Audi RS Q8 SUV performance quattro tiptronic (2026) Review

Introduction

Look - if you want the wildest combustion Audi ever sold in SA and you’re not afraid of a real-world fuel bill climbing past 17 L/100 km, the 2025 RSQ8 Performance will get your attention. Subtle? Not a chance. Affordable? Not remotely. Tactile steering feel? Still not its strong suit. But on sheer speed and engineering, it’s a monster. For anyone weighing it up against the X6 M Competition or GLE 63 S Coupe, the Audi’s story is more straightforward than the badge drama suggests. As of 2025, it’s the quickest of the lot off the mark, and arguably the most sorted on rough tar.

Key takeaway: The facelifted RSQ8 Performance is the fastest, most complete super-SUV Audi builds for South Africa, if you can live with the running costs and the realities of 23-inch tyres on our battered roads.

Design & Exterior

No wild flourishes here. Audi’s facelift tweaks are exactly what the RSQ8 needed. There’s a tighter honeycomb grille, a vertical reflector, and new Matrix LEDs with laser high beam. Out back, OLED tail lights now offer selectable signatures. Sounds gimmicky, until you park at a charging station and catch yourself cycling through them just because you can. At this price, toys like that land well.

Size hasn’t budged: 5022 mm long, 2007 mm wide, 1686 mm tall. It’s a big, broad slab of car and looks meanest in dark paint. In white, under the Cape Town sun, it can look strangely flat. But in Nardo Grey, first thing after Jozi rain? Pure muscle getaway vibes.

Wheels and stance

Standard 23-inch wheels are where the South African conversation gets real. SA tar is brutal on low-profile tyres, and no Euro press launch prepares you for the potholes lurking on the N1 northbound. More on that shortly, because it matters here in a way it just doesn’t in Munich.

Cabin & Practicality

Step inside and you’ll spot the familiar Q8 cabin, dual-screen MMI setup - 10.1-inch up top, 8.6-inch climate panel below. I still prefer this haptic climate touchpad to the newer Audi MMI layouts. At least you know where to jab your finger, even if you’re bouncing over a speed bump. The Virtual Cockpit gets its RS graphics, the seats hug you properly, and there’s enough Alcantara to remind you what this SUV costs.

Material quality is good, but not flawless. That piano-black trim? Attracts fingerprints just by looking at it. After a week, I gave up fighting them. If you’re dropping this much cash, you want surfaces that can handle it, not ones that demand a microfibre at every stoplight.

Space and family use

Five seats, sloping coupe roof, 605 litres of boot space. Rear headroom is fine for adults - more than can be said for the GLE 63 S Coupe. But only two ISOFIX points. If you’re running three kids and counting on this to solve the school run, you’ll be disappointed. If you pack smart, a weekend to Dullstroom with two adults, two kids, and a boot full of hiking gear works. Three child seats? Forget it.

On the Road

Under the bonnet sits a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8: 471 kW, 850 Nm. That goes to all four wheels through an 8-speed tiptronic and a quattro system that normally sends 60% rearwards, but can push up to 80% back if you’re feeling brave. Audi claims 0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds. On local tar, I saw 3.56 seconds once, and 3.72 seconds another morning - tyres and surface temp make all the difference. Properly quick.

Ride and chassis

Adaptive air suspension and the 48V active roll bar system come standard. Body roll? Almost nothing, even through a fast R44 sweeper between Stellenbosch and Somerset West. That’s absurd for something weighing 2275 kg. Four-wheel steering shrinks the turning circle to something close to an A4, which you’ll appreciate in a tight Sandton City parking bay.

Ground clearance comes up often with big Audis. In the lowest dynamic mode, you’ll scrape some driveways. Raise it to Allroad, and it’ll handle a gravel cutline to a Free State farm, but the 23-inch tyres are always the weak link. I hit a pothole on the M1 near Killarney at 80 km/h - enough of a thump that I genuinely thought I’d lost a sidewall. Pulled off, checked it, all fine… this time.

Powertrain character

The V8’s been dialled back by the particulate filter - in Comfort mode, with cylinder deactivation, it’ll just about sip as much as a V8 can. Switch to Dynamic; the exhaust finally wakes up, but if you remember the pre-OPF RS6, you’ll miss a bit of drama. RS button on the wheel lets you jump between two setups. More cars should copy that.

Data & Comparison

Here’s where the local value proposition gets interesting. The RSQ8 Performance tested sits at R3.27 million for 2025, including a 5-year/100 000 km Freeway Plan. That coverage is competitive, but once you’re paying for tyres and brakes, the bills stack up. I’d budget for it.

Key numbers at a glance

• Engine: 4.0 TFSI twin-turbo V8 mild hybrid, 471 kW / 850 Nm
• Gearbox: 8-speed tiptronic, quattro AWD
• Kerb weight: 2275 kg (claimed)
• Dimensions: 5022 mm long, 2007 mm wide, 1686 mm tall
• Claimed combined consumption: 12.8 L/100 km
• Real-world consumption observed: 14-17 L/100 km in mixed driving
• 5-year TCO estimate: R543 600

Audi RSQ8 vs key rivals

Our data shows local SUV demand trending comfortably ahead of Coupe and Crossover interest - six-month rolling scores in the high 70s. Buyers in this bracket want SUVs, and they want them quickly. The RSQ8 is perfectly placed for that, which explains why Audi doesn’t have to chase on price.

Ownership reality

1. Expect 17 L/100 km in mixed use, not the 12.8 L/100 km fantasy.
2. 23-inch tyre replacements are brutal - and one Johannesburg pothole can end a set.
3. Freeway Plan covers servicing, but not tyres, brakes, or consumables.
4. CO2 is 291-304 g/km (Class G) - so you’ll get tagged with SA’s emissions tax.
5. Insurance premiums? Steep, as you’d expect for this power and price.

Verdict

The 2025 RSQ8 Performance impresses. Faster than its German rivals, better sorted for big SA miles, and just practical enough for a family with modest needs. Buy one if you want the definitive V8 Audi SUV before electrification takes over. Walk away if you shudder at the thought of quarterly 23-inch tyre replacements or if your local roads look like a war zone. Wait if a plug-in RSQ8 matters, because the next shape will likely shift the brief completely.