AF Site Team

that wont upset the neighbors.



We're in for a bumpy recovery - but some of us are doing all right, to judge by sales of £50,000-plus cars. While cheaper vehicles have suffered from the £2,000 Scrappage scheme being withdrawn, upmarket ones are flying out of showrooms. Who's buying them?

Well, one bunch must be the Audi marketing wonks - clever blokes in roll-neck jumpers and ladies with rimless glasses. They'll be patting themselves on the back and splashing the cash, because every new car they've launched recently has hit a chord, from the brilliant R8 Spyder I reviewed a few months back, to the little A1 that's just about to launch. You just know the A1's going to have a cool advert, don't you - something clever with a big white room and some ballbearings.

These marketers even contrived for Audi to take first, second and third in the 24 Hours Of Le Mans race in June, which I see as the ultimate test of engineering. They went 3,300 miles non-stop doing an average speed of 140mph, which is a new record, and they did it in diesels. It begs the question, what if they joined F1?

But I'm getting off the point. Let's say you're one of these lucky few who've had a bonus or a dividend. You want to treat yourself with a top-of-the-range car, but your neighbours are still eating 'value' beans and if you showed up in a Bentley they'd put a brick through the window. How do you buy luxury without anyone knowing it? Well, I reckon you get one of these.

The A8 was Audi's flagship model, until the R8 came along and stole its thunder. I've driven earlier generations and was always quietly impressed. This is the fourth. It's got a lot more competition now, what with Jaguar back on form and Porsche and Aston making four-seaters. Since Audi are talking about pushing their global sales above a million this year, I'd say there's quite a lot riding on this new A8.

Let's start with the engine. As you'd expect, it takes a big one to shift something this size - a 4.2-litre diesel V8. The petrol one has more power, but this has more torque at low revs. In fact, 800Nm of torque is more than I've ever come across - it means you can cruise along in eighth gear and still have enough welly to overtake most sports cars.



Hang on - eight gears?

Yep, apparently it saves fuel. There's also an energy-recuperation thingy in the brakes, a Stop/Start system and the sat-nav talks to the gearbox (no, really) so that it doesn't pick the wrong gear for the road ahead and waste fuel. Mind, you still only get 30 or so miles to the gallon. That's really good for this end of the market but I wouldn't call this car cheap to run. I got 590 miles out of it before the first refill, and really wished I hadn't.

Audi A8's chunky gearshift
I do love the handling, though. A8s are all Quattro - Audi's all-wheel drive with a rear bias - but this diesel has sports differential as well, so it's lively coming out of corners.

It's lighter than it looks, it's nicely balanced and the adaptive air suspension stops you wallowing. It also squats down at high speed to reduce drag and irons out most bumps, so motorway cruising is dead calm. The best range for the engine is just above 2,000 revs, when it's so quiet you could be running on batteries. Same goes for the gear changes: I assume they were happening but I couldn't swear to it.

But the big thing for me, and what the blokes who make the 7-series and S-class will care about, is the 'executive' stuff. My car was fitted with a staggering £30,000 worth of options, starting with brown-and-white leather upholstery that I'd pay to get rid of, personally. But it's the gadgets that count. Ambient lighting, four-zone sun-sensing air con and wood panelling are nice, but they're par for the course nowadays. Self-closing doors? Seats that warm, cool and massage you? You'll have to do better than that, Klaus.

Well, how about this? The new MMI (multimedia interface) has a touchscreen like an iPad. So instead of fiddling with a dial to write your destination, you just trace the letters on the screen. The sat-nav talks to the gearbox, as I mentioned - and also to the headlamps, to tell them if there's a bend ahead. There are cameras in your blind spots and two in your front bumper. They can't read speed signs yet (that's coming by the end of the year) but they can spot pedestrians in the dark.
Oh yes, and the A8's cruise control is so clever that it can not only slow down to zero if the car in front does, it can also slow down if he's exiting the road - having spotted him indicating and consulted the sat-nav. That is just mental.
What didn't I like?
Well, the boot's too big. I spent five minutes putting my scattered groceries back in the bags, and another 20 minutes hoovering up the smashed digestives. As I did, I noticed how much bigger this A8 is than the old one: it hardly fitted in my garage. Oh yes, and the sound system is brilliant, but if it's anything like the one I used to have in my house - it's the same make - it will stop working and you'll end up using a wireless.
What I do love about it, after a week driving around, is how few looks I got. An A8 is the thinking man's status symbol, a car not to be seen in. Because these days, if you can afford a £90,000 car, you should probably keep that to yourself.

TECH SPEC

£65,390, audi.co.uk

Engine 4.2-litre diesel V8 turbo

Power 350hp

Max torque 800Nm at 1,750-2,750rpm

Top speed 155mph

0-60mph 5.5 seconds

Fuel consumption 37mpg

CO2 emissions 199g/km (£235/year tax band)

Tranmission Eight-speed Tiptronic automatic

Standard features 19in alloys, Sports differential, ESP with two-stage deactivation, adaptive air suspension, Dynamic Shift Programme, Valcona leather seats, 12-way adjustable electric heated front seats with memory, DAB radio, 7in HDD sat-nav, Audi parking system, auto lights and wipers, cruise control, double glazing, folding, heating and autodimming mirrors, climate control with sun sensor, Bluetooth, LED ambient lighting, power boot lid

Optional extras Audi Assist package with pre-sense plus, Adaptive Cruise Control with stop & go, 22-way adjustable front seats with memory, Alcantara headlining, four-zone air con, heated rear seats, Adaptive light and high-beam assist, electric sunroof


[source]

mikeh

Great write up. Thanks.

I have always liked large boat type cars and the A8 is on my list of wants someday.

ottawa_hull

same here...one day may be

ok2000A8

I can tell you that even an older A8, fixed up a bit, is a better ride than a 2006 BMW 535 or a Mercedes 2005 E500 4Matic or a 2006 A6. I'm very pleased with mine at the moment. think it looks and rides, handles, performs better that it did new, and you can buy the older ones for cheap. I've had mine for about 8 years now. I rented for several weeks the above mentioned cars and always, afterwards, when getting back into my old beast, my wife and I looked at each other, and both said immediately, we like the old A8 better. Now newer A8 versus older A8, well, of course who wouldn't want that new 2011 A8? I sat in one 2011 A8 and honestly I couldn't tell you where it'd be more fun - front seat or back seat. This car had every option possible plus ABT skirting all around. Of course, you'll need CA$130,000 to get one in your driveway. Personally, I'd like to find a 2001 or 2005 or so S8 and fix that one up for a 2nd ride. Not sure which years the S8 was made after 2001, but a 4 or 5 year old one would be perfect for fixing up.