Compare the2023 Audi Q8VS 2023 Mercedes G-Class

Both the Q8 and G-Class 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 G-Class’ 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 G-Class doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The Q8 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The G-Class doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

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 G-Class doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Q8 offers an optional Top View Cameras to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The G-Class only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Q8 uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The G-Class uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Q8 and the G-Class have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Q8 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 127 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The G-Class has not been tested, yet.

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

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 18 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

On the EPA test cycle the Q8 gets better mileage than the G-Class:

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

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Audi Q8 higher (5 out of 10) than the Mercedes G-Class (3). This means the Q8 produces up to 16.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the G-Class every 15,000 miles.

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

For better traction, the Q8 has larger tires than the G-Class (285/45R21 vs. 275/55R19).

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 G 550’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Q8 has standard 21-inch wheels. Smaller 19-inch wheels are standard on the G 550.

For superior ride and handling, the Audi Q8 has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Mercedes G-Class has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Q8’s wheelbase is 4.1 inches longer than on the G-Class (117.9 inches vs. 113.8 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 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the G-Class.

The Q8 Prestige handles at .83 G’s, while the G 550 pulls only .61 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Q8 Prestige executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 3.8 seconds quicker than the G 550 (26.9 seconds @ .69 average G’s vs. 30.7 seconds @ .53 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Q8’s turning circle is 1.1 feet tighter than the G-Class’ (43.5 feet vs. 44.6 feet).

The Audi Q8 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 550 to 850 pounds less than the Mercedes G-Class.

The Q8 is 10.2 inches shorter in height than the G-Class, making the Q8 much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Unibody construction lowers the Q8’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The G-Class doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

The design of the Audi Q8 amounts to more than styling. The Q8 has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .39 Cd. That is significantly lower than the G-Class (.55). A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Q8 get better fuel mileage.

For excellent aerodynamics, the Q8 has standard flush composite headlights. The G-Class has recessed headlights that spoil its aerodynamic shape and create extra drag.

The Q8 has 2.9 inches more front legroom, 1.7 inches more front shoulder room, .7 inches more rear legroom and 1.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the G-Class.

The Q8’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The G-Class’ swing out door blocks loading from the driver’s side.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Q8’s power cargo door can be opened or closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The G-Class doesn’t offer a power or hands-free opening cargo door.

The Q8’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the G-Class’ (7700 vs. 7000 pounds).

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Mercedes. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 16% lower rating, Mercedes is ranked 18th.

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 G-Class doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Q8 has standard extendable sun visors. The G-Class doesn’t offer extendable visors.

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 G-Class doesn’t offer a rear or rear side window sunshades.

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 G-Class’ automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

The Audi Q8/SQ8/RS Q8 outsold the Mercedes G-Class by 34% during 2022.