Compare the2024 Audi Q8 e-tronVS 2024 Nissan Ariya

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 Ariya doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the Q8 e-tron and Ariya have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q8 e-tron 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 Ariya’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 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 Ariya 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 Ariya 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.

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

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 Ariya doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure.

Both the Q8 e-tron and Ariya have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Q8 e-tron has Automatic Brake Activation (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Ariya’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the Q8 e-tron and the Ariya 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, 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 weighs 741 to 1751 pounds more than the Nissan Ariya. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The Q8 e-tron comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Ariya’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

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

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

As tested in Car and Driver the Audi Q8 e-tron (base engine) is faster than the Ariya + electric motor:

The Q8 e-tron can travel longer on a full charge than the Ariya on a full charge:

The Q8 e-tron’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 Ariya doesn’t offer launch control.

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

The Q8 e-tron stops shorter than the Ariya:

For better traction, the Q8 e-tron has larger standard tires than the Ariya (255/50R20 vs. 235/55R19). The Q8 e-tron’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Ariya (265/45R21 vs. 245/45R20).

The Q8 e-tron’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Ariya’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Q8 e-tron has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 19-inch wheels are standard on the Ariya. The Q8 e-tron’s optional 21-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the Ariya Platinum+.

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 Ariya; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

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

The Q8 e-tron has a standard driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Ariya’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Q8 e-tron has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Q8 e-tron’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Ariya doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Q8 e-tron’s wheelbase is 5.8 inches longer than on the Ariya (115.1 inches vs. 109.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Q8 e-tron is 1 inch wider in the front and .8 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Ariya.

For greater off-road capability the Q8 e-tron has a 1.4 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Ariya (8.1 vs. 6.7 inches), allowing the Q8 e-tron to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

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

The Q8 e-tron has 1.5 inches more front shoulder room, .3 inches more rear headroom, 2.1 inches more rear legroom and 1.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Ariya.

The Q8 e-tron has a much larger cargo volume than the Ariya with its rear seat up (28.5 vs. 22.8 cubic feet).

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

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Q8 e-tron. The Ariya doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Maximum trailer towing in the Nissan Ariya is limited to 1500 pounds. The Q8 e-tron offers up to a 4000 lbs. towing capacity.

The Q8 e-tron uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Ariya uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

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

The Q8 e-tron has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Ariya doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

If the windows are left open on the Q8 e-tron the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Ariya can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Q8 e-tron’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 Ariya’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Q8 e-tron’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Ariya’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

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

The Q8 e-tron’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Ariya offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Q8 e-tron 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 is only available on the Ariya Engage/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+.

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 Ariya.

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