All Wheel Driven | Driving the All-New Audi Q9 and SQ9

By Chris May

Audi’s new full-size flagship SUV pairs long-distance comfort and family-friendly versatility with technology and performance that push the segment forward. Watch the full video review here.

What happens when Audi takes everything it has learned about luxury, technology, and performance and builds its biggest, most ambitious SUV yet? The answer is the all-new 2027 Audi Q9 and its high-performance sibling, the SQ9. With these new models, Audi is stepping into an entirely new segment, bringing the four rings to the full-size luxury SUV market. But the Q9 is more than simply a larger Q7. Audi is positioning it as the new flagship of its entire portfolio, showcasing the next evolution of luxury, cutting-edge technology, innovative lighting, and premium performance.

Audi Club North America had a special opportunity to get behind the wheel and experience these new flagship SUVs firsthand, offering a closer look at what makes the Q9 and SQ9 such significant additions to the Audi lineup.

Space for the whole family

At 209 inches long, the Q9 makes a substantial impression, but its real achievement is how effectively it uses that space. The cabin feels open and refined, with premium materials, a sweeping digital dashboard, and a broad center console. Buyers can choose a traditional seven-passenger layout or available second-row captain’s chairs for six-passenger seating.

The third row deserves particular attention. It offers genuinely useful headroom for adults, rather than feeling like a space reserved exclusively for children or short trips. Audi has also made the Q9 remarkably quiet. Even with passengers seated in the third row, we could carry on a normal conversation without raising our voices—a welcome quality on long highway journeys.

Comfort extends to the front seats, where the available massage function feels more sophisticated than before, with improved leg support and massage functionality. Combined with the quiet cabin and composed ride, it is easy to envision covering serious distances in either vehicle without arriving exhausted.

Practical details reinforce that mission. The Q9 offers a hands-free tailgate, five-zone climate control, fold-flat seating, and a maximum towing capacity of 7,700 pounds. Available automatic powered doors add a distinctly premium touch, particularly when loading passengers in tight parking spaces.

Technology that does more than impress

Audi has equipped the Q9 family with a substantial collection of new and advanced technologies. One of the most notable is Adaptive Cruise Assist plus with hands-free highway driving, an available Level 2+ driver-assistance system. On supported highways, the system can manage steering, acceleration, and braking, and can execute a lane change when the driver activates the turn signal. It is designed to reduce the workload on long journeys, although the driver remains responsible for monitoring the road and the vehicle.

Audi’s lighting technology is another highlight. The Q9 family introduces Digital Matrix LED headlights with adaptive driving beam functionality to the U.S. market for the first time. The system selectively masks portions of the high-beam pattern around other vehicles while keeping more of the surrounding road illuminated. On dark roads, that means improved visibility without simply choosing between bright high beams and dimmed headlights.

The lighting story continues at the rear and around the vehicle. Available third-generation curved digital OLED taillights create a distinctive nighttime signature, while advanced turn signals project animated indicators onto the pavement beside the vehicle. Working in sync with the front and rear turn signals, these ground-projected indicators make a driver’s intentions more visible to nearby road users, including pedestrians and cyclists. It is a clever example of lighting serving both design and practical communication.

Other available technology includes a Bang & Olufsen 4D sound system with seat-mounted sound actuators, surround-view cameras with a 3D view, and Park Assist Pro with remote functionality. Together, these systems help make the Q9 family feel every bit the technological flagship Audi intends it to be.

Q9: Effortless performance

The Q9 is powered by a 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V6 producing 429 horsepower and 442 lb-ft of torque, paired with an eight-speed Tiptronic transmission and quattro all-wheel drive. Audi quotes a 0–60 mph time of 4.9 seconds—strong acceleration for a full-size luxury SUV.

On the road, the Q9 feels composed and confident. Its adaptive air suspension smooths out imperfect pavement, while progressive steering varies its response according to speed and steering input, making low-speed maneuvers easier and highway driving more settled. Despite its substantial dimensions, the Q9 feels remarkably manageable, responding to steering inputs with an agility that belies its size.

Audi’s engineers have clearly prioritized more than passenger comfort: the Q9 feels like a large, luxurious SUV when you settle into the cabin, but a considerably smaller vehicle once you get behind the wheel.

SQ9: RS performance in an S package

For buyers who want the Q9’s space and comfort without giving up serious performance, the SQ9 makes a compelling case. Its 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 produces 591 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, delivered through an eight-speed Tiptronic transmission. Audi quotes a 0–60 mph time of just 3.8 seconds.

There is an important regional distinction here: the V8-powered SQ9 is exclusive to the North American market. European buyers will not receive this powertrain option, giving the North American SQ9 a character all its own.

On the highway, the V8’s abundant torque makes lane changes and passing maneuvers feel almost effortless. Power arrives immediately when called upon, inspiring confidence when accelerating into a gap in traffic. Yet straight-line acceleration is only part of the story.

The handling is equally impressive. The SQ9’s chassis, progressive steering, rear-biased quattro system, and standard rear-wheel steering work together to make this full-size SUV feel considerably smaller than it is. The available sport adaptive air suspension takes things a step further, sharpening body control and making the SQ9 feel even more planted and responsive when the road begins to twist.

At the heart of the SQ9’s driving character is a new evolution of Audi’s quattro system, featuring a Torsen-style locking center differential. Audi tells this newest iteration of the quattro center diff helps provide additional grip in low traction environments.

Rear-wheel steering adds another important dimension. At lower speeds, the rear wheels can turn by up to five degrees in the opposite direction to the front wheels, effectively shortening the turning radius and making tight turns and parking maneuvers easier. At higher speeds, the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the fronts to enhance stability during lane changes and sweeping corners. Combined with the progressive steering rack, this system helps both the Q9 and SQ9 steer with the agility of a much smaller vehicle.

On the SQ9, these systems work in concert with the electronically controlled rear-axle differential lock, adaptive air suspension, and staggered-width tires to deliver an unusually broad range of capability. The SUV remains quiet, comfortable, and composed when cruising, yet responds with impressive precision when the road becomes more demanding.

It is a remarkable engineering achievement: a vehicle that feels genuinely full-size inside but much more compact from behind the wheel.

A flagship with two personalities

The 2027 Audi Q9 and SQ9 demonstrate that luxury, utility, and driving enjoyment need not be mutually exclusive. Both deliver excellent drivability, a quiet and comfortable cabin, genuine third-row usability, and the passenger and cargo versatility expected of a full-size luxury SUV. More impressive is how effectively Audi’s engineers have made these large vehicles feel smaller and more manageable on the road, using progressive steering, sophisticated suspension tuning, and carefully calibrated chassis systems.

Considering the use case, the Q9 will exceed the needs of many families. It is spacious, refined, easy to maneuver, and exceptionally well suited to everyday driving and long-distance travel.

But for those who want it all—including blistering acceleration and handling performance that is frankly mind-boggling for an SUV of this size—the SQ9 is the ticket. Its North American-exclusive V8 and more sophisticated performance hardware deliver an extraordinary combination of family utility and driver engagement.

Both vehicles feel like flagship SUVs when you’re riding in them; the SQ9, especially, feels like something considerably smaller and surprisingly sporty when you’re driving it.

The 2027 Q9 and SQ9 are expected to arrive at North American dealerships in the coming weeks, with European availability to follow.

As tested

2027 Audi Q9 quattro Prestige: $111,895, including $1,395 destination and delivery.
2027 Audi SQ9: $128,045, including $1,395 destination and delivery.

Both test vehicles were fully equipped, pre-production U.S.-specification models.

▶️ Watch the full driving review below, or listen on your favorite podcast platform: Spotify | YouTube.