Bada Bing

The Audi USA builder also lists 'singleframe projector housing' for Prestige. I'm leaning toward the Premium + trim due to cost reasons, but would like to know what I'll be missing in the headlights department. I'm already disappointed at the basic while LED ambient lighting that comes on the P+ trim.

JNealCox

The "Singleframe projector housing" refers to the style of front grillle that projects light across the top width of the hood down onto the grille, so that rings and grille are illuminated at night. It looks nice and gives the car a bit more of an aggressive look at night, but offers no additional functionality.

You can look at different threads here as to how the different headlight packages differ. Briefly,
1) on the Premium + you get the "Matrix Design LED headlights" package. While this package has the potential for doing "smart adaptive" actions, like "selective field blanking", the smart features have not been activated in the US, so that they behave just like standard "Bright/Dim" headlights. Smart headlights have now been approved in the US, but Audi has not completed the necessary safety tests and seems to be in no rush to do so. Supposedly, there are now third-party companies that can activate smart features for you.
2)on the Prestige you get the "Digital Matrix Design LED headlights" package. This contains the headlights described in 1), but also includes a "digital projector" chip that can project animations. It also has "smart feature" capability, not yet activated, like "light field carpeting"--enhancing the road immediately in front of you--and "instructions" onto the pavement. But at this point all it does is project little light animations onto the wall in front of you when you start and stop the car.

For me, on my Q8, I like the look of the Single Frame, but, as for the rest, with nothing activated I may as well have the simple "Matrix LED Headlights package" (no "Design" in the name) with dumb Dim/Bright. The word is still out ,though, on feedback from people who have done the third-party upgrade. Since the Audi smart lights have not been approved by the NHTSA, I don't know what legal issues might arise.

Bada Bing

So the P+ trim will not have the light bar at the top of the grille with the projected light above the Audi rings? I thought all trims had that feature. I guess that's the problem when all the reviews and YouTube videos you see are with the top trim.

JNealCox

Correct, only the Prestige has the single frame grille.

WunderWagen

Had the same issue with our Q8 e-tron Premium Plus... thought it came with Single Frame lighting based on online reviews. Even the dealer did not know which ones came with it (Prestige only). When we removed the front bumper cover to install the black optics grill I checked if there was an unused wiring plug for the Single Frame but there wasn't any... doubt this can be retrofitted.

We did do the Matrix headlight activation on ours and it works well.

Bada Bing

Now I'm confused. Aren't all Q8 e-tron front grilles single frame? I think the terminology of single frame grille goes back to the days when Audi models had a narrower grille above the bumper line and another opening below the bumper. When they combined those two grilles into a single larger grille, they called it single frame.

Are you saying the shape of the grille is actually different or is the P+ trim just missing the cascading light that shines downward?

JNealCox

Well, yes, and Audi's systematic nomenclature never fails to confuse. What is listed on my Mulroney list for my Q8 Prestige is "Singleframe projector lighting". So it is the special lighting for the singleframe that is included in the Prestige.