Clash Of The Titans

Audi vs BMW: Who will triumph? Alethia Tiang takes the automakers’ latest behemoths — the Q8 and X7 — to the streets

- Alethia Tiang

There’s something about driving SUVs that makes one feel invincible on the road. And if these vehicles belong to luxury performance brands known for creating cars that encompass speed, luxury, aesthetics, and power in one, an exhilaratingly practical road machine is in order. That’s certainly the case with Audi and BMW’s latest giants, the Q8 and X7 respectively.

While both SUVs come fitted with top-of-the-line German technology, is one better than the other in any way? I take them for a spin to find out.

THE NUMBERS

Belonging to Audi’s Q-tagged stable of SUVs, the Q8 is the slightly smaller sibling of the Q7, measuring under 5m long (66mm shorter), 1.7m tall (38mm taller) and about 2m in width. The car has been designed to be a strict five-seater, with a rather humongous boot.

The X7 is all around larger and heftier than the Q8, since it is crafted as a seven-seater. It stands at a little over 1.8m in height while spanning over 5m in length and 2m in width. Although bigger in size, the Beemer too is fitted with a 3.0-litre turbo engine like the Q8 and is ready to rumble at a maximum power of 340bhp.

On paper, Audi, smaller and lighter, surely wins on the 100km sprint in 5.9 seconds and top speed at 250km/h. BMW lags behind slightly by 0.2 seconds to reach 245km/h. But the difference is none too significant, to be honest – unless I’m racing both cars to the next traffic light maybe.

THE DRIVE