Audi did not need to build the SQ9. The Q9 already gave the brand its largest SUV ever, a posh three-row flagship aimed squarely at the size-obsessed North American market. But Audi built it anyway, and the result is a 591-horsepower argument that the best performance SUV in the class might also be one of the cheapest. The 2027 Audi SQ9 arrives at dealers now, starting at $118,000 plus $1,395 destination.
The numbers that matter
Under the hood sits a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 making 591 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 590 pound-feet of torque from 2,400 to 4,500 rpm, paired with an 8-speed Tiptronic automatic and quattro all-wheel drive. Audi estimates 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, and CarBuzz, which just drove it, suspects that number is conservative. For context, Mercedes-AMG claims 4.0 seconds for the new GLS 63, and BMW claims 4.5 for the X7 M60i. Top speed is 155 mph. That output matches the RS 6 Avant from a couple of years ago, which makes the idea of an RS-badged giant SUV feel almost redundant.
It drives smaller than it is
The SQ9 weighs 5,566 pounds, but CarBuzz says it has the reflexes of a car weighing 1,000 pounds less. Credit a retuned quattro system that sends more power to the rear wheels by default, with more aggressive side-to-side torque vectoring to limit understeer and a limited-slip rear differential that talks back through tight corners. Six-piston calipers grip 16.5-inch front brakes, with 15.0-inch rears. Wider wheel arches and box-flared fenders make room for Audi’s first staggered-width tires, on standard 22-inch or optional 23-inch wheels. Air springs and adaptive dampers keep the ride composed on the freeway and on frost-heaved back roads, and the rear-axle chatter that enthusiastic drivers enjoy disappears in comfort or “balanced” mode. The one dynamic complaint: the V8 is too quiet. CarBuzz notes that an SQ8 shuttle, with 91 fewer horses, had a far more engaging exhaust note.
A private-jet cabin with one flaw
Inside, the SQ9 is largely the Q9 Prestige cabin rendered in even nicer materials, including an extended leather package wrapping the dashboard and upper door panels, and carbon fiber trim with exquisitely matched weave. Heated and ventilated front buckets come standard, with heated seats in the remaining two rows. The tech carries over too: an 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster, a 14.5-inch center display, a 12.3-inch passenger touchscreen, and a standard head-up display, plus adaptive matrix LED headlights in their first U.S. application. The flaws are small but real: a fussy half-hexagonal grille texture up front, and a third row that is small even by this class’s standards.
The value case is the story
Here is where the SQ9 gets hard to beat. The 2026 AMG GLS 63 started above $150,000, and the 2027 model is unlikely to be cheaper. The BMW X7 M60i starts a few hundred dollars under the SQ9, but matching the Audi’s standard equipment pushes it to around $125,000. The SQ9, by contrast, arrives nearly fully loaded. CarBuzz recommends only three options: the $1,200 S Sport package with more aggressive damping, the $950 Bang and Olufsen audio upgrade, and the $850 towing package, with the $4,750 Luxury pack (power doors, fragrance system) as a splurge. Its fully loaded tester came to $130,095. One catch for the rest of the world: the SQ9 is sold only in the U.S., China, and the Middle East. Europe gets the six-cylinder Q9 and nothing more.
