Audi has had an interesting half decade. They killed the TT and R8 in 2023 with nothing in their place, dropped the A7 and S7, launched an e-tron variant that no one could tell apart, and renamed half the range as a rule that they had abandoned before the paint had dried.
The numbers caught up. CarsGuide Report Audi Australia is down 11.2 per cent in the first half of 2026, the worst of the German three, against BMW 8.0 per cent and Mercedes 1.7.
Then, within the space of six months, three of the best drops anyone has released this year.
The RS5 Avant is actually an RS4, and everyone knows it
It replaces three cars at once, with the RS4 sedan, RS4 Avant and RS5 Sportback all turning into a sedan-and-wagon pair.
The 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 now runs with an electric motor producing 470kW and 825Nm, which is 139kW more than the car I handed down to my dad. It accelerates from 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds, covers a range of 76km on battery alone, and has a small electric motor inside the rear differential so it can electronically swing torque from one side to the other.
Australian pricing is $179,900 for the sedan and $182,900 for the Avant before on-roads, with the first cars arriving in the second half of this year.
Curated news for men,
Sent to your inbox.
Join the DMARGE Newsletter – Be the first to receive the latest news and exclusive stories on style, travel, luxury, cars and watches. Straight to your inbox.
The competition is thin. The cheapest automatic M3 is $186,900, and in wagon form it’s M3 Competition Touring, CS ($249,000) or nothing.
Who buys it: Two kids, a dog, a garage he cares for, adamant refusal to drive an SUV. He charges at home and drives to school and the beach in the same car. I was that guy for five years, and now it’s worth 2,370 kilos.
The Q7 lost its crown and got better anyway
The third-generation Q7 is the least exciting of the three and the one most likely to save Audi Australia’s year. It arrives in late Q1 2027 with two 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6s running on MHEV Plus, in 180kW/500Nm and 220kW/630Nm tunes, with quattro and 3,500kg of braked towing.
A 3.0-litre petrol plug-in hybrid with an electric range of around 100 km will arrive later in 2027, which makes sense as the NVES penalty makes diesel-only large SUVs costlier for importers. Then the 440kW/800Nm SQ7 arrived, aimed at the new X5 M.
Local pricing has not been confirmed. The international drive returned 6.2L/100km from the 220kW diesel, which is more than 1,000km between fill-ups on the 75-litre tank.
It competes with the BMW X5, Mercedes GLE, Range Rover Sport and Volvo XC90 and for the first time, it doesn’t top the range.
Who buys it: Moms, families without flagship money who need three usable rows and 3.5 tons of towing. Boat to Meitung, seven seats, diesel range.
SQ9 Audi Escalade is going after the money
Revealed this week, the Q9 is the largest thing Audi has ever made, measuring 5,310 mm long, with a 3.14 meter wheelbase, and the first Audi to wear the 9 since the early nineties.
It takes over from the A8, whose production ends at the end of this year, with the flagship money moved out of limousines and into three-row SUVs because that’s where buyers went. The SQ9 uses the same 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 as the SQ7 at 440kW and 800Nm, reaching 100km/h in less than four seconds, making it the fastest three-row luxury SUV in its class.
The Q9 will go on sale in Audi Australia in 2027, with the SQ9 following soon after. European pricing starts at €108,400 and the American V8 starts at US$118,000, so the local car is expected to cost more than $200,000.
Rivals are the BMW
Who buys it: People who already own an X7 or Range Rover, who want individual electric second-row seats, automatic doors and a 1.5-square-metre roof with switchable transparency.
What comes next decides whether it all matters or not
Half of the R8 question has already been answered. In June, Audi unveiled the Nuvolari, a mid-engined 736kW plug-in hybrid V8 that accelerates to 100 km/h in 2.6 seconds and hits a top speed of 350 km/h. Limited to 499 cars globally, European pre-orders begin this quarter and Australia unconfirmed.
The RS6 is the one I’ve been waiting for, this year in both body styles, the larger cars keep the V8 while the smaller cars drop down to a six. These three land with equal conviction and Audi becomes the most interesting German brand in eighteen months.
Three cars in six months, after three years without a sports car, coupe or flagship. The potential was clearly there the whole time, which is either a serious indictment of the last five years or the best possible sign for the next five.
