by much. The RS Q8 is EPA-rated at 14 mpg city, 20 highway, and 16 combined, while the SQ8 checks in at 15/21/17 mpg. I did a lot of highway driving among my 372 miles behind the wheel of the RS Q8 and managed a decent 19.4 mpg.
The modes also adjust the dampers and stability control. The ride starts out firm but not punishing, but Dynamic mode introduces more jiggly up-and-down motions over wavy pavement. Like BMW with its M1 and M2 buttons, Audi provides two programmable modes for the RS Q8. They’re called RS1 and RS2, and they let drivers customize two settings that they can use for different driving situations. A good setup would be choosing a comfortable tune for RS1 and programming RS2 with the most aggressive modes for the steering, engine sound, powertrain, stability control, and all-wheel-drive system/rear differential while keeping the dampers in their Comfort mode.
Inside, there is little difference between the RS Q8 and the SQ8. It has good space, but the coupe body style saps some room a Q7 driver would enjoy. My tester was outfitted with the standard heated and ventilated Valcona leather sport seats with red stitching and a honeycomb pattern, as well as carbon twill matte trim.
It also came with the same 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and stacked 10.1-inch and 8.6-inch touchscreens on the dash that handle infotainment and climate controls, respectively. It’s a last-generation system that requires long presses to trigger its haptic feedback, but it still feels modern. Notable amenities in my tester included navigation, a Bang & Olufsen audio system, Matrix OLED headlights, four-zone automatic climate control, and a panoramic sunroof.
The 2025 Audi RS Q8 starts at $137,495, including a $1,295 destination fee. That money buys a crossover coupe packed with technology and luxury, sprinkled with utility, and backed by the soul of a sports car.
Images: Audi
