The Q8’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The CX-70 doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.
Both the Q8 and CX-70 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q8 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The CX-70’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.
In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Audi Q8 achieved a “Acceptable” rating - the second highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Mazda CX-70 has not been tested.
Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The Q8 has Car-to-X Services, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The CX-70 doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure.
A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Q8 Prestige helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The CX-70 doesn’t offer a night vision system.
The Audi Q8’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Mazda CX-70 does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.
Both the Q8 and the CX-70 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Audi Q8 is safer than the Mazda CX-70:
|
|
Q8 |
CX-70 |
|
|
Driver |
|
| STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
| Neck Injury Risk |
30% |
37.5% |
| Neck Stress |
235 lbs. |
318 lbs. |
| Neck Compression |
14 lbs. |
133 lbs. |
| Leg Forces (l/r) |
82/59 lbs. |
324/335 lbs. |
|
|
Passenger |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
| HIC |
238 |
255 |
| Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.5 inches |
| Neck Injury Risk |
34% |
42.3% |
| Leg Forces (l/r) |
47/47 lbs. |
253/344 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi Q8 is safer than the Mazda CX-70:
|
|
Q8 |
CX-70 |
|
|
Front Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Abdominal Force |
128 lbs. |
137 lbs. |
|
|
Into Pole |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
282 |
410 |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

