While other prestige vehicle marquees such as BMW, with their jaw-droppingly "controversial" 7-Series and Mercedes' opulent S-Class try in their own away to scream "look at me, I've made it in life", the Audi A8 takes a refreshingly different approach to luxury transport.
The car looks highly ... Read review
Hatchback - Front (FWD) - 6 Speed tiptronic Automatic, 5 Speed Manual - 1595 cc - Max Speed: 116 mph - 102 bhp - Petrol - Available Trims: Technik SE, Technik, S line, Sport, SE
Saloon - Four Wheel Drive (4x4) - 6 Speed tiptronic Automatic Gearbox - 4134 cc - Max Speed: 155 mph - 326 bhp - Petrol - Available Trims: SE, SE LWB, Sport, Sport LWB
Saloon - Four Wheel Drive (4x4) - 6 Speed tiptronic Automatic Gearbox - 2967 cc - Max Speed: 151 mph - 233 bhp - Diesel, Petrol - Available Trims: Sport LWB, Sport, SE LWB, SE
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Advantages: Class, Understated Looks, Ride, Luxury Toys Disadvantages: High running cost, and err..high running costs
...made it in life", the Audi A8 takes a refreshingly different approach to luxury transport.
The car looks highly understated, but the muscular, stealthy lines simply say "I'm well endowed, wanna make something of it?". The shape does however exude the kind of class expected of a car costing the same as a small house.
And NOBODY would EVER call it ugly. Take that BMW 7.
As for the interior, age just ... ...exceeds the imperious reputation that Audi has earned itself for peerless quality. Not even the 2003 MB S-Class can claim to be superior in terms of craftmanship and quality than the A8's sumptuous interior.
From the soft, supple Nappa leather to the grand, mahogany detailing, it really does give a sense of occasion which makes simply sitting in the car a wall of pleasure.
The ride, is firmer than that of the BMW or ... more
While other prestige vehicle marquees such as BMW, with their jaw-droppingly "controversial" 7-Series and Mercedes' opulent S-Class try in their own away to scream "look at me, I've made it in life", the Audi A8 takes a refreshingly different approach to luxury transport.
The car looks highly understated, but the muscular, stealthy lines simply say "I'm well endowed, wanna make something of it?". The shape does however exude the kind of class expected of a car costing the same as a small house. And NOBODY would EVER call it ugly. Take that BMW 7.
As for the interior, age just cannot date this vehicle. The interior lives up and even exceeds the imperious reputation that Audi has earned itself for peerless quality. Not even the 2003 MB S-Class can claim to be superior in terms of craftmanship and quality than the A8's sumptuous interior.
From the soft, supple Nappa leather to the grand, mahogany detailing, it really does give a sense of occasion which makes simply sitting in the car a wall of pleasure.
The ride, is firmer than that of the BMW or Mercedes, and definitely firmer than the Lexus LS430. But that directly translates into the best driving experience of the four, barring maybe the Mercedes, which in its own way does indeed macth the Audi, in feel to the steering if not in sharp dynamics.
The driveability is helped immensely by the Aluminium construction of the Audi, and is helped further by the fantastic V8 lurking under the bonnet.
Possesing no less than 310 horses, it has the power to thrust this huge vehicle to 60 mph in just 6 seconds, and will send it hurtling to an electronically limited maximum speed of 155 mph. It has monumental urge in all gears, and helps this exec barge to bely its size, both on the motorway and in town.
Finally, as with any car, there are drawbacks. The huge thirst for petrol is one of them. Great performance comes at a price, and therefore the car will return an average of just 21 mpg Combined Cycle.
Servicing, insurance (Group 20), and repairs (due to the complex aluminium body) will call for deep pockets.
However, at the time of writing, one can get hold of a car with all the luxury toys such as cruise control, 21 way electric memory heated seats, dual climate control, Bose sound system etc etc, once costing £72,000 new 5 years ago, for around £7000. How about that for value? Sure beats a Hyundai Elantra for the same dosh.
Running this car will be expensive, but the purchase price certainly won't (if you buy used, obviously).
However, the sheer joy the Audi A8 will provide you with, will make whatever money you spend it seem like a bargain.
Advantages: Looks, value for money, secondhand. Disadvantages: Depreciation.
If you can afford the depreciation on a car like this then fine, go ahead and buy one. I would wait a while however and wait for that fantastic value for money. They've recently brought out a facelift so that will make them depreciate even quicker. Then again look how S-Class and 7-series depreciate as well. At least this won't rust. Get one with all the toys. Sat Nav, drivers information centre etc. However when you are accelerating hard, don't ...
rancethebus 11.10.2004
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Audi A8 4.2
Value for Money
Road Handling
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Bought an ex-demo A4 Quattro tiptronic in Feb 2000. It's fairly well specified with full leat'her, BOSE stereo etc. Have just completed 7000 miles and still cannot get used to how soft the suspension is. I share the car with my fiancee and we both find that as passengers we get a little nauseous - the suspension appears to set up it's own motion in reation to camber and/or bumps in the road. On the positive side the engine is smooth and torquey and is well matched to the tiptronic geqarbox either in full automatic mode, when the gear changes occur with jerkiness, or in semi-automatic mode when a gentle prod of the lever prompts a quick change. And of course it's a good looker and just a bit more stylish than the equivalent offerings from Mercedes or BMW. ...
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Advantages: Driveability, Good Looks. Disadvantages: Common Faults (But are not expensive to fix)
Just upgraded to the AudiA4 1.8T S Line a few weeks ago from my Audi Cab 2.6 V6. I thought I was going to miss the power of the V6, how wrong i was!. The 1.8T with 190bhp is a quick machine and once the turbo kicks in you have hot hatch power in a saloon.
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