2025 Audi SQ8 First Test: 500 HP and a V-8. What’s Not to Like?

Jump into this cliched car ad with us: As a long day at work ends, you gaze at the city skyline from the windows of an elevator as you descend to the now-empty parking structure. And you can’t help but smile. For one blissful moment, the troubles of the day disappear as you approach what’s waiting for you in an end spot: a 2025 Audi SQ8.

Perhaps it’s the Audi’s otherness that captivates. You won’t find a Q8, SQ8, or RS Q8 on every block, and we’ll never liken the Audi’s design to a potato as we have the Cayenne Coupe. Or maybe it’s that delicious 500-hp V-8. Probably both. But its design hasn’t changed since the SQ8’s arrival seven model years ago, and flaws are starting to show. So does the SQ8 still hold up in the face of the rapidly advancing electrified era? 

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Q8: Why Pay More for Less?

Fastback SUVs like the SQ8, Cayenne Coupe, and BMW X6 sacrifice practicality for designs that make owners feel special, much more than a Q7 or X5 ever could. Owners get it. They pay more for less space. And guess what? They don’t care. These are me-first SUVs designed to make you feel good.

With the Q8, its purposeful design is more subtle than other German fastbacks, though you’d never know it from our SQ8’s Chili Red paint or enormous 23-inch wheels. These days, fastback SUVs have proliferated up and down Audi’s lineup, so the SQ8’s gotta perform to justify its place.

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0-60 MPH In...

With V-8 engines becoming increasingly rare, performance is almost secondary to the sound emanating from the exhaust. Hey, we said almost. In the 2025 SQ8, the sound is muscular yet muted. No matter how quiet, though, the SQ8 delivers 100 percent more engine sound than you get from its fully electric SQ8 E-Tron stablemate.

The EV alternative manages a quick 4.2-second sprint from 0 to 60, Audi says, while the gas-powered 2025 SQ8 reaches the same benchmark speed in a MotorTrend-tested 3.9 seconds thanks to its 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8. Did we mention this thing has a V-8?

The competition basically matches the SQ8 in power and cylinder count. A 468-hp Cayenne S hits 60 mph in as quick as 4.1 seconds in our testing, while BMW says the 523-hp X6 M60i is good for a 4.2-second sprint to the same speed.

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“Remarkably Good”

Launching the SQ8 is easy and fun. The best acceleration merely requires pedal overlap (apply the brakes and accelerator before quickly lifting off the brakes). There’s a bit of tire slip off the line before the SUV gains traction, with just enough body motion to make the exercise entertaining and repeatable but not nausea inducing.

That’s cool because you’re going to want to launch it more than once.

Consistency is a running theme in our SQ8 testing. Braking from 60 to 0 mph felt solid, with good pedal feel. The actual distance was 107 feet, a few feet farther than a Cayenne S we tested on similar performance tires, but better than the 113 feet of a Cayenne S with all-season tires.

On the track, our test crew called the SQ8's responses "remarkably good," citing its excellent turn-in for such a large SUV, augmented by tons of grip, minimal body roll, and enough power to drift on corner exit. A favorable comparison was even made to the Cayenne.

Off the track, we were surprised by just how good an SQ8 on 23s could ride. Although the rear tends to clomp some over sharp impacts, overall, it's impressive for a performance SUV. Also, the eight-speed automatic is smooth enough, but the standard Q8 may offer a better day-to-day experience.

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How the SQ8 Has Aged

By far, the biggest issue with the 2025 SQ8 isn’t the heavy use of piano-black trim or how hard you need to press the infotainment screens to register a command, but rather it’s with the frustrating stop/start system. It frequently shuts the engine down just before you've come to a complete stop, making smooth stops more difficult, and the engine isn’t exactly quick to start up again, either. Were this car our daily driver, starting off would be a two-step process every time: Press the start button, then immediately turn off stop/start.

A couple other foibles include small cupholders and a cargo cover that doesn’t lift up when you open the liftgate, but that doesn’t distract us from the bigger picture. This Audi got the basics right: design and interior space. The back seat is comfortable for two, and that’s part of the reason you’d get the Q8 instead of one of Audi’s smaller Sportback-branded SUVs.

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The SQ8 Has More Rivals Than Ever Before

Yes, we still like the SQ8. It’s hard to imagine a fashion-first automotive option this old that still feels this solid, but strong performance and a spacious cabin provide good fundamentals. Where the SQ8 lets us down is with the hard-button-push infotainment setup that needs an update and the lack of a permanent off switch for its rough engine stop/start system.

Take a step back and consider how the $100,000 luxury SUV space has shifted in recent years. One important rival comes from within Audi itself: the electrified SQ8 Sportback E-Tron, which looks fantastic with its available 22-inch wheels and is nearly as quick as the gas SQ8. (Too bad it offers a puny 208-mile EV range in that spec.) Then there’s the BMW iX, which manages to feel sporty and properly luxurious, but, wow, its styling is ... something.

That’s where the Audi steps in. If the emotional pull of a V-8 underhood is too great to ignore, the SQ8 and wilder RS Q8 are around for when a Porsche Cayenne is too common. Years after the SQ8 originally arrived, its performance and design still hold up. However, when that cliched car ad in your head ends and real life begins, we hope a future SQ8 can make a couple key changes to turn our admiration into love.