Farmer Harv

Came over to the Q8 from a 2019 Q7 (our first Audi). The Q7 was absolute perfection for our use (highway/interstate touring), and we were torn between getting extended warranty for another 3 years or upgrading to the Q8. Turns out we maybe should've gone for the warranty, but it's still early with the Q8. Anyhoo, have a few questions and observations that you veterans might have some insight with...

1. The Q8 is far noisier than the Q7. It is all road/tire noise, and is very noticeable from 20kph all the way up. I assume it is mostly the difference in tires, as we went from gloriously quiet 20" AS+3 Pirellis to OEM 22" Continentals, but it seems there is just less noise insulation in the wheel wells of the Q8. All the acoustic glass in the world doesn't matter if the road/tire noise drown out any possible wind rush.

2. The glass cockpit is taking some time to adjust to. The switches and ***** in the Q7 required no need to look and see what I needed to press, and am finding myself looking away from the road quite a bit now to perform the same functions. Hopefully this will get better as I become more familiar with where things are located.

3. There is no parking lot/low speed allowance for the seatbelt chime now, and holy sheep is it annoying to have the seatbelt chime going off if I just move the car a short distance. And then it won't shut off even if the car is put in park. Very poor choice by Audi IMO.

4. The auto high beam switching system still guarantees I will blind whomever I am passing in their rear view mirror if it is in auto mode. No change from the Q7.

5. There is exactly one spot along the entire rear bumper that the kick to open for the hatch will work. One.

6. There are a ton of new neat and useful features (and some gimmicks) in the MMI and Virtual Cockpit. Haven't been able to get steering wheel heat to swap with sync and actually stay there, but this seems to be a known problem. Also don't know how to set Vehicle Favorites, only radio and nav work as far as I can tell.

7. Having a spare tire is nice. Hopefully I never need it.

8. The glovebox is smooth all the way across and allows things to simply fall off the sides onto the floor when opened, or shift enough the door can't be closed. Odd design.

9. The lack of handy interior storage is real. Especially when you can't put that much in the glovebox. See #8.

10. The new wiper/washer design appears to be a definite improvement.

11. Not sure if its turbo lag, or just lag, but it is a titch less ready to go at stop lights and lights.

12. Haven't tried the fragrance or ionizer yet...gimmick or nice feature to have?

I'm sure I'll have a few more questions/observations as we get some miles on. Looking forward to finding many more positives than negatives.

ecloumd

I haven't been able to find that one spot I can kick to open the hatch...

There is limited cabin storage - where do you guys put your gun??

hcuorg

Left side of the bumper this this circular sensor.



My biggest gripe of the Q8 so far is how little trunk space there is. The car is huge but because of the shape of the hatch, if it hits the rear windshield it will not close. I've accidentally left my trunk open a few times after it wouldn't close and just left it open. At least beep or alarm me that the trunk is still open. I think I can fit just as much in my A4 than I can in my Q8.

Farmer Harv

@hcuorg has it right. And a kick doesn't seem to work...have to kinda lift your foot straight up to have it open consistently.

Gun stowage is problematic alright. Almost like it isn't something European engineers even thought about. :-)

1stRS

Glock 19 fits with extra mag in the dash console in front of left knee.

Farmer Harv

Well color me impressed, G48 w/TLR6 juuuust fits in there with the door closed. Maybe the engineers were thinking about this after all.

ecloumd

Holy moly! Just crammed my M9 with 2 extra mags in there! TY!!

retom

After kick you have to make 1 step back. This is the safety requirement.

Farmer Harv

13. Has anyone used the Integrated Toll Module? We have a Sunpass for when we get to Florida, but if the ITM works well it might be worth the $20/year for nationwide hassle free driving.

huntpsu1

I use the ITM, and it has worked fine. $20 to remove the clutter of the EZ Pass was worth.