We knew last year, when we first drove the mighty Q8, that it was always going to be a guilty pleasure. That feeling has been rather magnified since by the arrival of the similarly-priced e-Tron quattro all-electric SUV which has much of the performance, some of the styling, and none of the guilt.
The fact is that the Q8 is a big, heavy, expensive, relatively thirsty, all-diesel, luxury SUV and the world, let’s face it, doesn’t really need another one of those. So need? No. Crave? Oh most certainly.
Like a powerful narcotic,Once you’ve had your first hit of Q8, you just start to want more and more. More of the glowering, angry-robot-face styling, more of the sumptuous, luxurious, interior. More of the effortless torque from the 3.0-litre V6 TDI diesel engine.
More of the way that the Q8 proves itself to be surprisingly light on its toes when faced with a challenging, twisting, country road. More of everything, really. So, in summation, the Q8 is basically really bad for you. Which is kind of exactly why we love it so much.
Best model: Q8 50 TDI quattro for €103,550.
Price range: €99,550 to €POA. Finance from €1,040 per month.
Co2 emissions: 222 to TBAg/km.
Sum up: Bad to the bone. But oh-so-good too.