Compare the2024 Audi Q8 e-tron SportbackVS 2024 Mercedes GLE

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics

Safety

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Both the Q8 e-tron Sportback and GLE have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q8 e-tron Sportback 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 GLE’s 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 Audi Q8 e-tron Sportback has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The GLE doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Q8 e-tron Sportback’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLE.

Both the Q8 e-tron Sportback and the GLE have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

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 Mercedes GLE:

	Q8 e-tron Sportback	GLE
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.7 inches	.7 inches
Abdominal Force	117 lbs.	151 lbs.
Hip Force	236 lbs.	287 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	579 lbs.	677 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	8 inches	12 inches

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

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Audi Q8 e-tron Sportback is safer than the GLE:

	Q8 e-tron Sportback	GLE
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Neck Tension	156 lbs.	201 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	.63 in	.87 in
Shoulder Force	134 lbs.	156 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.14 in	1.34 in
Torso Deflection Rate	6 MPH	6 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	669 lbs.	1026 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	64	232
Neck Tension	67 lbs.	89 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	GOOD
Torso Max Deflection	.63 in	.67 in
Torso Deflection Rate	4 MPH	7 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	602 lbs.	1116 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

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 6.3% less likely to roll over than the GLE, which received a four-star rating.

Warranty

The Q8 e-tron Sportback’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the GLE’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 10 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

Engine

The Q8 e-tron Sportback has more powerful engines than the GLE:

	Horsepower	Torque
Q8 e-tron Sportback electric motors	402 HP	490 lbs.-ft.
SQ8 e-tron Sportback electric motors	496 HP	717 lbs.-ft.
GLE 350 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid	255 HP	295 lbs.-ft.
GLE 450 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid	362 HP	369 lbs.-ft.
GLE 450e 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid	381 HP	479 lbs.-ft.
GLE 580 4.0 turbo V8 hybrid	510 HP	538 lbs.-ft.

As tested in Motor Trend the Audi Q8 e-tron Sportback (base engine) is faster than the Mercedes GLE:

	Q8 e-tron Sportback	GLE 350	GLE 450
Zero to 60 MPH	5.2 sec	7.6 sec	5.6 sec
Quarter Mile	13.9 sec	15.8 sec	14.2 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	101.6 MPH	87.5 MPH	97.4 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Q8 e-tron Sportback gets better mileage than the GLE running its gasoline engine:

			MPGe
Q8 e-tron Sportback
	AWD	Electric Motors	84 city/90 hwy
		ultra Electric Motors	84 city/89 hwy
		SQ8 Electric Motors	72 city/75 hwy
GLE
			MPG
	AWD	350 2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	21 city/28 hwy
		3.0 turbo 6-cyl. Hybrid	19 city/26 hwy
		4.0 turbo V8 Hybrid	15 city/20 hwy

The Q8 e-tron Sportback can travel with zero emissions on a full charge for 253 to 300 miles, up to 10% further than the GLE 450e‘s -mile range on a full charge and a full tank of fuel. The GLE 450e has to start its internal combustion engine after only 48 miles.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Audi Q8 e-tron Sportback higher (10 out of 10) than the Mercedes GLE (5 to 7). This means the Q8 e-tron Sportback produces up to 19.8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the GLE every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

The Q8 e-tron Sportback’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The GLE doesn’t offer launch control.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Q8 e-tron Sportback’s brake rotors are larger than those on the GLE:

	Q8 e-tron Sportback	GLE
Front Rotors	15.7 inches	13 inches
Rear Rotors	13.8 inches	13 inches

The Q8 e-tron Sportback’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs standard on the GLE 350 are solid, not vented.

The Q8 e-tron Sportback stops much shorter than the GLE:

	Q8 e-tron Sportback	GLE
60 to 0 MPH	104 feet	130 feet	Motor Trend

Suspension and Handling

The front and rear suspension of the Q8 e-tron Sportback uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the GLE, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The Q8 e-tron Sportback handles at .92 G’s, while the GLE 350 pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Q8 e-tron Sportback executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.8 seconds quicker than the GLE 350 (25.4 seconds @ .75 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

Chassis

The front grille of the Q8 e-tron Sportback uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The GLE doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The Q8 e-tron Sportback has .5 inches more front legroom and 1 inch more rear headroom than the GLE.

Servicing Ease

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.

Ergonomics

Standard air conditioned seats in the front and rear seats keep the Q8 e-tron Sportback Premium Plus/Prestige’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The GLE doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Q8 e-tron Sportback has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the GLE.