Compare the2023 Audi Q8VS 2023 Lincoln Nautilus

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages

Safety

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The Q8’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Nautilus doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the Q8 and Nautilus have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q8 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Nautilus’ child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Q8’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The Nautilus doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Q8. But it costs extra on the Nautilus.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Q8 Prestige helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Nautilus doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the Q8 and the Nautilus have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

The Audi Q8 weighs 459 to 839 pounds more than the Lincoln Nautilus. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Audi Q8 is safer than the Lincoln Nautilus:

	Q8	Nautilus
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	238	282
Neck Injury Risk	34%	35.2%
Neck Stress	120 lbs.	197 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	47/47 lbs.	145/201 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi Q8 is safer than the Lincoln Nautilus:

	Q8	Nautilus
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	60	84
Chest Movement	.7 inches	1.1 inches
Abdominal Force	128 lbs.	190 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	15 inches	16 inches

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

The Q8’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Nautilus’ (12 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Lincoln vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 4 places higher in reliability than Lincoln.

Engine

The Q8’s 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid produces 85 more horsepower (335 vs. 250) and 89 lbs.-ft. more torque (369 vs. 280) than the Nautilus’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Audi Q8 is faster than the Lincoln Nautilus turbo 4 cyl.:

	Q8	Nautilus
Zero to 60 MPH	5.9 sec	7.3 sec
Quarter Mile	14.4 sec	15.6 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	97.6 MPH	88.8 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

Regenerative brakes improve the Q8’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Nautilus doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Q8 has 4.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Nautilus (22.5 vs. 18 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Q8 has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Nautilus. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Q8’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Nautilus:

	Q8	Nautilus
Front Rotors	14.8 inches	13.8 inches
Rear Rotors	13.8 inches	12.4 inches
Opt Rear Rotors		13.6 inches

The Q8’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Nautilus are solid, not vented.

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Q8 has larger tires than the Nautilus (285/45R21 vs. 245/60R18). The Q8’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Nautilus (285/45R21 vs. 265/40R21).

The Q8’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Nautilus’ standard 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Q8 has standard 21-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Nautilus. The Q8 Premium Plus/Prestige’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 21-inch wheels optional on the Nautilus.

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Q8’s wheelbase is 5.7 inches longer than on the Nautilus (117.9 inches vs. 112.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Q8 is 1.3 inches wider in the front and 2.1 inches wider in the rear than on the Nautilus.

The Q8 Prestige handles at .83 G’s, while the Nautilus Reserve AWD pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Q8 Prestige executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Nautilus Reserve AWD (26.9 seconds @ .69 average G’s vs. 27.6 seconds @ .65 average G’s).

Passenger Space

The Q8 has .6 inches more front shoulder room and .6 inches more rear legroom than the Nautilus.

Towing

The Q8’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Nautilus’ (7700 vs. 1500 pounds).

Servicing Ease

The engine in the Q8 is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Nautilus. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because there are no rear spark plugs and the accessory belts are in front.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Lincoln. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 11% lower rating, Lincoln is ranked 12th.

Ergonomics

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Nautilus, the Q8 Prestige offers an optional passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Q8 Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Nautilus doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the Q8 and the Nautilus have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Q8 is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Nautilus prevents the driver from operating the rear windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Q8’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Nautilus’ cruise control switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Q8’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Nautilus’ standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Q8 has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Nautilus doesn’t offer headlight washers.

A manual rear sunshade is optional in the Q8 and power rear side window sunshades are optional in the Q8 (except Premium) to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Nautilus doesn’t offer a rear or rear side window sunshades.

When the Q8 is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Nautilus’ mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Q8 Prestige’s Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Park Assist Plus will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Nautilus (except Standard)’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.

Economic Advantages

The Q8 will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Q8 will retain 48.72% to 49.32% of its original price after five years, while the Nautilus only retains 45.16% to 45.45%.