2019 Audi Q8 vs 2023 Tesla Model Y

What's the difference?

The Audi Q8 is a compelling and impressive new entrant into the luxury SUV fray, and it deserves to do well considering the pricing and specification on offer. I have no doubt that an even more enticing version of the Q8 - be it an SQ8 or RS Q8 - is on its way, and it’s bound to be even more impressive again.

One thing is for sure, it’s definitely a performance car, but not as we know it.

This version of the Tesla Model Y is the ultimate tech gadget on four wheels. It’s incredibly fast, has unbelievable, unnerving handling, and importantly what seems to be the best software in the business. Coming in significantly cheaper than its European performance EV rivals, it doesn’t even seem like bad value.

But. Enthusiasts be warned. There is an element of drama missing here, the Model Y is almost too good at attacking the road, there’s no roaring feedback or imperfections for you to correct, and for this reason alone, even if it’s the future, I don’t think it’s going to be for everyone.

It isn’t a coupe-style SUV, but it also kind of is. That’s what’s most interesting about the design of the Q8, which has muscular haunches, a huge grille with a polarising silver trim ‘mask’ around it (which thankfully can be had in gloss black, too), and a body that may look familiar to you if you like big luxury SUVs.

That’s because it’s got some stuff in common with the likes of the Porsche Cayenne and Bentley Bentayga, which share some underbody components. If you squint there’s a bit of family resemblance, but the Q8 is convincingly different enough to justify some attention in its own right.

There are standard-fit LED headlights and daytime running lights, plus massive 21-inch wheels that fill those copious arches. And if those aren’t big enough, there are optional 22-inch alloys, too.

The lines that run the length of the body aren’t over the top, and the beautifully named “blisters” that run over the tops of the wheel arches are pronounced, but not shouty. The tail-light garnish really accentuates the broadness of the Q8, and in an interesting styling highlight, the big Audi has pillar-less doors - hello Subarus from the 1990s!

It’s exceptional to look at from the outside, with a strong road presence that helps it stand out from the round-edged Q5 and Q7 models that sit below it. The dimensions definitely help out in that regard - the Q8 is 66mm shorter than Q7 at 4986mm long, and has the same wheelbase (2995mm). It is 2190mm wide (up 27mm on Q7), but sits 1705mm tall (38mm shorter).

The interior? Well, there’s quite a bit of pleasantness there, too. Check out the interior images for yourself.

If you’ve seen one Tesla, you’ve pretty much seen them all, with the Model Y Performance doing little to set itself apart from the rest of the range.

It’s all part of Tesla’s minimalist Silicon Valley aesthetic. Like various models of iPhone, the changes between models are meant to be felt and not seen.

The Uberturbine wheels are of course a highlight, really filling the arches compared to the standard hub cab-wearing ones which ship on the standard Model Y, but they are also the only option on the Performance, too bad if you’re not a fan of matt black.

On the inside there are no surprises, either. The same minimalist aesthetic applies, as usual to a fault.

I feel like I’m sitting in the Apple Store, with just a big floating tablet being the main decoration.

Our car had the wood-look trim option, which is the most preferable option of the two. I found the white plastic fill alternative a bit cheap-feeling during my test of the standard Model Y.

I think the minimalism of the Model Y’s cabin will help it age well, but as I usually complain about these Tesla cabins. There’s no dash cluster or even a head-up display which feels like a bit of a usability blunder. Who wants to look at a centre display for critical information on the car?

If you’re considering the Q8 as an alternative to the Tardis-like Q7, you’ll be upset. It may pay to think of it as a slightly larger Q5 in terms of cabin space, because despite its imposing dimensions, the Q8 is cosier inside than you might think.

That isn’t to say it’s small or cramped. Not at all. And the raked roofline of the Q8 isn’t as big an imposition on passenger comfort and space as it is in its direct German competitors.

For someone my height - 182cm - there’s enough headroom in the rear seat to be comfortable with a similarly sized driver in front, and the legroom and foot room is well considered, too. The back seat slides fore and aft in a 60:40 ratio, up to 100mm, so if you have smaller back-seaters, you can allow for a bigger boot space.

Storage is well considered for all occupants, with bottle-sized door pockets all around, cupholders between the seats (in a flip-down armrest in the back), plus some extra loose item and covered storage up front -along with a wireless phone charger in the centre console.

And in terms of boot space and luggage capacity, the Q8 is better than many SUVs in the class; with the seats pushed all the way back there is 606 litres of space available, and should you need more space, the second-row slide function liberates 75L more (total: 681L). That expands to 1755L with the rear seats folded down (which can be done in a 40:20:40 ratio, making for easy stowage of skis or other long items).

Up front, there are comfortable seats with nice amenities, and the design of the dashboard is neat and tidy. Very minimalist.

As for the tech interface and media screens, there is some learning required to get the hang of how to use them. The top screen controls the media and navigation function, while the lower one manages climate and car controls. Both are touchscreens, but both have haptic feedback which makes it feel like you’re hitting a physical button rather than the screen.

The resolution of both screens is lovely, with superb 3D mapping and even a surround-view camera system that uses AI to give you a 3D view of the car and its surroundings.

But the menus aren’t as intuitive as they could be - things like the fact you have a lane keeping assistance button that sits separate to the rest of the safety controls, and that’s separate again to the button on the end of the indicator stalk that adapts the active cruise control/lane keeping system. There’s a voice control system if you think the screens will be too distracting to use while on the move.

One issue with fit and finish - the dash top didn’t align perfectly with the plastic below in all cars present on test, whether equipped with the standard plastic dash finish or the optional leather-trimmed version. It’s something that’s hard to un-see.

The Model Y feels much bigger than the Model 3 so it will definitely hit the sweet spot for people who wanted a Tesla but found the Model 3 too cramped for a family.

Everywhere feels expanded, especially headroom, and the minimalist design leaves room for big door pockets and the flat floor leaves room for extra large stowage areas under the centre console.

I especially like the way the dual wireless chargers integrate with the design here.

There are a few hidden hard plastics, but Tesla has put soft-touch and padded surfaces in all the right areas.

The seats are reasonably comfortable, but I’m not sure how the synthetic leather trim will age in the Australian sun particularly as there’s no way to cover the big panoramic sunroof.

Not everyone has a garage. Interestingly though the car does have a cabin overheat protection function, which automatically starts the air conditioning should the cabin exceed a certain temperature.

Still, there are a lot of months in the year our brutal sun will be cooking the interior.

If you’ve read any of my Tesla reviews before, you’ll know I’m not a huge fan of the need to control pretty much all of the car's key functions through the central touchscreen.

It feels like a shame to complain about this, because the software is truly beautiful, and Tesla backs it with powerful computer hardware to keep the screen fast and responsive.

But having no dash cluster feels like a bit of a design-over-usability trait, especially when you go to adjust some of this car’s settings on the fly.

This is a far cry from an affordable EV. Forget your MG ZS EVs, BYD Atto 3s and even base Teslas, because the Model Y Performance is in a different league when it comes to price and ability.

To give you an idea, the entry-point Model Y tends to float around $70,000 once you add on-road costs, sometimes slightly more. This Performance version takes a massive hike to nearly $100,000, before on-road costs, and the example we drove for this test totalled $108,031.

The trouble with the Performance version is it’s so expensive it doesn’t qualify for electric car rebates, and in fact attracts luxury car tax instead, pushing the price ever higher.

To add insult to injury, there’s not even a whole lot on the outside of this car to tip you off it costs nearly $40,000 more than the entry-level version, with the main hint being the 21-inch 'Uberturbine' wheels.

If you look even more closely you might notice it rides a little lower than the standard car, has bigger brakes, and a little carbon-fibre lip spoiler attached to the tailgate.

Most of the changes are under the skin, including an alternate suspension tune, second motor on the front axle, and a lot of additional power.

Tesla, famously shy about sharing specifics, only gives a 0-100km/h sprint time, which improves from 6.9 to 3.7 seconds for the Performance.

The battery is larger, too, boosting range from 455km on the base Model Y to 514km.

On the inside expect the standard Tesla stuff, like synthetic leather interior trim, the huge 15-inch centre tablet screen with integrated nav and always online connectivity, dual wireless chargers, and a panoramic sunroof.

The whole look and feel is super slick, as always, but is notably missing Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Tesla is hoping you’ll use built-in versions of all your favourite apps. Too bad if you use one which isn’t offered.

LED headlights, performance tyres, and a power tailgate add to the gear list, but interestingly there’s no V2L - one key feature still missing from the Tesla brand, and something which adds a slight advantage to its rivals from Kia and Hyundai.

Of course, the software is the biggest sell. As though to prove Tesla is a software company first and a car brand second, the software in this car is by far the best on the market.

It’s super slick, and offers the most feature packed and functional app. It’s stuff like this which is hard to go back from, and is still keeping Teslas feeling more futuristic than most electric rivals.

It’s worth noting: even at this inflated price, the Model Y Performance still seems like decent value given how quick it is.

The only comparisons, cars like the Porsche Taycan, Audi e-tron GT, and BMW iX cost more, with the exception of the Kia EV6 GT which is similarly priced and offers similar specs and features.

Under the bonnet of the 55 TFSI model is a hard-hitting horsepower hero - a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol producing engine specs of 250kW of power (at 5500rpm) and 500Nm of torque (at 2090-5300rpm).

It uses an eight-speed automatic transmission and Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system, and the brand claims it will slingshot from 0-100km/h in just 5.9 seconds.

For context, the equivalent Benz GLE 43 has 287kW/520Nm and does the sprint in 5.7sec (claimed), while the BMW gets a stonking 4.4L turbo V8 in 50i spec with 330kW and 650Nm, with a resulting sprint claim of 4.8sec. Yeah, so those two are a bit speedier - is that enough to justify the additional expense?

If petrol vs diesel is important to you, here’s how the 50 TDI stacks up: it has a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine with 210kW of power and 620Nm of torque, and again has an eight-speed auto and quattro AWD. Audi claims a 0-100km/h time of 6.3sec for this model.

As for weight, the Q8 tips the scales at a not unsubstantial 2265kg (including 75kg driver) in 55 TFSI spec. Towing capacity is rated at 750kg for an un-braked trailer, and a huge 3500kg for a braked trailer, which is better than a Toyota Prado.

Tesla, always mysterious when it comes to hard specs, does not offer official power and torque figures for any of its models. Just the ever-impressive 0-100km/h sprint times.

However, looking at documentation the brand has officially filed in China (where the Model Y for our market is built) reveals specs of 220kW/440Nm for the rear motor, and 137kW/219Nm for the front motor, placing it pretty far up there in the EV performance charts.

It’s not just raw power, either. The Model Y performance also scores a lowered ride, bigger brakes, impressive torque vectoring software to keep everything under control, and interestingly, what Tesla tells us is a new suspension tune (even newer than the set-up we tested when the Model Y first arrived in Australia in late 2022.)

It’s all very impressive-sounding, but does it work? Read on to find out.

Claimed fuel consumption for the 55 TFSI is rated at 9.2 litres per 100km - which is on the high side (some may say, the ‘realistic’ side), and it’s not far off the V8-powered BMW X6 (9.7L/100km) and Benz GLE 43 (9.8L/100km).

It employs 48-volt mild hybrid technology which is said to decrease consumption by 0.7L/100km, so it could have been even thirstier, theoretically. The system is able to shut the engine down and coast at speeds between 55-160km/h for up to 40 seconds, and it can also shut the engine of when decelerating at speeds of 22km/h or less.

Our drive route - which included twisty mountain roads, city driving, flowing country roads and about 30km of dirt/gravel - saw an indicated return of 10.5L/100km. That’s not bad at all.

The Q8 55 TFSI requires 95RON premium unleaded petrol, and it has a fuel tank capacity of 85 litres.

If petrol vs diesel is something you’re weighing up, the fuel use figure for the Q8 50 TDI is a bit better, claimed at 6.7L/100km.

The Model Y Performance has an official, WLTP-rated consumption number of 15.4kWh/100km, which grants the car a 514km driving range.

Few EVs manage to get over the 500km range mark, so this fact alone is pretty impressive.

In our testing the car returned a higher figure of 18.7kWh/100km, reducing range to the mid-400s on a full charge.

We only had the car for three days, so I expect, like the standard Model Y, it would be possible to get close to the official number with a longer-term test.

When it comes to charging, the Model Y can hit an impressive 250kW on a fast DC charger, allowing a charge time of around half an hour on a compatible unit. Expect more like an hour and a half on a more common 50kW unit.

Meanwhile the slow AC charger will hit a peak of 11kW, allowing the Model Y to charge from 10 per cent in more like seven hours. Still, adding roughly 75km of range an hour is worth it for longer stays at shopping centres or the like.

Interestingly, the Model Y doesn’t offer V2L, that is - the ability to power devices from its charging port. It seems to be one key piece of EV equipment missing from its spec list.

It’s rare for a brand like Audi to offer up the chance to drive a pricey model like the Q8 in a spec that is basically free of options, but that was what I started with. And it was good, but not great.

With the standard steering system and the standard steel springs paired to adaptive dampers, the Q8 felt rather large through a series of twisting bends, with a bit of body lean and a tendency to feel like it wanted to push on a bit rather than bite harder in the corners. The traction was good, though, with a firm footprint and all-wheel drive ensuring things were kept under control.

Things were markedly more impressive in the model with the dynamic steering pack with four-wheel steering. Its behaviour in the bends was noticeably different. It tucked into the corners more, with a quicker steering action that made the big SUV shrink around you, making it feel like it had been on Lite n' Easy.

And it’s not just at higher speeds on challenging roads that you can feel the effect of the four-wheel steering, it also works to reduce the turning circle by 1.1m at lower speeds by allowing up to five degrees of steering (the opposite angle to the front wheels) to be applied at the back axle. That lower-speed turning circle improvement is worthy of mention, because otherwise the radius (at 13.3m with the standard steering) is worse than some dual-cab utes.

That model also had the adaptive air suspension setup, which offered a very similar ride quality to the normal car despite sitting atop 22-inch rims. Both were comfortable in Comfort mode, and predictably more chuckable in Dynamic, though the air suspension version looked a lot meaner when the latter mode was selected as it drops the body by about 40mm over those huge rims.

There’s an off-road mode, which Audi labels Allroad, and it eases up the traction control and ABS as well as adjusting the reactiveness of the steering, throttle and transmission. In the version with airbag suspension the body rises up to allow a huge 254mm of ground clearance - 50mm more than standard running height.

Not that an off-road review is overly important in a car like this, but my stint was confined to the model without airbag suspension and it still had good running clearance, the big wheels didn’t crunch or crash too hard into pockmarked gravel roads, and the handling was predictable.

The quietude of the cabin hits the Luxury Level for sound insulation, with only a bit of tyre roar and some wind noise from the large wing mirrors at highway speed. It’s mostly very hushed and very pleasant.

But that might be a bit of a disappointment to some; the sound of the V6 engine is muted, and never really sounds as enticing as you might want it to. This is a big, brash, Look At Me SUV, but it never feels it from the driver’s seat, because there’s no rasping or raucousness when it revs. Maybe we’ll have to wait for an even sportier version to bring the noise…

And the engine itself is willing, but slightly inhibited by the weight of this big truck. It is refined and certainly powerful enough, but doesn’t quite hit the ‘wow that’s fast’ benchmark that you’d get in the V8-powered Bimmer.

My biggest driving annoyance was the lane keeping assist system - not just how it’s a separate button to the rest of the assist systems, but that it triggers back on whenever you stop the engine. I found myself hitting the button every single time I got into a different car or back into the driver’s seat, because the system makes the steering feel unbearably artificial and interruptive.

Happily, if you are purchasing one of these vehicles, Audi can set it up so that the button is a ‘steering assist on’ switch rather than ‘steering assist off’.

I’ll just cut to the chase here: Sorry Musk haters, the Model Y Performance is truly, deeply impressive.

I didn’t stopwatch test its 0-100km/h sprint time, but 3.7 seconds certainly feels possible, and totally visceral.

Yes, the Model Y Performance will turn your groceries into a fine paste on the back of the boot if you stick your foot in, but the sprint time is far from the most impressive part of the drive experience.

I’d hand this honour over to the handling. The Model Y is simply incredible at holding onto the road.

Try as I might on one of Sydney’s best and curviest roads, the Model Y simply wouldn’t misbehave.

It’s almost surreal feeling the computers work their magic in the corners, taming the physics of a 2.0-tonne SUV, constantly fighting understeer or oversteer on the fly to keep it all tidy.

It does all of this in silence, with just the tyre roar to indicate your velocity. I must admit. I didn’t expect such ferocious ability from this car.

I certainly expected speed, but not this level of tidiness for something heavier and taller than a Model 3.

The trouble for a traditional car enthusiast, then, is the fact the Model Y is almost too good. It’s clinical in the way it attacks the road, and feels almost unfair, artificial, as though a computer is doing the work for you (it might as well be).

It feels risk-free, drama-free, feedback-free. While the experience of driving such a machine is nothing short of incredible, I somehow think it’s not the kind of thrills combustion enthusiasts are looking for.

Even the steering is artificial, with three heavily computer-assisted modes. I must say, 'Sport' and 'Standard' are a bit too heavy, with my preferred steering mode being the 'Chill' setting, which is the lightest and makes the car feel a bit easier to wrangle in the corners.

The three regen modes will actually appeal to a variety of tastes, allowing the car to behave either like a single-pedal EV (my preferred mode) or more like a combustion car, with a creep mode and a roll mode which will be more familiar to those who haven’t experienced an EV before, or are not fans of regenerative braking.

The new suspension has improved the ride significantly, with the Model Y Performance lacking the brittle edge which I experienced when the Model Y first arrived a few months ago.

It feels like it deals with sudden jolts a bit better, but make no mistake, this is still a firm ride, and the Y still has a firm frame.

While the ride has improved, it is still susceptible to significant amounts of jiggle, with the ride being notably busy over poor road surfaces. Still, it’s good to see this common issue with Teslas starting to move in the right direction.

Teslas are very impressive when it comes to safety, with an almost unprecedented number of sensors, and, importantly, great software to process what the car sees.

This is best seen through the radar screen which the car displays alongside the map, which is constantly collecting data on what the car sees around it.

It gives you confidence the car has seen and categorised a potential threat, usually before you have, and if ANCAP’s testing is anything to go by, it works, too.

The Model Y, including this Performance variant, wears a maximum five ANCAP stars, performing extremely well across all categories, with a particularly high score in ‘adult occupant protection’, and ‘Safety Assist’ which considers the abilities of its automatic safety systems.

While the Model Y’s suite is broader than individual standard active safety items offered by other brands, equivalents of most systems like auto emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane keep assist, and things like traffic sign recognition are on-board.

Even the adaptive cruise control is one of the best on the market, remarkably good at lane keeping and steering assist, but I’d question whether it’s worth splashing for the controversial 'Full Self Driving' option.

Coming in at more than $10,000, it’s questionable if any of the included software features are even legal to use.

Audi Australia offers a three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. That’s about average for the luxury car segment, but falls short when you consider what mainstream brands are moving towards (five years or more). The argument - and it’s a valid one - is that most luxury car buyers don’t hang onto their cars for more than three years anyway.

At the time of writing, Audi hadn’t announced official pricing for its capped price service plan, which is called Service Plan Pricing, but it must be pre-purchased at the time of delivery (the good news is that you can roll that cost into your finance package).

For three years/45,000km of servicing, you can expect to pay about $2000 - meaning the average cost is $666 per 12-month/15,000km visit.

You get included roadside assist as part of the ownership plan. It spans the cover of the warranty.

It’s a good question: What’s it like to own a Tesla. Some of the numbers aren’t promising, like, for example, the four-year and 80,000km warranty promise which is one of the shortest new car warranties on the market right now.

However, Tesla does cover the high voltage battery and drive components for a much longer eight years and 192,000km, guaranteeing 70 per cent of the car’s original battery capacity at that time.

Teslas have condition-based servicing (because, of course they do), meaning the car will tell you when it wants to visit a Tesla workshop based on various inputs. Seems logical, but not very transparent.