Audi Q9 Flagship SUV Opens for UK Order in August With Seven Seats

Audi has revealed the Q9, the largest and most expensive SUV the brand has ever built, and opened UK order books for the end of August. First deliveries are due before the end of the year, though Audi has not yet confirmed UK pricing or the final specification for right-hand-drive cars.

The Numbers Behind Audi’s Biggest SUV

At 5.31 metres long, 2.21 metres wide and 1.81 metres tall, with a 3.14-metre wheelbase, the Q9 is bigger in every dimension than any Audi that has come before it. Seven seats come as standard, with all three second-row positions carrying Isofix mounting points for child seats. Buyers can specify a six-seat layout instead, swapping the second-row bench for two individual electric seats and adding what Audi calls a business-class atmosphere. Every seat is at least partially power-adjustable with heating as standard, and the front sport seats add ventilation and massage functions.

A 299PS Diesel With Electric Assistance

The Q9 launches in the UK with a single engine: a 3.0-litre V6 diesel producing 299PS and 630Nm of torque, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and permanent quattro all-wheel drive. Audi has fitted its MHEV plus system on top, combining a belt-driven starter generator with an electric-powered compressor that can build up to 3.6 bar of boost pressure in 1.2 seconds. Together they add up to 370Nm of extra torque and 24PS of extra power when pulling away or overtaking, and let the engine cut in and out more smoothly at low speeds. Adaptive air suspension comes standard, with a 90mm range between the lowest and highest ride height settings, and all-wheel steering that turns the rear wheels up to 5 degrees to tighten the turning circle at low speed or add stability at motorway speeds.

World-First Curved OLED Tail Lights

Top-spec Q9 models get a third generation of Audi’s digital OLED tail lights, and for the first time the outer panels are curved in three dimensions using glass just 0.1mm thick. Audi says the curve widens the angle from which the lights stay visible to other drivers, on top of the styling benefit of a light signature that follows the body’s contours rather than sitting flat against it. A related feature, advanced turn signals, projects a turn indicator onto the road surface when the driver signals at night, and a communication light flashes a hazard-triangle warning in the tail lights themselves if the car detects a stopped emergency ahead. A separate exit warning system uses radar sensors in the rear bumper to detect approaching cyclists or vehicles and can stop a door from opening, or a door already opening, if it judges a collision is likely, projecting a warning light onto the ground beside the car for anyone standing nearby.

A Cabin Built for Long Family Trips

Audi has fitted power-operated doors to the Q9 for the first time on any of its models, opening to 90 degrees with sensors that stop the door if they detect an obstacle in its path, and an electric soft-close function that pulls the door shut gently rather than requiring a slam. Above the cabin sits the largest panoramic sunroof Audi has ever fitted, more than 1.5 square metres of glass that can tilt or slide open, with an option to switch the glass between clear and opaque in nine individually controlled segments.

Sound comes from an updated Bang & Olufsen system with 22 speakers and a combined output of 1,360 watts, including headrest speakers that let front occupants take a phone call or hear turn-by-turn directions without broadcasting it through the rest of the cabin. In the top trim, seat-mounted actuators add physical vibration synced to the music, a feature Audi pitches as making bass “something you can physically feel” rather than only hear. The infotainment system runs on Android Automotive with a dedicated Audi app store built in, plus ChatGPT integration for the voice assistant when a question falls outside what the car’s own system can answer directly.

Where the Q9 Will Have to Compete

Audi’s decision to hold back UK pricing until order books open at the end of August leaves the Q9’s exact position in the market unclear for now, but the segment it’s entering is expensive: the BMW X7 starts from £93,280 and the Mercedes-Benz GLS from around £99,995, both rising well past £110,000 in higher trims. Audi has historically priced its largest SUVs below the equivalent BMW and Mercedes-Benz, so a Q9 landing somewhere below £90,000 would fit the pattern set by the current Q7 against the X5 and GLE, though nothing is confirmed until Audi publishes UK figures. What is confirmed is that buyers will need to wait: with pricing still a month away and deliveries not due until the end of the year, this is one of the longer runways any manufacturer has given a flagship reveal this year.