2018 Mazda CX-5 VS AUDI Q8

Mazda CX-5 VS AUDI Q8
Mazda CX-5 2018 VS AUDI Q8 2018
2018 Mazda CX-5 VS 2018 AUDI Q8

2018 Mazda CX-5:
What It Is: A compression-ignition middle finger to the masses of virtually identical life-ends-with-children mobiles. Should also come with the bonus of meaningful steering feel and impressive road manners. Why It Matters: If the CX-5 diesel works as it should, it could offer segment-leading fuel economy and performance. According to a Mazda representative, the company’s most recent attempt at bringing a diesel stateside in the Mazda 6 ended with a tough decision. “It could be made to drive the way we wanted or it could meet U.S. emissions, but not both,” he said. “We wouldn’t accept that.” Mazda says it has solved that problem here. And so, with VW out of the TDI game, if you’re looking for a fun-to-drive diesel, it’ll likely be this one. Platform: Mazda mildly altered the CX-5’s platform for the 2017 model year, providing a marginally lower center of gravity. An additional 0.4 inch of track width increases stability. Competition: With VW’s presumably permanent diesel stop sale, Mazda could win buyers who can’t resist a modern oil burner. Kia’s Niro hybrid will offer similar or greater efficiency at the cost of slightly reduced cargo space and far less driver involvement. The rest of the crossover sea roils with choices lacking this CX-5’s efficiency, driving character, or both...
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/2018-mazda-cx-5-diesel-is-a-car-worth-waiting-for-feature

2018 AUDI Q8:
Audi’s recent SUV product offensive shows no sign of letting up and the firm has an new 4x4 in the pipeline for 2018, which will sit right at the top of the range as a flagship vehicle and a rival for the likes of the Range Rover. It’ll be the all-new Q8, a car previewed in concept form at two of this year’s biggest motor shows so far – the Detroit show in January and Geneva in March. Judging by the styling of the concepts it’ll be a large but rakish SUV, sitting above the Q7 with a slightly more coupe influenced side profile similar to other premium SUVs like the BMW X6 and Mercedes GLE Coupe. When the Q8 goes into production it’ll be built at Audi’s Bratislava plant in Slovakia, sharing a production line with the Q7. The concept shares a similar footprint to the current Q7 – it’s over five metres long and has a wheelbase of three metres – but is 40mm lower. A sloping roofline and tapered rear end mean the concept only has four seats, however the production version is expected to be available with a five-seat layout. The Q8 concept has a 630-litre boot. Showcased as a plug-in hybrid e-tron model, the Q8 concept is powered by a 3.0-litre TFSI engine paired with an electric motor, which runs from a 17.9kWh lithium-ion battery. The powertrain develops a combined 438bhp and 700Nm of torque. Audi claims 0-62mph takes 5.4 seconds and the car has a top speed of 155mph, while it emits 53g/km of CO2. Power is delivered via an eight-speed automatic gearbox and quattro four-wheel drive. There’s a good chance the petrol-electric powertrain will be made available in the production model, because Audi says: “Their use in the study demonstrates their importance once again.” On electric power alone, the Q8 concept can travel up to 37 miles, and the lithium-ion battery takes two and a half hours to fully recharge. Those wanting more performance will eventually be able to upgrade to an Audi SQ8. The high performance model is likely to use the same 4.0-litre bi-turbo V8 diesel as the SQ7, developing 429bhp. When asked about the SQ8 in Detroit, Audi’s board member for sales and marketing, Dietmar Voggenreiter said, “That’s something I would like to do.” The concept adopts a wider version of Audi’s single-frame octagonal grille, which is flanked by new matrix LED headlamps.