Audi Q8 review – a master of comfort and refinement - Design

In pictures and in isolation, the Q8 looks quite wild. Its concept car-like proportions, its massive grille with its chunky frame and its sleek low roof, thanks to its frameless doors, give it huge impact when you first catch sight of it. However, once out on the road, it isn’t quite as distinctive and it blends in with the surrounding cars almost instantly. Now, depending on what sort of person you are, that could be a good or a bad thing.

The Vorsprung’s big, 22-inch wheels really suit the Q8’s proportions and help it look more like the concept from last year that hinted at the final Q8. It also helps that the Audi Sport wheels, with their deep centres and delicate, trident-shaped spokes, are an appealing design.

The Q8’s party trick is its lights. The columns of LEDs that make up its rear lights and front DLRs animate, creating patterns at all four corners of the car every time you lock and unlock it. It’s totally pointless, but there’s no doubt it adds a sense of occasion whenever you approach the Q8.