The security guards deputed in my housing complex surely think I work for the drug cartel because cars keep lining up outside my house. Just for the fun of it, I let them hold on to their suspicions as review units come in and go from time to time. And one review car that may have convinced them that I have reached Pablo Escobar-like fame was the Q8 from Audi. There are enough reasons why this SUV not just got stares from them but repeated glances from people at large during the test drive and this was underlined when a Q7 passed by - squeezing forward on a three-lane road more to get a better look than due to any space constraints.

Yes, that is the kind of attention the Q8 - Audi's flagship SUV in the country - garners and that may well be its biggest highlight for the niche buying audience it is targeted at. I am not talking Escobar anymore but celebrities, successful industrialists, and the likes. At a starting price tag of ?1.33 crore (ex-showroom), this Audi is almost as premium as it gets.

While the price is a key factor in any segment, it becomes quite imperative to see the Q8 for what it basically is - a car and one that Audi designers and engineers have clearly burnt the midnight oil for. And it shows.

The Magnificent Monarch

One quick glance at the Q8 is enough to convince you that here is a flagship SUV. The subsequent stares make it amply clear that while it certainly boasts of an imposing profile, it isn't trying to gather respect - it is commanding it and nonchalantly basking in it. Here is a new monarch who has perfectly adjusted to the glitz of the throne rather than that prince who has become the king by default and is now, perhaps, going overboard to stamp his authority.

The Q8 is undeniably Audi and yet has its own amply evident design language that sets it aside from its younger siblings. It is undeniably large and yet evidently stylish. It is a marriage of raw design machismo with the crafty finesse of a purposeful styling.

If numbers and not words are more your thing, here are some quick dimensional stats - Q8 stands 4,986 mm long, has a width of 1,995 mm and a height of 1,705 mm. For reference, the Q7 stands 5,086 mm long, has a width of 1,983 mm and has a height of 1,737 mm. So yes, the idea of big is better isn't applicable in this case and the Q8, instead, offers a larger presence more through its aesthetics than statistical highlights.