Audi A8 4.2 V8
Some cars are all about the numbers. Others are about the specifications. In the apparent specification arms race that makes up the luxury barge sector, it seems that no brochure could be long and detailed enough to win the toys and tally one-upmanship game apparently played by the captains of industry with their S Class, 7 Series, A8 and joined now by the Porsche “with the name and body that are both too long and ungainly” models.
Standard specifications are set at a minimum at this end of the spectrum with things like Night-time Infra-red Pedestrian Detection and Warning systems, and seats with more features, adjustments and controls than a modern hospital bed. You will be able to adjust to comfy even if you are a Napoleonic dwarf of industry or have a back deformity from your days in the professional basketball leagues. I quote verbatim from the Audi press release: “22 parameters can be adjusted to ideally match the seat to your body. The inclination of the head of the backrest, the depth of the seat cushion, the inclination and height of the headrest – which is equipped with side bolsters that can also be adjusted – and the width of the seat and the backrest can all be finely adjusted here. Like the four-way lumbar support, this latter function is pneumatic. Front seat heating and ventilation is standard”. About the only thing not on the list is that ejector thingy Bond got back in the day.
Back to those numbers. I tested the BMW 760iL recently and its gargantuan torque and power specifications will hurl it to 100kms an hour from standstill in a mere 4.6 seconds. The backseat of the BMW is spectacularly adjustable, spacious and comfy. The Audi's isn't. The Audi takes well over 5 seconds to reach the ton (5.7s claimed). Seems a little puny and inadequate by comparison then? The direct injection 4.2l with its mere 273kW and 445Nm would seem to have sand kicked in its face by the BMW, particularly considering BMW's instant acting 8 speed autobox. The A8 makes do with 7 gears and while not exactly sluggish at switching between them is hardly in the same league as its Bavarian competitor.
Back to those numbers. I tested the BMW 760iL recently and its gargantuan torque and power specifications will hurl it to 100kms an hour from standstill in a mere 4.6 seconds. The backseat of the BMW is spectacularly adjustable, spacious and comfy. The Audi's isn't. The Audi takes well over 5 seconds to reach the ton (5.7s claimed). Seems a little puny and inadequate by comparison then? The direct injection 4.2l with its mere 273kW and 445Nm would seem to have sand kicked in its face by the BMW, particularly considering BMW's instant acting 8 speed autobox. The A8 makes do with 7 gears and while not exactly sluggish at switching between them is hardly in the same league as its Bavarian competitor.
Why then did it feel more special to be the driver of the Audi? Better ergonomics? A more elegant and refined exterior, especially with the LED headlights? The best laid out cabin of any sedan I have recently tested? The elegance of the controls? (Including the touch pad for inputting satnav addresses and the like) The exquisite diamond pattern seat stitching making the cabin feel even more special? Audi solidly showing that an almost all black interior need not be sombre. Was it the driver oriented instrument binnacle elegantly, constantly and intuitively rearranging itself to subtly bring pertinent information to the fore? The suspension that could be set between Comfort and Sport with the choices being meaningful and useful?
In all else other than simple outright grunt, the Audi is more fun to drive, it feels more special and it is somehow more upmarket. That is if you are the type of autocrat who prefers to drive himself. The backseat of the admittedly stretched BMW would be the better one.
With all of this and a claimed fuel consumption of below 10l/100km, which is achievable, the Audi is my choice in the sector. What an unbelievable car.
