MORE MAD SUVS FROM GERMANY'S FINEST AUDI HAS BECOME SO PREDICTABLE THESE DAYS … AT LEAST THE AUDI’S FASTER THAN THAT NEW ASTON … AND IS THAT GLE MERCEDES’ ANSWER FOR THE BMW X5 M? BUT THE GLS BIGGER BROTHER COULDN’T BE ANY FASTER, FOR SURE …
FORGET ABOUT 4X4S CATERING ONLY TO OFF-ROADING ENTHUSIASTS — SOME PLEASE THOSE MERELY NEEDING TO RIP UP THE BLACK TARMAC
Audi has only recently revealed its all-new E-Tron Sportback, a sporty SUV with battery-electric tech. And at the Los Angeles Auto Show recently, it has unveiled another fast SUV. But rather than being a fumeless machine, it’s the most potent combustion-engined SUV Audi has to offer in its entire lineup. The so-called RS Q8 is the new SUV flagship from Ingolstadt, which has predictably inherited the 600hp 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 from the RS6 Avant and RS7 Sportback. Coming along with that powerhouse, which can deactivate four cylinders whenever possible, is 48V of mild hybrid tech to additionally improve fuel economy and provide short bursts of power. The RS Q8 goes into direct competition with the BMW X6 M, which also has 600hp but from a slightly bigger 4.4-litre bi-turbo V8. Unsurprisingly, the X6 M and RS Q8 have the same 0-100kph time of 3.8sec. But opt for X6 M Competition; power goes up by 25hp and the acceleration time falls by a tenth of a second. If you mean the recently announced Aston Martin DBX, then the answer is yes. But that isn’t surprising given that the DBX’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 produces 550hp for a 4.5sec record. In fact, predictable trends aren’t only happening within Audi but in the SUV market as a whole. If you want a badass SUV at the moment, it’s got to be the Lamborghini Urus with its 650hp of power and class-beating 3.5sec sprint time. But while power and performance usually run parallel with pricing, retail costs sometimes depend on brand image. The Urus goes for some 24 million baht in Thailand, while the DBX should cost no more than 20 million baht. But the RS Q8 won’t cost more than the Aston despite it being more potent and faster. The Audi will compete with the X6 M in the circa15 million baht front of mad SUVs. Yes, it is. After the BMW X5 M was unveiled earlier this year alongside the sportier X6 M (not to be confused with the smaller X3 M and X4 M that debuted at the 2019 Motor Expo in Thailand earlier this month), it is now Mercedes-AMG’s turn to put its SUVs on steroids. However, Mercedes is taking it a bit easy with power craze by introducing only the GLE63 initially; the latest-generation GLE63 Coupe rivalling the X6 M and the RS Q8 has yet to come. Conforming with AMG’s usual strategy, the GLE63’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 comes in two outputs: 571hp and 612hp in go-faster S guise; the X5 M features 600hp and 625hp in Competition form. With a few discrepancies here and there in the 0-100kph acceleration race, what we’re essentially talking about here are super-hot SUVs capable of cracking the time within four seconds (the faster GLE63, for one, records 3.8sec). But both GLE63s go a step ahead of BMW’s M models with the introduction of 48V mild hybrid tech providing not only 22hp more of boost power but electronic stabilisation for the suspension. It definitely it isn’t. The GLS63 also premiered alongside the GLE63 at the LA Auto Show. But Mercedes is wasting no time in offering the GLS63 in just one spec: that 612hp output with the GLE63’s nine-speed automatic, all-wheel drive, 48V tech and air suspension that can either lower the vehicle by 10mm at high speeds or lift it by 55mm to climb obstacles during off-roading. Likewise, the GLS63 has an array of drive modes available like in the GLE63 — but minus the so-called Race mode. Which isn’t surprising given that the basic GLS is more comfort-oriented, less sporty and heavier to steer than the GLE. From 0-100kph, the GLS63 is nearly half-a-second slower, at 4.2sec despite the same power output. It’s most likely that the GLS63 (and probably the GLE63, too) won’t be coming to Thai shores due to its price exceeding 10 million baht, enough to get you an SUV from more image-rich brands like Maserati, Porsche and Range Rover. The BMW X7, the most direct rival for the GLS, isn’t sold in full-fat M form on a global basis. Only the warmed-up M50d and M50i are available, with the former going for 8.999 million baht in Thailand.