Compare the2024 Audi Q8 e-tronVS 2023 Tesla Model X

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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

The Q8 e-tron’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 Model X doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The Q8 e-tron 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 Model X 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.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Q8 e-tron’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Model X doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The Q8 e-tron has Car-to-X Services, a system that seemlesly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The Model X doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure.

The Q8 e-tron offers an optional Top View Camera System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Model X 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.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Q8 e-tron’s standard Rear Cross-Traffic Assist uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Automatic Brake Activation automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Model X doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

The Q8 e-tron has a standard Audi Connect CARE, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Model X doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Q8 e-tron and the Model X have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front 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 and rearview cameras.

The Audi Q8 e-tron weighs 408 to 889 pounds more than the Tesla Model X. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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, results indicate that the Audi Q8 e-tron is safer than the Tesla Model X:

	Q8 e-tron	Model X
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	44	101
Chest Movement	.7 inches	.7 inches
Abdominal Force	117 lbs.	157 lbs.

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

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 “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Q8 e-tron its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 131 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Model X has not been tested, yet.

Warranty

There are almost 2 times as many Audi dealers as there are Tesla dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Q8 e-tron’s warranty.

Reliability

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Q8 e-tron’s reliability 14 points higher than the Model X.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Audi vehicles are better in initial quality than Tesla vehicles. With 36 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Audi higher than Tesla.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Q8 e-tron’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Model X:

	Q8 e-tron	Model X
Front Rotors	15.7 inches	15 inches

Tires and Wheels

The Q8 e-tron has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Model X; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

Suspension and Handling

The Q8 e-tron has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Model X’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

For better maneuverability, the Q8 e-tron’s turning circle is .8 feet tighter than the Model X’s (40 feet vs. 40.8 feet).

Chassis

The Q8 e-tron is 6.1 inches shorter than the Model X, making the Q8 e-tron easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The Q8 e-tron has .4 inches more rear legroom and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Model X.

Cargo Capacity

The Q8 e-tron has a much larger cargo volume than the Model X with its rear seat up (28.5 vs. 15 cubic feet).

The Q8 e-tron’s standard rear seats fold to accommodate long and bulky cargo. The Model X 6-Passenger doesn’t offer folding rear seats.

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the Q8 e-tron’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Model X doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Q8 e-tron’s liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Model X doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Servicing Ease

A Service Interval Display is standard on the Q8 e-tron to save the owner time and money by calculating maintenance intervals for vehicle inspections, vehicle inspection based on odometer mileage. This takes the guesswork out of keeping your vehicle in top condition and helps it last longer. Tesla doesn’t offer a maintenance reminder on the Model X.

Ergonomics

The Q8 e-tron’s entire steering wheel hub sounds the horn, facilitating hitting the horn in an emergency. The Model X has a small, single button on the steering wheel spoke that can be hard to find quickly in an emergency.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Model X, the Q8 e-tron Prestige has a 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 e-tron Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Model X doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Q8 e-tron has a standard rear wiper. The Model X doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

The Q8 e-tron’s standard side window demisters help clear frost or condensation from the side windows in the winter. The Model X doesn’t even offer side window demisters, so the driver may have to wipe the windows from the outside to gain side vision.

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

The Q8 e-tron’s sun-visors swivel front-to-side to block glare from the side windows. The Model X’s visors are fixed into the windshield header.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Q8 e-tron to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Model X doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Q8 e-tron has a standard center folding armrest for the rear passengers. A center armrest helps make rear passengers more comfortable and it can provide a boundary between children. The Model X doesn’t offer a middle row seat center armrest.

The Q8 e-tron Prestige/Launch Edition has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Model X.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Audi Q8 e-tron, based on reliability, safety and performance.

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