Compare the2025 Audi Q8VS 2025 BMW X5

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi Q8 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The BMW X5 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Audi Q8 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW X5 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the Q8 and X5 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 X5’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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Q8. But it costs extra on the X5.

Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The Q8 has Car-to-X Services, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The X5 doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure.

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 X5 doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the Q8 and the X5 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

On the EPA test cycle the Q8 gets better mileage than the X5 running its gasoline engine:

For better stopping power the Q8’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the X5:

For better traction, the Q8 has larger tires than the X5 (285/45R21 vs. 275/45R20). The Q8’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the X5 (285/45R21 vs. 275/40R21).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Q8 has standard 21-inch wheels. Smaller 20-inch wheels are standard on the X5.

The Q8 has 1.8 inches more front legroom, 2.8 inches more rear legroom and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the X5.

The Q8’s cargo area is larger than the X5’s in almost every dimension:

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 X5’s tailgate’s top part raises up, but the bottom part lowers, getting in the way of loading and making an uneven surface for sliding cargo.

The Q8’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the X5’s (7700 vs. 5952 pounds).

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Q8 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The X5 doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

Laser headlights, standard on the Q8 Prestige, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the X5’s LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

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’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the X5’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Q8 has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The X5 doesn’t offer headlight washers.

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 X5 doesn’t offer a rear sunshade.