Detailed Photos of the 2019 Audi Q8 Luxury SUV

The new Audi Q8 is a statement vehicle-as much for Audi as it is for the many well-heeled people who will park them in their garages. Audi's flagship A8 sedan still outprices the Q8, which starts at $68,395, yet with more and more buyers having given up on sedans entirely, this new five-seat SUV best defines the Audi brand.

The Q8 outaccelerates the Q7 at the track, where standard all-wheel drive with a default 60 percent rear torque bias helps the Q8 hook up and turn in a 5.3-second zero-to-60-mph sprint.

The turbo V-6 coupled with an eight-speed automatic transmission provides drivers with near-instant thrust regardless of speed, although the powertrain has an almost video-game-like quality to it.

Compared to the supercharged engine in the Q7, which has to work harder and rev higher, the turbo V-6 is less engaging, and it's also more laggy off the line in routine, day-to-day driving.

Given that the Q8 is supposed to be the sportier version of the pair, we would also prefer a more sonorous exhaust, but little engine sound makes its way past the frameless windows (although they do seem to let in more wind noise than those in the Q7).

Parked next to any of Audi's staid sedans, the Q8 has a look of mechanical menace, as if the company's talk about artificial intelligence had come to pass and unleashed itself without permission from the engineers.

As in the A8 and other models, the engine is also fitted with a 48-volt belt-alternator-starter hybrid system, complete with a tiny battery.

The Q8 starts with the same platform that underpins the three-row Q7, with which it shares its 117.9-inch wheelbase.

Many Q8 buyers will be more interested in technology than driving dynamics, and it's here that Audi once again positions itself on the cutting edge.

The Q8 is the first of Audi's SUVs to brandish its new infotainment system, which uses two touchscreens with haptic feedback rather than a central control knob and button array.

It seems as futuristic as Audi's Virtual Cockpit digital instrument cluster did when it debuted three years ago, and the screens are nicely integrated into an otherwise conventional but gorgeous luxury-car cabin.

While the old infotainment system was and is still well loved, the emergence of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as the preferred in-car interfaces has made non-touchscreen systems obsolete.

The tiny vibrating simulation of physical buttons in the Q8 takes some getting used to, but once your fingertips become acclimated, it allows for a more physical experience than typical touchscreens.

And to anyone who's ever handled a smartphone-which seems now to cover all humans between nine months and 99 years old-the operation and customization of the new infotainment system will be intuitive.

This is still a reasonably pragmatic mid-size SUV, although it loses the Q7's third row.

Compared to the Q7, the Q8's rear headroom takes a one-inch haircut, and its cargo area behind the second row is almost 20 percent smaller.

Plus, it's an inch wider, making it seem much more of a sporting thing, low and wide and impossible to mistake for a minivan.

At least rear legroom is stretched almost an inch and a half in the deal, and the Q8's 31-cubic-foot luggage hold is larger than those of its German competitors.

Most important, the back seat doesn't feel at all compromised.

Under the hood, the Q7's supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 is supplanted by the Volkswagen Group's newer turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6, which makes 335 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque.

A wider, octagonal grille and optional 22-inch wheels add to the effect, as does its sail-shaped C-pillar, which Audi has styled to resemble that of the original Quattro coupe.

Our test vehicle tipped the scales at 5152 pounds, heavier than our recent long-term Q7 by 67 pounds, despite that vehicle's larger size and extra row of seats.

The slope of the rear liftgate tells you the Q8 could be placed in the "SUV coupe" class alongside the BMW X6 and the Mercedes-Benz GLE coupe.

Audi still makes a whole range of sports and luxury sedans, and the company is actually in the midst of launching brand-new versions of the A6, A7, and A8. Yet the Q7 outsells all three combined, month after month, and we can't imagine the new Q8 won't displace even more passenger-car sales.

With more style and little sacrifice in utility compared to most SUVs and the performance of a luxury sedan, the Q8 offers a compelling alternative to both.