Audi Q8 Facelift Debuts At IAA 2023; Gets Tweaked Design, New Tech

The Audi Q8 has received a midlife update bringing some tech upgrades as well as a minor design refresh. The facelifted Q8 arrives in two variants – standard and S – with an RS variant likely to arrive at a later date. The standard model will become available in global markets in the coming months with a pair of petrol and diesel V6 engines while the SQ8 will be offered with a petrol V8.

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The Q8 gets a revised grille and new digital daytime running lights with selectable signatures; blacked-out exterior trim to be optional.

Starting with the cosmetic updates, the Q8 gains a revised single-frame grille with octagonal design elements with buyers offered the option to black out the grille and the surround. The bumpers gain a refreshed look and while the headlamp design has stayed the same. While the standard model gets high-intensity LED units, buyers can upgrade to Matrix LEDs or HD Matrix units with laser light. The latter are identifiable via their unique blue lighting signatures and gain digital daytime running lights with four unique light signatures that can be selected via the infotainment screen.

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Rear gets a revised tail lamp design with optional digital OLED units with dynamic signatures.

Down the sides, the changes come down to the wheels. The SUV gains new design alloy wheels ranging in size from 21 to 23-inches. At the rear, the SUV gets a revised bumper along with a revamped tail lamp design. The SUV also gains digital OLED tail lamps as an option replete with four lighting signatures to select from.

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Moving to the cabin, the dashboard design and layout are unchanged from the outgoing model. Audi however offers new finishes for the wood inlays and metallic trim inserts while the digital screens themselves receive some upgrades. The Virtual Cockpit Digital instruments display gets an upgraded surroundings display function with details such as lane change warnings, distance to other road users, intersection assist and traffic light information in higher definition. The central touchscreen also benefits from upgrades to the MIB3 software and supports third-party apps such as Amazon Music and Spotify.

Cabin retains the familiar design and layout but gets new wood and metallic trim inserts.

As before the Q8 features steel springs with adaptive dampers as standard with optional air suspension and all-wheel steering. The SQ8 meanwhile gets sport air suspension as standard along with all-wheel steering. Coming to the powerplants, the Q8 retains the V6 mild-hybrid petrol and diesel engine options in standard guise. Both come paired with an 8-speed automatic gearbox and get quattro all-wheel drive as standard. The SQ8 meanwhile carries forward the familiar mild-hybrid 4.0-litre V8 turbo-petrol mill also paired with an 8-speed automatic and quattro AWD.

The updated Q8 will go up against the likes of the BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE-Coupe. Audi currently offers the Q8 in India in both standard and high-performance RS specs. The former is available in two variants - Celebration and Standard - priced at Rs 1.07 crore and Rs 1.43 crore (ex-showroom) respectively. Both are powered by turbocharged V6 petrol engines. The RSQ8 meanwhile is powered by a twin-turbo V8 petrol engine and is priced at Rs 2.22 crore (ex-showroom).