Where each one leads
Audi SQ8
- Against cars of the same year, the Audi SQ8 comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 57% less often than average) than the Ford Explorer (fails 20% less often than average).
Ford Explorer
- Fewer Ford Explorer cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (1.0% against 4.9%).
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 Ford Explorer uses 10.4 l/100 km, the 2026 Audi SQ8 14.2.
- New Ford Explorer cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 75 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 288 for the Audi SQ8 in 2022.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Audi SQ8 | Ford Explorer | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2020–2026 | 1984–2027 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 8,448 (2019–2022) | 10,009 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 1,363 | 16,800 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 603 | 7,417 |
| In traffic in Finland | — | 1,617 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Audi SQ8 | Ford Explorer | |
|---|---|---|
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.3% | 1.2% |
| … against cars of the same year | −57% | −20% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 4.9% | 1.0% |
| US owner complaints | 12 | 34,627 |
| Most complaints about | Engine | Power train |
| Model year with most complaints | 2022 (4) | 2002 (3,295) |
| US recall campaigns | 10 | 142 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 3,524 | 5,035 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | — | 155 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Audi SQ8 | Ford Explorer | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 5★ (2027) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Audi SQ8 | Ford Explorer | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 14.2 l/100 km (2026) | 10.4 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 14.7 l/100 km | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 288 g/km | 75 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 373 kW (500 hp) | 267 kW (358 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 2,357 kg | 2,547 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €194,974 | €77,709 |
| Average odometer in Finland | — | 86,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).