German car maker Audi has 35 models in its portfolio, some very low volume like
its upper luxury SQ8 TFSI SUV, a large boxy yet handsome coupe style SUV –
now with 4-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 power – 373kW of power in fact driving
through a conventional 8-speed automatic and all-wheel-drive. At $168,000 this is
a specialist upper luxury SUV, big, sporty with a large footprint on the road,
sitting on 22-inch wheels and an adaptive air suspension. It’s wide with a wide
track offering enormous confidence on a winding road with great stability.
Despite it 2480 kilos it jumps to 100km/hour in just 4.1 seconds with braking to
match. What I like about this luxury Audi SQ8 is its ability to be docile around
town with a supple ride yet unleashed on a winding country road it provides
sports car handling – sensors on the steering, chassis and adaptive air
suspension translate inputs to the anti-roll bars and the overall stability for a
large heavy SUV is amazing. Of course, drive it hard and economy suffers, up to
16L/100kms but on a softer throttle down to 11 litres when cruising. I found this
Audi SQ8 SUV hard to criticise, I’d have an orange one in a heartbeat.

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