---
title: 'NEW SQ9 is the BIGGEST Audi EVER!'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=dqIqrk8qw34'
video_id: 'dqIqrk8qw34'
date: 2026-10-27
duration_sec: 1476
channel: 'carwow'
---

# NEW SQ9 is the BIGGEST Audi EVER!

> Source: [NEW SQ9 is the BIGGEST Audi EVER!](https://youtube.com/watch?v=dqIqrk8qw34)

## Summary

This video provides an in-depth review of the new Audi SQ9, the largest SUV Audi has ever built. It covers the vehicle's design, interior luxury, performance, and practicality, with a focus on its standout features and driving experience.

### Key Points

- **Largest Audi Ever** [00:02] — The SQ9 is the largest Audi ever, measuring over 5.3 meters in length, with a wheelbase 13 cm longer than the Q7.
- **Engine and Performance** [00:25] — The SQ9 is fitted with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 producing 600 horsepower, paired with an 8-speed automatic gearbox and quattro all-wheel drive.
- **Braking Performance** [02:07] — The brakes stop the car from 62 mph in 31 meters on a wet surface, which is impressive for such a large vehicle.
- **Exterior Design Highlights** [03:45] — The Q9/SQ9 features a unique OLED tail light design with curved elements, a first for any car, and four real exhaust pipes.
- **Interior Quality and Screens** [04:12] — The interior is premium with soft-touch materials, a driver's screen, a head-up display, and a passenger screen. Some features, like climate control, are integrated into the touchscreen.
- **Passenger Space and Comfort** [07:30] — The six-seater configuration offers captain's chairs with recline and slide functions, while the third row provides decent space for kids but less under-thigh support.
- **Luggage Space** [10:12] — Luggage capacity is 280 liters with all seats up and 850 liters in the largest configuration, beating the Q7.
- **Driver Assistance and Comfort** [11:19] — The car offers adaptive cruise control with hands-free driving capabilities in certain conditions, and a comfortable, quiet ride.
- **Suspension and Handling** [12:26] — The SQ9's sport suspension is optional in the US; the standard comfort suspension provides a better balance between comfort and control.
- **Maneuverability** [16:06] — Rear-axle steering reduces the turning circle from 13.3 m to 12.4 m, improving agility and parking.

## Transcript

sporty SQ9 and it sits at the top of the Audi range. And then if I press and hold this button on the key fob, the doors will open automatically. And then when I hop in and press this button on here, I'll shut all the doors.
plug-in hybrid, and the SQ9 gets this 4 L twinturbo V8 with 600 horsepower and all four wheels for an 8-speed automatic gearbox. And this is how quick it is. control in sport, left foot brake, floor
the throttle, launch control engaged, doesn't really rev up much. That is a slow takeoff. It's bizarre that was. It was like really slow off that was. It was like really slow off the line. 0 to 60 in 5.59 seconds. How
was it? Didn't like break boost or anything. Try that again. There we go. It's doing it now. That's more like it. I don't know what happened the first time. It said launch, but just didn't launch. That's better.
4.51. Yeah, that was quick for such a big car. We're trying to recreate it again, but this car seems to be a bit inconsistent in the launch. I don't know if it's because of traction cuz it's raining.
>> 5.0. 03. Nope. 5.59. for him, he's out in the rain filming the exterior. Let's give it one more go. See if it will hook up this time. And I'll go pick Miguel up.
I'll go pick Miguel up. No. weird how it's inconsistent. And now it's even slower. But here's Miguel. I wonder if he's not very happy. Oh. Oh. Let's just unlock it.
>> I don't know what happened. >> Right, let's do a brake test, which >> Yeah, >> I'm normally hoping for a stopping raining. I'm not sure about this surface.
considering it's wet. God, what on earth? What? 31 m in the wet. The brakes on this car are bloody amazing. It's more consistent in the way that it stops unfortunately. Well, fortunately, I mean, it's better to have it that way
surprised me. I think Audi need to just work on the software for the stability power when you try to launch it. Just will not let it wheel slip. Let's see how wet he is now. Feeling pretty wet.
>> We're done. We got damp shoulders. So, we've established the car stops well, you walk past it? Well, this car definitely has some presence. While it's based on the Q7, it's actually quite a bit larger. It's 5 cm taller for
starters and it has a more aggressive face to it. So, you've got the daytime running lights there and you can choose different light signatures. The main projector units are down there. It's just a big car. The color schemes are
and blacks. And we got this gray that matches the gray skies here. Look, we there. It's crazy. Hopefully, I can get this review done in time before I get absolutely soaked. Anyway, moving down the side. wheel size is right of these
23s. So, we've got satin door caps. You got chrome surrounds, chrome roof bars. I mean, look at the size of this door. The length of this car is 5.3 m. It's about as long as a long wheelbase Audi A8. The wheelbase as well, it's about 13
cm longer than a Q7. It's madness. It's huge, but it looks quite good, doesn't it? Round the back. Check it out. Four real exhaust pipes. They're real. Yes, that's more like it. And then you got this wraparound light design. Only the
this wraparound light design. Only the Q9 has that. So you got OLED tail lights that are actually curved. I have never seen that before on any other car. It's one seriously imposing SUV. But what's it like on the inside? Let's check it
out cuz I think it's going to start raining. We've come to the desert in thought it's raining. So it's quite steamed up in here. But I have to say the interior of this SQ9 is lovely. There are the obligatory screens and the
passenger gets a screen as standard. It's a premium car and as with every bezel on the screen. But the screens themselves, look at the definition of that. This is a collection of all the Q cars, Q9, Q7, Q5 and so on and so forth.
Shot with a New York skyline backdrop. Lovely jobly. And you got it there as fan of passenger screens, tell you the truth. I'm not sure of any passengers digital driver's display. And Audi used to be the best at these, but it's all a
counter, even though it's central, is a little bit small. But what I can't fault widescreen mapping in your instrument cluster as well, which is cool. Not a they were individual buttons. They just feel more expensive as individual
buttons. That is a cost-saving measure, as is having no climate control buttons through the screen. In fact, I need to engage that. See if we can demyist it. air vents like that. So, let's move it up to the window. would be easier to do
it by hand, but no, that this is common on most cars these days. Material quality though, can't fault that. Does feel very expensive, and the soft touch extends all the way down there. It's also nice that you got a metallic finish
to the window switches. Makes them feel premium. Now, I drove a BMW X5 the other day, and yes, this is a much more expensive vehicle, but it does feel it on the inside. Center console just feels lovely. The leather here, the leather on
the seats, all very nice. The design is pretty cool as well. And yeah, I'm not steering wheel, but it does feel nice to hold with the perforations there. And I do like this cluster that Audi use for their drive select there, which is
handy, but also for the indicators up there and their wipers. It's just so people don't like it, but I think that's a really good solution. It's just a bit of a shame they don't have the cruise control on the steering wheel like some
of the manufacturers do. So, you got this extra unnecessary stalk when you've look, the demyst has worked. You can see the environment now. It's bloody lovely here. Um, when it's not raining. Let's just reduce that. Come on. So, you have
dial. I'll just turn it off for a moment. There we go. I haven't told you actually, have I? So, it's sort of easy to navigate. And the mapping is good. And yeah, you can just whip through all the different settings like that. And
then you got these different apps as well. Quite easy to use. What else you need to know? Well, beautiful headlining, nice and soft. There's your vanity mirror. It all just feels nicely premium. You've got a Look at this. You
got a frameless rear view mirror. And this guy has a dash cam as well. Look, there's the little input for your SD card as well. Look at the size of that sunroof. It's massive. And wait for it. Probably going to let some water in now.
[laughter] At least I can tell it's almost stopped raining. Look how far that opens. Look at that. Should we shut it again? Terms of storage, door bins are big. You got
much nicer when the cup holders are covered. You got your wireless charging special magnetic lock. I didn't like that at first until I actually got a magnetic locking case for my phone, but it's really good. It holds your phone in
if you'd rather charge that way. Underneath here, we have some storage. And in here, we have a glove box, which isn't actually that big, but it is lined with felt to make it feel premium. And it does feel premium in here. But
actually, the most premium place is back there, cuz that's what this car is all about. Every Q9 or SQ9 is a 7 or a six-seater. This has the Porsche six-seater configuration where you have these lovely captain's chairs here in
much knee room and headroom I've got in here. It's absolutely gorgeous. I can't get in the roof at night. More on that in a bit because I just need to talk about the sheer amount of luxury here. So, oh, can you hear the thunder?
Look at this. So, you can recline the seat and this is it slid all the way space. I can slide my feet really far forward. It is so comfy and all the well in the middle row just the same as in the front. Now, you might be
people behind it? Well, I'm going to put this seat in a position that is more than adequate. And we'll check out the back row in a second because first I as look, you got cup holders down here. Got storage area there. You got your
climate control there. You have seat heating as well here in the middle row. You got some USBC's down there as well. And you've got USBC's there and posh look folders on the seatbacks. Decent size door bins. But I want to just check
this out because this is a huge window. Right. Will it go all the way down? I suspect it won't. It still goes pretty low. And look at this as well. If I pull up on the switch again, we have the
obligatory blind. I mean, you need that if you're going to be replacing the A8 officially said that this is replacing the A8, but it sort of is right now. So, you got these like armrests which are very nice, but it does impede people
these seats forwards, but the easiest way is for kids to just like jump in and And look what you can do. If I press this button here, I can actually remove these. I've never seen this before. Look like that. And that makes it much easier
Look, I'm nice and comfortable in this position. This is still, look how much into the back behind where I've been sitting. Is it going to be any good, right? So, knee room's actually okay. Head room's very, very good. It doesn't
feel too claustrophobic back here, really, because you have some decent size rearmost windows. These seats are a little bit upright, but for kids, it' be to the floor, though, so that's the only thing. There's no under thigh support,
but that's normal in these seven seaters or six-seater cars. You got a cup holder here, some more storage here. You got USBC charging points there as well. And there's ISOIX here on the very back row. Look, ISOIX. And you even have ISIX on
really practical. And check this out. There is seat heating here in the very back. How posh is that? The Q9 is not only more luxurious in the Q7 for passengers, it's also got more space for their luggage. With all seats up, you
have 280 L of space compared to just 210 in the Q7 with all its seats up. There's things in and out. And look, we have a button there to lower the car down on between the lowest point and the highest point you can have on the air suspension
is about 9 cm. So that's quite a lot. Now, if I want to fold down these seats, I just press this button here. Press that and it'll fold these seats down. Now, we have 850 L of space in its largest configuration. It's once again
bigger than the Q7 by quite a decent margin. And if I press this button, I can go into full luggage mode. Now, that is one problem that you have with the two chairs in the middle. They don't fold down completely like they do if you
not quite as practical, even though it is more luxurious to sit in. Now, regardless of which Q9 you go for, you do get these features here. Look, so slide things along and then you have these hooks that hang out there like
socket as well. What else do you need to see? Should we look into here? There's though, what matters more is what this car is like to drive. Is it any good? Let's find out. >> This Esson is lovely to just cruise in.
It is so quiet. It's very smooth. It's very relaxing. I've got the automatic cruise control on. And actually, at certain places, you enter hands-free off the steering wheel. You still have to have your eyes looking monitoring the
it will let you drive along with your hands off the steering wheel if you so tell you that, oh, there's a space to change lanes. And then you just indicate Or if you want to, you can just intervene yourself by using the steering
wheel. But this is a really nice comfy long-d distanceance cruiser. Just a faint burble of that lovely V8. It's all I can hear. A little bit tire noise, which isn't bad considering the tires on this thing are huge. And then if you
need to overtake someone, 3 2 1 floor it bit of a pause. And then this thing just shifts. But uh we need to break because the American speed limits are quite low and you reach them very quickly in this big powerful beast. Oh, we're at 65 now.
big powerful beast. Oh, we're at 65 now. Let's overtake this guy. 3, two, one. the SQ9 has uprated sport suspension. What that means is you have different
air springs, you have different dampers, and different anti-roll bars. But here in the USA, you can actually deselect that and have the standard Q9's more comfort orientated setup. And that's what this car has. I think with a car
comfort suspension. It's generally very of imperfections, you can feel a little bit of shake ever so slightly through your bottom. But overall, it has a nice balance between comfy waftiness when you
control. If I put it into the sport setting, let's see what it feels like dynamic. So, I can feel the bumps a bit more now. And maybe the car's just a touch flatter when you do a direction change. But overall, for this kind of
thing, I set it up in individual. also have everything in sports mode. Apart from air suspension, yes, comfort, cuz that's always where you want your air right, you're not taking this thing on track. It's supposed to be comfortable.
comfort suspension. I actually drove one of the SQ9s with the sport suspension, and it was slightly firmer than this, and I think this setup suits the car's think you're going to go on a track or like hinging down a twisty road, maybe
isn't uncomfortable. It's just that this is a bit more wafty and this is a wafty kind of car. Even with a bonkers V8 under the bonnet. Just listen
>> I do hear a lot of wind. >> You do? I don't. >> No, that's quiet. It's your imagination. This is Miguel here. Look, there he is. involved in the reviews, but we need to keep him out of it because let's be
is his own Vauxhall Corser. >> Which one is it? >> The Nurburg. It's got the Nurburg Ring edition. What you're hearing is not so much the wind there. It's actually the tires going
through the wet parts on the road. Dynamic. Yeah. So, dynamic, right? I think we just figured it out. It's not valves and exhaust. That's fake noise, isn't it? Fake noise. Audi. It's good fake noise,
but it's at least amplified, isn't it? Cuz comfort if you're in that and you Cuz comfort if you're in that and you floor it. impeccable. I just want to show you what I mean. So, I'm par next to a road here.
Listen to this traffic go past. You hear that? You hear that? Hear the change? And put it up.
better way of showing it actually. Watch this. Miguel. >> Yes. Can you just go la like constant [laughter]
[laughter] really good around town. Unfortunately, where we are in Utah, there doesn't seem to be any like what are called towns. This is
apparently a road down here. So, we're driving around. I don't know. Is this some kind of area where people live? The satnav is saying that it is road I can suspension in comfort mode, and it's doing an all right job of isolating me
from the bumps considering how harsh these bumps are. Visibility in this car is very good. The back window is good. Big mirrors. Blind spot isn't terrible. sit quite high. And even though this is a huge car, I've got a good idea of
going to put this right over a really dirty rock. Oh, whoa. There we go. Let's go left down here. I'm sure we're okay to be driving around here. I hope no I can always chuck Miguel out as like kind of target practice. Sacrificial
lamb. Oh, look at there. They've got a lot of rotten cars. Now, because it's quite a big car, the turning circle is 13.3 m. But the SQ9 gets rear axle steering as standard and you can turn the back wheels up to 5°, which means
the turning circle drops to about 12.4 m, which for a car that's over 5 m long is actually pretty decent. So, you don't feel intimidated driving it around. We don't want to go, we don't want to trespass. So, I'm going to use my
turning circle here to head back this way. Let's get round off there and go up here. I'm sure that driving through a British village or town, this is going to be easy for such a large car. Let's get out of here and find some faster
roads. Now, I've come to a twisty road to explore the dynamic capabilities of the SQ9. So, we're actually in a place called the Snow Canyon State Park in roads. Unfortunately, it's got a speed limit of 25 mph. You have to go slowly
because they have tortoises here. And apparently according to the guidelines have to pick it up and carry it off the road in the direction it was heading. Move it 50 yards off the road and then tell park staff. So I can't go fast to
this car. But what you need to know is this. The normal Q9 has a normal AI quattro torque sensing central differential and that can send a maximum of about 85% of the power to the rear wheels. However, for the SQ9, they've
given it a clutch operated system which can send up to 100% of the torque to the rear wheels. Actually the system is a development of that used by Porsche in the Cayenne and the idea is it makes this car more dynamic. Interestingly on
the SQ9 they have to have a special differential which calms down the tail happiness of the car whereas on the normal Q9 they have a differential which actually makes it a bit more agile. Unfortunately what I can't do is thrash
up getting arrested. But from the corners I've driven around so far and the speeds I've gone it does feel very planted for an SUV. And I have to say, going slow through here is probably the best option because I've not seen a
I'm really hoping I see a turtle now. Hopefully, we can make it through here roads where I might get the chance to push the car. Look at that. The way like like the moss on the rocks. That is so filming. Cameras on.
>> No, they're wide, mate. So, you got a cameraman with you and he's too busy supposed to be filming you. Honestly, Miguel,
Especially with the light the way it is now. [laughter] >> Do you know what bugs me? Some people call them turtles. A turtle lives in the
>> Did it not? >> I'm really hoping I see a turtle now. >> Do you reckon we can make it through here? We were advised by the park warden >> That's not 3 ft. >> No, he said it was 3 ft. Let's hope it's
see if this guy goes through it first. He's bottling it. Am I going to do it? I the waiting depth of this car is. It's got to be over 30 cm. Miguel, if it goes
above the halfway for my wheels, you got to tell me. Wave your hand in the air. Okay. I can't see him. I think we're going to be all right. Just keep going.
confidence. There is a slight problem. I don't feel like I want to um go back through there. Miguel, I'm not sure I'm coming back through. You have to walk coming back through. You have to walk through. I can't risk the car. Come on.
pick him up. If we break the car out, it's Miguel's fault. That's fine. Is that three? >> It probably was 3 ft earlier in the day when there was a big deluge. Look.
>> Yeah. Let's go, >> guys. You can do it. Look. >> There you see. >> There you go. yourselves. You're wanting me to take the risk of Audi's much more expensive
SUV. So, we've been through the snow canyon. Actually, me and Miguel came together. No, it wasn't actually romantic. It was to check out the Audi Q9's lights in the dark. And this is what we discovered. The rear of the car
is a proximity sensor. And so if an object, I don't know, a person, a bike, or a car gets too close, it does this as a warning. There's another feature. If a the car and the driver goes to get out by opening the door, this happens.
door and it flashed the warning triangle and the hazard lights. We're in America. have yellow indicators like we do. Don't know why. Just don't tell me this, America. Why is orange okay at the front but not the back? It literally makes no
sense. Who made those rules up? You bunch of idiots. It's fine here as well. Orange is fine here. Just don't like it at the back of the car. Michael, what's the back? Why? >> So, the total area of the turn indicator
has to be 50 square cm. If you want to have a yellow one, you have to have a 50 square cm yellow turn indicator. >> Okay. So this means you would have to styling doesn't like that. >> So you can have a flashing brake light.
>> Or you can have it orange if you want, but it has to be 50 square cm. And no car designer likes that. True. >> Oh, bloody hell. But at least in America, you can have an illuminated grill and an illuminated logo because in
Europe, this is considered advertising. >> It is. In the end, you're allowed But in as this one. >> Anyway, let's move on. When you open the door on the Q9 and SQ9, you have not puddle lighting, but carpet lighting.
it'll open automatically. You see how the light just like rolls out. And you the rear one. Look. So, you know whether you're getting into the front or back. Can you see? And then when you shut the door, it goes away.
Look, it rolls back. And here we go again. across the dash and in the doors and the seats. Look at that. In the seats and in
go into the screen here, I can actually change the color. So, go look at the roof while I change the colors. We're going to go for purple. So, there we go. It feels a bit burlesque. Uh, bit of a blue, bit of a green. Green's quite
cool. Yellow [music] shenanigans as well. Is there a red? That'll be the red. Audi likes a bit of light action, doesn't it? I can just imagine the planning meeting when they're coming up for the interior of the Q9. It was how
many sat knobs do we require inside the car? I spy try. Oh, let's have another one for the heads up display as well. Please check this out. When you turn off the car and got to get out, you get this little
got to get out, you get this little light show. Hey, look at that. Hey, you have to go to a menu and reset them. And it's a bit low. I'm going to go to bed. You're probably wondering how much all this Audi luxury cost. Well, the Q9
will start from around £100,000. And this SQ9 will be more like £130,000, which interestingly is the same price this Audi RSQ8 edition cost back in
2024. That is on CarWow for sale with only £8,000 on the clock for £89,000. So, less than a new Q9 will cost. But there's always a risk with buying a used be totally sure that it hasn't had a dodgy pass. And that's why whenever
a car vertical history check. Because here's an example of an Audi RSQ8, which to this car vertical history check, yeah, it's had its mileage wing back from 47,000 mi to 22,000 [music] mi. So, you probably won't want to buy that car,
buying a used car, go to Carver Vertical. Use the link in the code on screen now and use the code car wow for 20% off. So, then what's my final verdict on the new Audi SQ9? Should you avoid it, consider it,
buy it? Well, I think you should shortlist the SQ9. It is a really good car, super luxurious, but I'll probably save some money and go for the Q9. In fact, probably save even more money and
enough for most people. If you want to see why I think it's so good, click on review of the Q7. Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time. Where are >> Are you hitchhiking? >> I'm leaving. [laughter]
Tired of you. >> Oh, Miguel's left me. Look, he's moved out. He's got his bags and everything >> in the rain.