The Q8 e-tron Sportback’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Aviator doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.
The Q8 e-tron Sportback’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 Aviator doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
With its standard front crash prevention, the Audi Q8 e-tron Sportback is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Lincoln Aviator, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
Q8 e-tron Sportback |
Aviator |
Overall Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
-21 MPH |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-9 MPH |
25 MPH Brights |
-23 MPH |
-20 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-9 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-18 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-4 MPH |
37 MPH Brights |
-36 MPH |
-15 MPH |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2 sec |
1.4 sec |
37 MPH Low beams |
-31 MPH |
No Slowing |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
1.9 sec |
.4 sec |
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Q8 e-tron Sportback. But it costs extra on the Aviator.
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 Sportback has Car-to-X Services, a system that seemlesly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The Aviator doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure.
Both the Q8 e-tron Sportback and the Aviator 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, 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 e-tron Sportback weighs 936 to 1053 pounds more than the Lincoln Aviator. 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 and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi Q8 e-tron Sportback is safer than the Lincoln Aviator:
|
Q8 e-tron Sportback |
Aviator |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
44 |
65 |
Chest Movement |
.7 inches |
.9 inches |
Abdominal Force |
117 lbs. |
161 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
579 lbs. |
604 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
8 inches |
12 inches |
HIC |
279 |
288 |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Q8 e-tron Sportback, with its five-star roll-over rating, is 5.5% to 5.9% less likely to roll over than the Aviator, which received a four-star rating.
The Audi Q8 e-tron Sportback achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Aviator is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.