2019 Audi Q8 is fashion-forward and loaded with tech

[MUSIC] Crossover coupes are generally stupid things. They sacrifice precious passenger and cargo space in the name of some vague specter of fashion that's subjective at best. And to make matters worse, auto makers usually have the gall to charge you more than the already excellent crossovers in their lineup. But if there's one thing I'm good at, it's making broad generalizations and subsequently eating my hat. I've actually got a beanie in the slow cooker right now because well, after a little bit of time in this 2019 Audi Q8 here, I think I'm changing my tune. What have I become? How can I go home and look my wife in the face after this? What kinda monster am I? I'm just yanking your chains. Car is actually pretty good. Come on, I'll show you why. The Q8 doesn't feel as coupey as other cars like the BMW X6 or Mercedes GLE Coupe, and I think some of that is due to the roofline's taper, which doesn't look as severe as the competition. The grill is big but the headlights don't resemble a castle's arrowslits for once, so everything feels nice and proportional. And the tail lights, well, they're just straight up cool. Of the cars with which it shares a platform, the Q8 is the fashion forward choice in my opinion. The Porsche Cayenne, well, just looks like a Porsche. The Lamborghini Urus looks like it's being marketed to BitCoin billionaire kindergartener. And the Bentley Bentayga looks like it should come with one of those medic alert necklaces. On the inside, this thing looks the the damn future. Not only do you get a sweet screen in front of you here, but if you look to the right, you get not one, but two screens. Yet they don't really stand out. They don't have that floating kind of design. Instead, they mix in well with the body work, which is laid over this very nice wood trim. And into my premium plus testers case a whole gentlemen's club where the ambient lightning. Some crossover coops don't really feel at all that big, but this one does. There's [UNKNOWN] of room and the visibility up front which is nice, but it's not like people our back and get into the shaft. I'm about six feet tall and I feel like I've got a good two inches of space before head start scraping the head liner. The cargo capacity defies convention too with more than enough space for five people worth a junk. Now let's turn our attention back to these three screens because frankly, they [SOUND] rule. Upfront is the 12.3 virtual cockpit screen which covers your basic infotainment stuff like car information, music information, or a full navigation map with a Google Earth overlay. But in the green scheme of things, virtual cockpit kind of old hut by now, so. So let's focus our attention on this hot newness. Say hello to MMI touch response, winner of Road Show's cabin tech of the year award and simply put the best two screen set up we've ever tested. The 10.1 inch infotainment screen up top handles your traditional infotainment duties while the 8.6 inch below covers climate controls. Now this thing, not only are the graphics impressive but it boots up like Mia Wallace in that one scene from Pulp Fiction. No matter how long the car's been sitting, or how cold it is tap start button, boom starts up immediately. Pretty great. Now driver assist and safety systems are all over the Q8. Auto brake is standard, but my tester packs the $2750 driver package. That adds adaptive cruise control with stop and go, full lane keep assist and traffic sign recognition. Audi says that the lane keep assist is a hands on system, and it definitely is, because the car only offers the most gossamer touch on the steering even during lane holding. Now even with that fancy Z fancy controller under the hood and all the light are and the other sensors it really doesn't feel all that different from any other expensive German competitor system. [MUSIC] Fun fact the Aufi q8 is technically a mild hybrid because there is 48 volt system tucked under the body but it's kind of a mild mild hybrid it really only enhances the stop start system that's all well and good it's very smooth system to be fair I do wish it had a little more Stuff to do, like Mercedes Benz's EQ boost, which can also boost your torque. [MUSIC] Under the hood, the Q7's old, tired supercharged V6 has been [SOUND] Kicked to the curb in favor of a new turbo charged V6, putting out 335 horses and 369 pound feet of torque. It comes made into your bog standard 8 speed automatic transmission and standard all wheel drive, which is nice. And the thing really gets going in a hurry when you lean on the pedal. It hustles quickly and the transmission shifts smoothly. But things get a little wierd at low speeds. For example, if you're trying to go anywhere from a stop and you really don't lean on the pedal, if you only give it a little bit If Alien registers any forward motion. I'm not entirely sure if that's turbo log or throttle tuning or what and some modes do kind of solve a little bit of it. But it doesn't really fix it. Though the Turbo V-6 doesn't make a whole lot of noise on the outside, it doesn't really make a whole lot of noise on the inside thanks to some pretty impressive sound I mean at the absolute minimum, it beats the pants off the last two BMW SUVs I drove. Now as for the standard adaptive dampers, they don't really make you forget the road like the optional air suspension might. But they do a pretty good job of soaking up the usual daily driving muck that you'll get on your way to work or the grocery store. Restore or whatever. [MUSIC] So the Audi Q8, despite being part of a segment that I generally think should be nuked from orbit, is actually a pretty compelling car. It looks good, it drives nice enough, the cabin tech is second to none, and there is more than enough space in that cabin. The only problem is the price. Despite technically being a generation newer than the current Q7, this Q8 here starts at about $8,000 more than a comparably equipped Q7. My midrange tester here clocks in at about 77 grand. It's a lot of money, but at the same time, it is a lot of car. [MUSIC]