With so many cars being undeserving of their sporty coupe design, we didn't expect much from a tall 4x4 like the Audi Q8. However, at the hands of KM77, it performed admirably in their famous moose test.
The moose test is a bit like a slalom. It's designed to replicate the real-world possibility of something popping out in the middle of the road, something big that you're not supposed to hit, like a moose. Why didn't they call it the horse test? Probably because they care about road safety a lot in Sweden.
In any case, the car is supposed to swerve to avoid the object and quickly jump back into its lane, avoiding oncoming traffic. This puts the stability of taller vehicles to the test, but Audi planned for exactly such a situation.
KM77 says they were taken aback by how sporty the response of the Q8 was. On their initial test, they hit a cone because they didn't expect the Audi to change directions so quickly. Eventually, they managed to perform the moose test at 79 km/h, and we have to mention that 80 km/h is pretty rare, so the SUV is actually as agile in this situation as a normal sedan.
S Line air suspension plays a role in the outcome. It stiffens up the body to stop it leaning over so much. Also, we couldn't help noticing that the Q8 has fat 285 tires and 21-inch wheels. Right now, this is the only configuration available in Europe, the 286 HP diesel but it probably reflects how well the American TFSI would have done too.
The Q8 also looks very agile in the slalom test. The ESC is smart and keeps it stable without cutting power. It must have dynamic all-wheel steering system too, right? Tell us what you think with a quick comment.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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